Mother's Day in Peru--a Big Event

Well, if two months of waking up at 5:45 AM and having our biggest meal midday can't make a morning person out of me, nothing will. The advantage is that funny things in life are funnier when you're sleepy (Thomas: "I'm looking for the piece of chicken that hit me in the nose and then disappeared..."), but the disadvantage is that the tiring things in life are even more tiring, and along those lines, I ask you to continue to pray for our family. We'll be here in Trujillo for just two more weeks and a weekend. It feels like time is flying by, and I think that's because we're really enjoying and benefitting from our time here. The kids have a week of vacation next week (end of the bisemester) and when we told them that they only had to go to school a few more days after that (because we were thinking of making Wednesday or Thursday their last day), they all agreed that they'd like to go the whole week! I guess they've adjusted!

I thought I'd give you little snippets from the lives of the kids. As many of you know, Madeleine is in many ways the most "under the radar" of our children, so I'll just say of her that she's enjoyed befriending a couple of girls around her age who are children from other missions groups (one from Canada and the other from New Mexico). Also, she's becoming adept at ignoring the schoolboys who try to practice their English on her (takes after her mother). When asked what she daydreams about, she answered, "Living in Middle Earth?" She has been reading a lot here, and a lot of Tolkien (finished the Simarillion and almost done with the Unfinished Tales).

The question "What do you daydream about?" was asked of a couple of our friends who were just starting their family. I think the person who asked them had been reflecting that his own daydreams had revealed to him his idols, where he looked for fulfillment and happiness--mainly in material things and success. Our couple answered, "Daydream about?...Having a light saber!" That was the husband. The wife immediately answered, "Getting more sleep!" They have a baby that at the time was still not sleeping through the night after more than a year and a half. When we told the story to our kids, Elise immediately responded with, "I daydream about saving people from a burning building or from drowning!" Paul cried out, "I just imagine myself jumping up and catching the soccer ball so the other team doesn't score a goal!"

That brings us to Elise who this past week managed to bring her entire class into a more orderly unruliness one morning while the teacher was tardy and the room unattended! Apparently, Elise left the classroom on her own to find out why no adult was in the room with them (she asked the English teacher), then returned and hollered a threatening, "Sit down!" in Spanish. I think one of her friends translated the news that the English teacher would be arriving to wait with the class for their regular teacher. The English teacher must be pretty strict, because when she did not arrive and the class began to get rowdy again, Elise, thinking she would address the class in Spanish herself, but not being able to translate all that quickly (takes after her mother), got only as far as "MISS CATHY..." before everyone jumped back into their places. Well, we all know that Elise can be pretty wild herself, but sometimes her sense of justice outweighs that tendency, and look what happens! Also, Elise is enjoying the gymnastics they are doing in PE class and has quickly recovered from the embarrassment of unexplicably crying in class one afternoon.

Paul, the goalie hero, has started what looks to be his longest story yet. This began when I realized that his teacher was letting him sit in the courtyard during the last half an hour before we pick him up, probably because he asked her so often if he could go out in the hall to check the clock. He claims that he can't hear our name ("los hermanos Gibson, los hermanos Gibson") being called on the PA system while he's paying attention to his teacher (takes after his father), that's why he has to keep asking to check the clock in the hall. Anyway, when I heard how he was just sitting in the courtyard, I suggested he start a story, and boy, did he ever. He's gotten Charlie to agree to type it, which should be quite a challenge given Paul's spelling inablities. The sense of justice might also be a family trait, as Paul, one day returning from checking the clock, encountered his teacher attempting to hold back an unruly boy who had not been given permission to leave the classroom. This is the big boy with the suitcase/backpack who is the not-exactly a bully. Paul decided to help shove the boy back in the room and got his foot stomped on. Pretty exciting, but about all the detail I could gather. (I couldn't get much detail on the nude unit for Paul's class either. Said Paul, "She drew some private parts on the board, then I started working on my story.")

Thomas last month found his footing socially to the point where the teacher asked him not to play so roughly . We agreed, Thomas agreed, and then the next week he gave a boy from the four-year-old class a bloody nose. It does seem like they were tickling and play fighting and the other boy was not upset, but the teacher sure was! And Thomas was very embarrassed and wouldn't look anyone in the eye, apparently. Thomas did recover from this and loved taking his bisemester exams (he and Elise are the only ones to whom the teachers administered the entire battery, but I think Paul aced the English exam). I enjoy watching Thomas give his teacher and her aides the customary kiss at hellos and goodbyes. He seems to really love kissing the aides, but his teacher usually reminds him about her kiss!

Well, this entry is way too long already, so Mother's Day will have to follow! After that, noise level and traffic reports. Thanks for reading--please keep praying for us.