Day Two, Monday

Today our group met for breakfast (this morning: minced meat fried triangles, egg casserole, bananas, papaya and bread with marmalade). The food so far has been wonderful and tasty-we’ve met many people who have remarked that our hotel has “safe” food to eat so some of our group is getting adventurous during mealtime. So far we are all heathy and energetic, although some in our group haven’t been sleeping well!

We went to the Layla House this morning for the official orientation and tour of the compound. Layla House has had a 100% gradution rate--meaning no one has ever left Layla House without a family, which is awesome. After the tour, we headed to the Ritmo Guest House, where families who are adopting from the Layla House stay while in the adoption process. At Ritmo in the back of the compound is where they house the overflow of babies from the Layla House. (Lynn-if you’re reading this, I got fabulous pictures of your baby!!) After we snuggled and loved on the babies and took them to the wall garden to enjoy the outdoors and flowers, we headed to lunch at the Caribou-which is an American-friendly food restaurant with nice views of the city.

After lunch we headed to Opportunity House, which is the special needs facility operated by the Layla House just down the street from Layla. This was the most difficult time for the group, as the incredible needs of the children were seen by all of us: children with cerebral palsy, blindness, autism, downs syndrome and other issues. We got on the floor and just started engaging the children as best we could. Most of all-they want to be touched and held.

Delora got on the floor and held a precious blind boy who wasn’t more than ten-he instantly took to her and snuggled into her. I (Joey) was sitting next to a boy, probably around 7, who had cerebral palsy. I was touching his cheek and stroking his head, and noticed his hand twitching. In the next few moments, he started having a seizure-not a large one--just one that took over his entire body and he shook. I didn’t know what to do except stroke his cheek and wait for it to pass-Rocky, who’s a nurse on our team, helped me understand what was going on. When it ended, the little boy locked eyes with me-it was a precious moment. We spent the rest of the afternoon singing songs with the kids, clapping, and watching a little girl (who was nicknamed Beyonce) dance while the caretakers banged on the cabinets mimicking a drum.

Ivy (the school director) asked Kelly & I to go to AHOPE (which is an orphanage specifically for kids with HIV) to see if we could do crafts, paint or help in someway while we’re here. Cheryl and Natalie went along to see the facilities too. We plan on doing crafts there with the bigger kids, and bringing some toys and hygiene products from our group. It is a tough place to visit-but the children are loved by their housemothers and they do have a home. One baby was found on the side of the road-and was brought to AHOPE to live. She now has been adopted by a family. AHOPE is in great need of everything-literally everything. The visit was difficult and heartbreaking.

Cheryl took time today to volunteer at the Autism Center. She is a travel writer and is helping them get some much needed publicity for the center. I hope she’ll share more about her time there tonight with us so I can write about it! Street scenes we took in today include : cows in the street while little boys in school uniforms held hands walking home from school, teenagers playing foosball in a small area against a concrete wall on the street; walking along the street and smelling the open sewage running through a creek; and men carrying large loads of lumber on their head. The scenes are surreal.

Tonight we’re taking it easy at the hotel, and hopefully getting the sleep we need! Spending the days with so much to take in can be brutally exhausting. I am very impressed with our group and how they’re handling all the sights and scenes at once.

God is good and has shown that many times throughout the days!!