Arriving in Texas

I’m writing today from the Holy Family Services Birth Center in Weslaco, Texas. It’s kind of crazy to realize that I’m here already. Between work, school, and processing my way through job options, the last few days have been somewhat of a blur, and this trip kind of snuck up on me. After staying up late packing, I slept for an hour and a half before my alarm went off at 2AM this morning and I showered, dressed and headed to campus. From there, we traveled to the airport to catch our pre-crack-of-dawn flight. Thanks to online booking and seat selection I scored emergency exit seats on both planes and had a mostly comfortable and leg-roomy flight. After a morning of travel and a stopover in Houston, we arrived in Harlingen, Texas, picked up our sweet Suburban, and drove to our final destination in Weslaco. We’re staying at a house on the property of Holy Family and with the warm weather and people speaking Spanish all around me, I feel quite at home. After warnings of how bare bones our accommodations were going to be I was surprised to find that while this place is simple, it is clean and pretty well-equipped. I think volunteering in South America has definitely changed my definitions of “poor” and “in need of renovation!”

The weather here alone is warming my soul. We have all the windows open and a cool breeze is blowing through. The first thing I did upon arriving was to strip off my sweatshirt and jeans, and trade them for loose, flowy gaucho pants and flip flops. Ahhh. Combined with the quiet of this place, I feel as if my stress is dissipating and relaxation is replacing it. After going out for dinner and stocking up on supplies at the Super Walmart with the group, I wandered the grounds of the birth center with my camera, taking pictures, feeling the warm of the sun and the coolness of the breeze, and breathing deeply. I stayed out until the sun began to disappear and the mosquitoes began to make a meal of me. I reluctantly headed inside and can hardly wait for morning to come, so I can head back out again. The grounds here are some mix of country farm and tropical gardens. They spread out like a park, with paths leading to nooks, patios, and benches through trees and under the overhangs of the buildings. Herbs grow along the side of the main house, where all the staff live, while hibiscus and an array of other tropical flowers can be found elsewhere on the property. Chickens, cats, and a dog roam around freely between the buildings, which include a clinic, birthing rooms, lodging, a chapel, and various others.

For the first time in awhile, I am in a place of quiet where I’m not fighting the urge to fill it with noise. I am not go, go, going and it is beautiful. I accepted the position at St. Chris today. I can’t say I did it with full confidence that it is exactly right for me, but I feel good about it. The support I’ve received from everyone has been hugely encouraging and after a lot of prayer and talking things through with wise people I know it is the right choice for now.

It has been a very long day on very little sleep, so I’m signing off to read and sleep. The good news is I have my laptop and wireless internet access, so I will do my best to keep you up to date on our time down here. Good to be blogging again!