Cousins

Well, it has been quite the while since I've posted. I've been lazy like that over this very long but much appreciated break that I have had. Panama was quite the experience. Any other time that I have been, it's been all vacation and fun and relax time. This time however was quite different. My grandpa was the man, he loved our family and just people in general like crazy. He was poor from the day he was born to the day he died, but it would give you the shirt off his back in a heartbeat.

My family is really really BIG. I mean my grandparents have 7 children who are all married, 26 Grandchildren, and 31 Great-Grandchildren. I have seen all of them and the wives and husbands over the past few weeks. Tonight my cousin who has been living in Japan flew in and is going to stay with us for the next 6 months because her husband is going to Iraq. This is the 3rd member of my family to have to go to Iraq so hopefully he has a safe trip and makes it home like the others.

I love my family A LOT. In Panama when I'm there all of my cousins are like my brothers and sisters, and my aunts and uncles are like moms and dads to me. We are very tight like that, and it is always ridiculously humbling and encouraging to be around them. Minimum wage is about $1.25 an hour and I have several members in my family who only make about $10 dollars a day, but they are completely happy and full of life despite some of the junk that they have to deal with. A ton of them are completely passionate about Jesus Christ and He fulfills them. There are times when I so badly wish they could live here and "have a better life", but being with them and having a good time with them, I don't see how having money could give them a better life. Material things are cool and make life convenient, but without Christ everything else is just crap that one day will be gone.

I'm not totally sure where I'm going with this, I guess it's more a vent since the Panama trip has been pretty eventful, and still is on my mind a lot. I know that I want to be able to keep Christ sacrifice, and him basically doing everything to save a loser like me the main focus of my thoughts. I get bogged down with some dumb things a lot when there are tons of people out there in a way worse situation than me who are content with Christ, and are making him their everything.

On a lighter note, my cousin has a son who is now 7, his name is Jorge (pronounced hor-hey) and he is the coolest guy ever. He was born in Panama so he is fluent in Spanish, is learning English and is pretty decent at it, but it's funny to hear him talk, and since he was in Japan he throws in a few Japanese phrases here and there. He'll be going to Midway Elementary and hopefully I can get him plugged in to children's ministry at the Horeb. I feel old when I'm with him cuz I'll say things like "I remember when you were just a little baby", and how he used to call me Ah-uhn because he couldn't pronounce Andrew. I hope he has an awesome stay with us and that I can be a good Christ-like influence on him.