A Morning at Work & an Afternoon at the Orphanage.

This morning Pastor Juan joined the menfolk and we went and put in some manual labor shoveling and mixing two large piles of cement for a floor as well as painting the outside walls at the Seis de Mayo tutoring center.  A nearly two year old did cause some excitement when he decided to stick his hands into the oil based paint but thankfully got no farther with putting his hands anywhere else!  The women spent much of the morning bagging vitamins and labeling although they did take a few minutes to relax by the pool... As we were without much sun screen thanks to the luggage issue, we were all thankful that the work was largely inside or in the shade.

We returned to a delicious lunch of soft tacos with a chicken, cabbage, and something else mixed together with fresh salsa topped with fresh pineapples for dessert.  Nothing is better than fresh pineapple on a hot day - so refreshing!  After lunch, the luggage arrived and most everyone took the opportunity to freshen up.

The whole group headed off to the orphanage for a couple hours interacting with the kids.  Initially, we spent twenty minutes with the babies and the special needs kids holding them and doing all the stuff one does with babies.  Afterwards, we headed downstairs and spent quite a bit of time with the older kids.  Some went off to play soccer in the afternoon sun and heat (not me!); we also colored pictures with the kids, played basketball, painted fingernails of the kids (again, not me!), and swung them around or threw them in the air, etc!  It was quite interesting to be dictated which crayon I was to use to color certain places on the picture that one of the boys decided he wanted me to color for him which he planned to give to the director of the orphanage!  At the end or our time there, Pastor Juan led the kids and us singing four songs and ended with prayer before some tearful farewells.

We spent some time relaxing in the pool before another delicious dinner of beef patties topped with Alfredo cheese, rice, and zucchini.  The rest of the evenings was spent talking over the day's experiences and planning for tomorrow.  Barry sent along some photos of Terri to be posted around the apartment which were enjoyed by most everyone.  We also labeled vitamins and prepped suitcases for Tuesday before everyone went to sleep.

We appreciate your prayers!

Written by team member Larry Rice.