Je suis en joie!! (I am happy in French) :)

So, as you can tell the two pics. are of babies that I have seen in the clinic. I am ridiculous here, and I can't seem to stop!! The children here are so beautiful!!! I was already warned by my parents to not bring a baby home but it is so hard not to!!! I spent the morning in the clinic again seeing patients with the doctors. They have been teaching me a lot and it has been fun to learn things that I would not have the opportunity to learn in nursing school in the states. This afternoon we had our second French lesson. I would like to say that I am making huge improvements in the language department but that would not be the entire truth. I am sort of cheating the system. Most of the time I speak Portuguese with a French accent and get lucky because a lot of words are similar, lol. I can understand a lot more than I ever thought I would, but it is more difficult to speak. Anyway, that is about all for the day. I would like to say that I have something really insightful to say about my time here thus far. That I have received a sign from the Lord and thus know his meaning and purpose for me during my time here and after. But that isn't true. I have been content and pretty at peace but to say I really understand my purpose for being here right now other than to learn would be false. I do however appreciate so much about this country, and what I have concluded to be similar across the continent. The simplicity... It is so easy here.. Walking is not a big deal, I take cold showers everyday (its so hot most of the time I don't even notice), the humidity is so high that my hair resembles a Latin version of Shirley Temple , meaning I don't ever have to fix it. Make-up would be a waste, and skirts are an obligation because of modesty issues here therefore wardrobe choices are easy. All this to say that today as I was walking down the dirt, dusty road from the clinic back to the house. It was hot and I was sweaty and the air smelled of body odor and trash, I felt more beautiful and more alive than I have ever felt all gussied up in the States. I feel like myself here, I feel like there are no social confinements to define me, no fashion rules or expectations that I need to make sure I am following. I am just me and it is so refreshing. So if nothing else I am enjoying being me, here, and listening for what God wants to teach me. Thank you all for your prayers..
I miss and love you all!!
me
ps. the baby on the left is not a typical looking African baby. She was so fat, hence the pic. of her!!
When we asked her mother how old she was we were expecting hear something over 8 months. Instead.. four!!! We are pretty sure there were some miscalculations! :)