Just for Julissa

Yesterday was make-up day for Julissa. We all felt so sorry that she had missed out on the girls' day last week, so this day was just for her.

Don had been tutoring Nick up at church (and another missionary child who needed to be certain that she was correctly understanding algebra - she was) and he didn't return until almost 11. Long tutoring sessions - 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. - and Nick enjoys all of it. Or maybe he just enjoys Don. Anyway, I missed Ladies' Bible class. I arrived just in time to pick up Julissa and bring her home with me.

I was a bit uncertain what to do with her because we would only have a couple of hours before we needed to be back at church for the English tutoring. Also, her conversational English (and my Spanish) are limited, so without the other girls to help interpret, I was concerned that any talking would be stilted at best. I had prayed about this, wanting to make the short time special, and it was.

I had bought two decks of Uno cards the other day while shopping with Susan. These are for the classroom. I got a deck out, opened it up and proceeded to teach Julissa how to play. It helped that the instructions were in Spanish as well as English. She caught on very quickly. Don joined the game and she loved picking on him, giving him all the "draw 2" and "draw 4" cards. He would groan and she would giggle. So cute. She was very good, winning game after game.  She just really enjoys Don's attention. She lives with her dad, step-mom and 3 step-siblings, but I don't think she gets much attention from her dad.

I left them playing and slipped inside to prepare lunch. I made Ensalada Grande con Pollo - a big salad with chicken, chock full of all kinds of vegetables as well as the chicken. She ate every bite and was too full for her ice cream! She doesn't care for onions, mushrooms or broccoli, but ate everything else. Fresh vegetables are a luxury item at her house. So is chicken.

We played a few more games after lunch, then she and I returned to church. The other kids were already there with Susan, some working on Rosetta Stone, others playing Battleship. Julissa brought in the cards and Hilda's eyes lit up. "Oh! Can we play?" she asked. She said they had that game at her house. So Julissa, Hilda and her little sister Hacey, drug chairs over to a table and began playing.  I taught the game to Jessie, Carlos, Karla and Leidy. Leidy is kind of shy at times and reluctant to try new things. She didn't think she wanted to play, but once she began, she loved it. She didn't exactly understand that she wasn't supposed to hang onto those wild cards and would giggle when she got caught with lots of points at the end of the game. Oh well. She had fun and that's the main thing.
As the kids rotated on the computers, finishing their turns at Rosetta Stone, they would come to the table and learn the game. So much fun! Little Oscar was also a whiz at the game, and he and I battled it out! No one wanted to quit when Susan said it was time to go home. I promised them that we would play again Thursday.

So blessed to have these kids in my life.