Hola everyone from Mexico! My name is Danielle Lanphere and I will be telling you all about our day in Mexico! Our normal morning would be eating breakfast with the core members but today they were at the workshop, so we didn’t have breakfast with them, which honestly felt weird. They start our day off in such a good mood. We were back to the garden early this morning and let me tell you it was a hot one. We laid down more rocks, moved gravel to make a pathway in the backyard and decided where our plants would go. After working on the garden for a bit, we went over to the workshop. This a space for members of the community to go and express themselves. This can be through jewelry making, carpentry, painting and so much more. It eventually became very hot out, so we decided to go inside and relax while waiting for the core members. As we were relaxing a core member, Moy, came home from the workshop and began crying. We all felt extremely helpless. The language barrier is very difficult, but we are trying to overcome that challenge. We had dinner (at 3pm) with the core members which included chicken mole and rice. After every meal we switch out which participants will do dishes and wipe the table. Today I went to wipe the table down and was told that I needed wash the washcloth with bleach first. I was super confused and didn’t know what to do. A nonverbal core member, Jose, took me to the sink to show me what to do. He showed me the bleach powder, the amount to use and how to scrub it into the washcloth. He had helped me so much in the moment and it was nothing to him. I told him “Jose es muy inteligente” or Jose is very intelligent. He looked me in my eyes, gave me a head nod and gave me a small hug. Those four words took less then 15 seconds for me to say but those words meant everything to him. People in this community don’t hear those affirmative words often. Say the words. Just do it because you have no idea how much it can mean to someone else. After our moment I shed a tear and he started doing the crybaby face to me and we both laughed. Oh Jose. After dinner we took a walk downtown and watched the sunset. On our way back a few of us grabbed tacos and pizza. We had our reflection time when we got back, and it was an emotional one for me. We are all just learning, growing, and trying. If you just try you never know what good can come out of it. We are so blessed to be welcomed into their home and life. They help us just as much as we help them.