I have been waiting for this day all my life...

There has never been an answer to one of my life's greatest questions...

Until now...

I have pondered this mystery for years... Throughout my childhood it was always been just out of my grasp... In my youth I spent countless hours studying an entire show devoted to the discovery of this up-until-now-seemingly-mystical place... But it IS real... I knew it... No longer will the jingle in my head taunt me... No longer will I fall asleep wondering... I have seen with my own eyes... I have entered and partaken in the great mystery...

The Great Mystery that is Plaza Sesamo.

It is clear to me now that the reason I could never find the answer to the questioning jingle, "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to "Plaza Sesamo" was because they've gone into hiding... If only we were from Central America! Clearly the main Bird character has gone into hiding because he's completely changed his colors... No more canary yellow for the big bird...

Sunny day...
sweepin' the clouds away,
on my way to where the air is sweet...

Can you tell me how to get,
how to get to Plaza Sesamo?

Come and play,
everything's a-okay.
Friendly neighbors there,
that's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get,
how to get to Plaza Sesamo?


OK... seriously now... Plaza Sesamo is a theme park (bet you can't guess the theme)... We took kids from a few different orphanages there today... I paired up with my buddy Dean and we grabbed some kids (Isaac, 7, and Carlos, 6) and made a day of it... It was really hot today... Really, really hot... Plaza Sesamo is divided into two areas - a theme park with rides and a waterpark... Carlos and Isaac went straight for the water park and that was fine with Dean and me! That is, until we realized we had to walk around the waterpark barefoot... Our feet were screaming hot!! It was incredibly and intensely painful...

The only Spanish we needed to know today was "Otra Vez!!!" Otra Vez means "one more time" And if I hear "Otra Vez" one more time I'm going to pass out!

There was a really cool area in the middle of the waterpark that was a little water playland... Although I was sure we had lost our little dudes in there dozens of times... They just get so excited they can't stay put...

Jen still can't get in the water because of her toe so she stayed with the little orphan babies who can't swim... She played with this little girl for a long time until she finally sang her to sleep... Jen wants to adopt every little baby in Mexico, starting with this little girl!

So we got to hang out with those kids all afternoon, then we fed them dinner... Today seemed really long, maybe because I got up really early to run again... After running we ate breakfast, spent some time on the Bible Study we're doing for the week, and then had some free time while the group from CHCA cleaned up the camp... Jen went back to the place we're staying to take a short nap... I walked around and started figuring out ways to take a bunch of pictures and stitch them together into one larger picture... I've just been so dissatisfied with my ability to communicate through pictures... They're great and all, but they're just not enough... If you were here you would be able to see that these pictures I'm sending are just a glimpse of the beauty and majesty and splendor of this place...

This evening, after Plaza Sesamo, we had our own dinner and then went to worship... After that we spent some time saying goodbye to the CHCA group that's been here all week... We're really going to miss them, they are great people... We had such a great time getting to know them, and we both will take away several lasting memories from this week...

So it's off to bed, and ready for tomorrow... We have a meeting early, but most of the day is free... We're thinking about going with one of the staff couples and the interns to a park that is a huge field in a beautiful canyon... I'm telling you, we're surrounded by beauty here...


Until we post again, here are some more pictures of the mysterious and wonderful
Plaza Sesamo!