How to Make Egg Salad and Other Stories from the Desert

I've had hat hair, I'm expecting to have veil hair soon, but I did not anticipate having crown hair! During the school's morning prayer, whenever it it someone's birthday, they get to wear a beautiful paper crown. They are decorated and the person's name is written in a fancy way with glittered lettering. They also receive a bag stuffed full of goodies, like brand new toys! The whole school sings "Happy Birthday" and "May our dear Lord bless you" to them. My birthday isn't until September 17th, so I was very surprised to hear my name called off for the birthdays! :) I also surprised to get my own bag of gifts. I wore the crown all day.

I've learned a lot this week. The sisters at the mission want me to make sure to include that I learned how to make egg salad. While I was figuring out what to prepare for myself, I saw a sister mixing together a hard boiled egg with mayonnaise. I then realized that the mixture was starting to look like egg salad. My jaw dropped with disbelief as I stared at the concoction. I said, "That's it? That's all you have to do to make egg salad?! I have been paying so much money at the deli for that stuff!" :) They told me that some people like to add a little bit of mustard or a little bit of relish. So I made egg salad for myself with a little bit of mustard, and sure enough, it tasted like egg salad. :)

I also learned how to use a sewing machine. It was really fun, and I am looking forward to developing this new skill. I finished the inventory of the school uniforms on Monday, so since then I've been helping around in the school library: picking out books, shelving books, screening new (donated) books for their appropriateness, and reading at story time. I liked reading at story time the best. It was fun to hear them laugh about Amelia Bedelia's silliness and say, "Uh-oh!" whenever she did something she wasn't supposed to do. I have also continued to walk with the kids around the track in the morning before school and helped with grading assignments...good practice for the future!

Today I shared my vocation story with the fifth graders, and it was so much fun! They were excellent listeners and they were so funny! During the Question and Answer time, they were amazed that I knew who all their favorite music artists were and how to dance all their favorite dances. Whenever they asked me if I knew a dance (e.g. the Cupid Shuffle) I would dance it for a couple seconds to prove it as I said, "Yeah, I know it." They thought that was so funny! They also asked really good questions about what it is like to be in formation. After the "Going Home Prayer" at the end of the day, a group of the fifth graders crowded around me for a big group hug. It was so cute!

I have really enjoyed being at this mission site. The school has such a family atmosphere, and that's nice to see. As I have been telling the kids, I don't know where the community will assign me in the future, but I would be happy if I was assigned here.

Here are a couple YouTube videos of the St. Peter Indian Mission (where I've been):
Franciscan Sisters Arizona Mission Ministry Part 1
Franciscan Sisters serving in Arizona Missions Part 2

It is bittersweet to know that I will be leaving tomorrow. I am going to miss everyone here, but I am also happy that I will be going on a home-visit to see my family for a couple weeks.