We woke up to the pleasant surprise of not having to paint. (Well, not all of us. The boys and some girls painted, while the rest of the girls stayed behind to clean.)
So I spent the morning with Spanish Hillsong music, making everyone's beds.
Then we did some laundry.
Sarita saw me and ran over for me to hold her.
She helped me carry laundry and hang it on the line, and then put more laundry in the washer.
All of our team's khakis were in a pile and we had to wash them.
Sarita picked up a pair and shouted "Mi amiga!!!" and hugged them.
She. knew. which. khakis. were. Faith's.
SO SWEET.
Later in the day we went to the city orphanage.
Let me give you an idea.
Barbed wire, all around.
Half the size of Bethel, but with twice as many kids.
The kids stay inside all day, and a few years ago, they almost stopped allowing groups to come because they made the kids "too happy".
There is a room full of cribs, some 2-3 babies per crib.
There are 50 some kids there, and sadly, not enough staff to individually love on each child.
The kids in this orphanage are taken from their families by the state, basically for the reasons a child here might be put into foster care.
You have to get a special permit to go there, and you're only allowed in for 45 minutes.
Not 46.
45.
And you're not allowed to take pictures. (Sorry everyone)
So basically, when you get there, Ken and his wife Juana do a short Bible lesson of some sort with the kids,
and then we play with them.
You basically have a half hour to try and spend time with as many kids as you possibly can.
While we were praying, a little girl tapped on my shoulder. I looked up and she said, "Gianna?"
Completely in shock, i said yes, and she said "You're Gianna!?" I said yes again and she gave me a huge hug.
WHAT?!
It was so crazy because apparently, last year, in the midst of the chaos trying to get to as many kids as possible, I somehow managed to make somewhat of an impact on her life, which seems almost unbelieveable to me.
The fact that she knew my name and was so excited to see me was just... wow.
There are no words for that.
I brought spiderman, butterfly, and heart shaped stickers.
They were a hit!
I had to peel stickers so fast I thought my fingers would fall off.
I literally peeled 125 stickers.
I'm not sure I even breathed.
Kids were jumping on top of each other, sometimes I had to break up little 6-year-old fights,
for stickers.
They were yelling at each other "HAZ COLA!" (make a line)
But none of them were.
I had kids hanging over both my shoulders and 3 or 4 at a time in my face,
some crying,
cause they were all so scared they wouldnt get one.
It was so heartbreaking.
Ken said "Okay, 45 minutes are up, say your goodbyes and we gotta get out of here!"
We said bye to the kids and started to walk out.
Right when we did, something caught my eye.
The curtains were opened just enough to get a peek into the baby room.
There was one baby in there who grabbed my attention.
He looked to be about 9 months old, but I could be off on that one.
Chubby little baby boy with thick black hair.
He was so sweet.
He pulled himself up to stand in his crib, and, for a moment, our eyes met.
He smiled so big when he saw me,
like he wanted me to pick him up.
He just wanted someone to play with him.
But we weren't allowed, and our 45 minutes were up, so we had to leave.
He reminded me so much of the baby boy I babysit.
Their worlds are so different.
There arent many workers at that orphanage to care for all the babies,
so, most likely, the only time he gets interaction is when he is being fed.
He doesn't have a mom or a babysitter or a grandma or an aunt or a dad to run in, scoop him up, shower him with love, and take him out to play.
Did you know if babies don't get enough stimulation (love, attention, physical touch, colorful toys, etc),
their brains actually do not form right.
That kills me.
And he was so happy to see me.
But I had to walk away.
Leaving him in there broke my heart more than words could ever say.
It's one of those things where all you can do is be SO thankful there's a God,
so he has hope, and pray for him every single day with all you have.
Words cannot explain.
Our group split up after dinner, half went to Manuel's church and half to the Oasis Bible study.
I didn't go to Manuel's church, so ask someone who did to tell you about it because I heard it was incredible!
I went to Oasis Bible study. Faith gave her testimony and Ashlee preached.
They. Were. Awesome. :)
I got to see Ricardo again, gracias a Dios :)
This one's kinda short, but nonetheless an amazing day.
Love you all!
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