Curlers

How cute!
¡Que linda!


"Whitney Loo Who" in curlers.
"Whitney Loo Who" encrespándose el pelo.

Whitney put her hair in curlers this evening to perform a solo in her school choir program. She reminds me of Cindy Loo Who from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." She sang beautifully.

Encrespar

Whitney se encrespó el pelo hoy en la noche porque cantaba un solo en el programa del coro en su escuela. Ella me recuerda de Cindy Loo Who del libro "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (Como el Grinch Robó la Navidad). Ella cantó bellamente.

Morning Dreams

Marcos by the Little Spokane River.
Marcos cerca del Río Spokane Pequeño.

The first night after the Ecuador students arrived, I had two dreams.

In my first dream, I saw the students sitting in a circle. They looked happy to me, but I was very tired. A voice told me, "You may feel tired, but the children are coming here even more tired than they know. You must pray for them during their stay and give them all your strength. You must care for them as your own children."

Then I had a second dream. In my dream, Marcos was very angry because people in the world had judged the children. He held up a photograph of each one and told me what people had said about them. I comforted Marcos and said the world will judge, but we know their spirits. I then reminded him what the spirits had told me; that I would pray for them and give them all my strength.

The next morning, Marcos and I got up early and ran to the waterfalls near my house. Snow still covered the ground. I told him my dreams and then shared many spiritual things from my culture. As we conversed, I learned that Marcos shares many of my cultural and spiritual perspectives, even though we come from two different countries.

Sueños en la Mañana

La primera noche después de la llegada de los estudiantes de Ecuador, tuve dos sueños.

En el primer sueño, yo vi a los estudiantes sentados en un círculo. Se me miraban felices, pero yo estaba muy cansado. Una voz me dijo, “Puede que te sientas cansado, pero los niños llegan aún más cansados de lo que ellos mismos sepan. Tú tienes que orar por ellos durante su estancia y darles todas tus fuerzas. Tienes que cuidarlos como a tus propios hijos.”

Luego tuve un segundo sueño. En mi sueño, Marcos estaba enojado porque personas en el mundo les había juzgado a los niños. El me mostró una foto de cada uno y me dijo lo que la gente había dicho. Le di consuelo a Marcos y le dije que el mundo juzgará, pero nosotros conocemos a los jóvenes en sus espíritus. Le dije lo que los espíritus me habían dicho; y que yo oraría por ellos y les daría todas mis fuerzas.

La próxima mañana, Marcos y yo nos levantamos temprano y corrimos a las cascadas cerca de mi casa. La nieve todavía cubría la tierra. Le conté mis sueños y luego compartí muchas cosas espirituales de mi cultura. Mientras conversábamos, me di cuenta de que Marcos comparte muchas de mis perspectivas culturales y espirituales, a pesar de que somos de distintos países.

The Arrival

My son Dakota with Marcos Lema.
Mi hijo Dakota con Marcos Lema.


Marcos posing in the snow with my children McKenna, Dakota, and Whitney.
Marcos posándose en la nieve con mis hijos McKenna, Dakota, y Whitney.

Going back in time, I wish to recount as many events as possible from the Ecuador Youth Leadership Exchange. When I worked in the midst of the project, I hardly had any time to make a journal, but now I have an opportunity to reflect on the events of the past several weeks.

The students arrived a day late because of canceled flights in Dallas and missed connections in Seattle. This caused a great degree of confusion and anxiety for those of us waiting in Spokane. Then the weather took a turn for the worse and delayed the flight even more. By the time the students finally arrived, our group had already spent more than five hours in the airport worrying. But as I said before, when I finally saw their faces, all my worries went away. I felt my heart open to these young people from the moment I first saw them.

They arrived near the end of March, and yet they arrived to see quite a magnificent snowstorm. Many of us in Spokane cursed the snow, but none of the students had ever seen such a thing up close. They were enchanted by the beauty of the snowy sky.

After each family connected to their respective students, my family connected with one of the adult leaders, Marcos Lema. He would stay in our home for the duration of the exchange. On the evening of the arrival, we went home briefly, took photographs in the snow, and then went out for a family dinner.

La Llegada

Regresando a un tiempo pasado, deseo contar lo más que sea posible del Intercambio de Liderazgo para Jóvenes de Ecuador. Cuando yo trabajaba en medio del proyecto, casi no tenía tiempo para escribir un diario completo, pero ahora tengo la opertunidad de reflexionarme sobre los eventos de las últimas semanas.

Los estudiantes llegaron un día atrasados por unos vuelos cancelados en Dallas, y unas connecciones perdidas en Seattle. Esto causó un grado enorme de confusión y ansiedad para nosotros que esperábamos en Spokane. Entonces el clima se volvió mal y se atrasó el vuelo aún más. En la hora que los estudiantes por fin llegaron, ya habíamos pasado preocupándonos cinco horas en el aeropuerto. Pero, como dije antes, cuando por fin vi las caras de los estudiantes, toda mi ansiedad se desapareció. Yo sentí abrir mi corazón a los jóvenes desde el primer momento en que los vi.

Los estudiantes llegaron a fines de Marzo, pero aún así llegaron para ver un tormento magnífico de nieve. Muchos de nosotros que somos de Spokane maldecimos a la nieve, pero ninguno de los estudiantes había visto tal cosa de tan cerca. Estuvieron encantados por la belleza del cielo nevado.

Después de que cada familia se conectó a sus esudiantes respectivas, mi familia se conectó con uno de los líderes adultos Marcos Lema. El quedaría en nuestro hogar por la duración del intercambio. En la noche de su llegada, fuimos brevemente a casa, tomamos fotos de la nieve, y luego fuimos a una cena con la familia.

Indigenous Spirituality

Most of the Ecuador youth either represent an indigenous society by their own ancestry, or live within the area of influence of an indigenous people. As such, they seem to possess a deep spiritual readiness to embrace important connections to indigenous cultures in the United States. As they have discovered the ancestral traditions of the Spokane Tribe, the Ecuador youth have expressed both amazement and admiration. In fact, some of the youth were surprised to know such a thing even existed within the United States. They imagined this country as a land of eternal shopping centers, freeways, and factories.

As a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, I recognize the importance of making cultural and spiritual connections with indigenous people around the world. My role in this project has been unique because I offer these youth a perspective few others in this community can provide. I have been able to open their worldview to include local customs, while addressing them in Spanish. More than once, a member of the group has taken me aside to thank me for my participation in the program. One young man even approached me in tears and said he never imagined someone like me existed in this country.

They whole process has humbled me deeply.

For their part, these youth have opened my eyes as well. I see a group of young people deeply committed to the environment and their role as youth leaders. They inspire me more than words can describe. As time allows, I will write more of my experience and include photographs of the exchange.

Ecuador Youth

To all my faithful readers, I apologize profusely for not publishing more often. As many of you know, I've been busily engaged with facilitating the Ecuador Youth Leadership Exchange, in cooperation with Community Minded Enterprises of Spokane, and Instituto Allpa de Ecuador. Nine youth and three adult leaders came to the United States, and are now being hosted by local families. I spend my days working with the youth and then I still go off to my regular job at night. Overall, the program has given me an amazing experience, but I'm very tired, and I have had very little time to update my blog. Perhaps when this is over, I will publish all my photographs and stories in retrospect. Until then, I hope to see you all soon.