Day 2:
Hopefully you had a chance to see the video of the Opportunity House swimming field trip. It was wild, chaotic, fun...and after about an hour...it was calm, quiet and most of the children were quietly relaxing with their caregiver. Thankfully no one got sick, no one ran away (although a few tried...) and I had the joy of cradling the baby that was assigned to me for over an hour. She had cerebral palsy and the more she got used to the pool, the more her body relaxed. All of a sudden I felt her completely go limp as she fell asleep. It was absolutely precious and an honor to hold her! On the other hand, poor, poor, poor Kelly had Ryan, the wildest child in the entire universe, who had her jumping from pool to pool until she had the idea to buy him a pair of water wings. That worked for almost two seconds...then it was back to Kelly & Ryan jumping and running through the pools and the grass. Overall it was a wonderful morning and the kids loved every minute of it.
We went back to Layla House for the afternoon and it was time for the “Great American/European Soccer Jersey Hand-out...” Imagine children coming down the stairs on Christmas morning...now multiply that times a million! We had 29 jerseys to hand out and were able to do that with the oldest teenagers at Layla (who many, many times are overlooked)...and I wish you could see them as they poured through the jerserys...one at a time...painstakingly choosing their favorite ones. Most children in orphanages are never given a “choice”; they are given their meals, have very few clothes of their own that they usually share with others, and have a strict routine. When they have the opportunity to choose something, it is a rare privilege they treasure. The other children soon got word of what was going on, and crowded the hallway of the storeroom to crane their necks and get a glimpse of what was happening. Soon the playground was filled with colorful jerseys with new owners, proudly showing the other children what they received.
Tonight we are going to a local art gallery where artists are having a show. We hope to find some artwork to bring home! Wednesday we head to the Kind Hearts school to deliver our supplies, get a tour, and see where the St. Joseph Christian well will SOON be built! After that we are touring the Black Lion volunteer medical clinic/hospital...we met the founder on the plane and arranged a visit after he shared his vision with us. Amazing, amazing, work.
Please keep us in your prayers!
Hopefully you had a chance to see the video of the Opportunity House swimming field trip. It was wild, chaotic, fun...and after about an hour...it was calm, quiet and most of the children were quietly relaxing with their caregiver. Thankfully no one got sick, no one ran away (although a few tried...) and I had the joy of cradling the baby that was assigned to me for over an hour. She had cerebral palsy and the more she got used to the pool, the more her body relaxed. All of a sudden I felt her completely go limp as she fell asleep. It was absolutely precious and an honor to hold her! On the other hand, poor, poor, poor Kelly had Ryan, the wildest child in the entire universe, who had her jumping from pool to pool until she had the idea to buy him a pair of water wings. That worked for almost two seconds...then it was back to Kelly & Ryan jumping and running through the pools and the grass. Overall it was a wonderful morning and the kids loved every minute of it.
We went back to Layla House for the afternoon and it was time for the “Great American/European Soccer Jersey Hand-out...” Imagine children coming down the stairs on Christmas morning...now multiply that times a million! We had 29 jerseys to hand out and were able to do that with the oldest teenagers at Layla (who many, many times are overlooked)...and I wish you could see them as they poured through the jerserys...one at a time...painstakingly choosing their favorite ones. Most children in orphanages are never given a “choice”; they are given their meals, have very few clothes of their own that they usually share with others, and have a strict routine. When they have the opportunity to choose something, it is a rare privilege they treasure. The other children soon got word of what was going on, and crowded the hallway of the storeroom to crane their necks and get a glimpse of what was happening. Soon the playground was filled with colorful jerseys with new owners, proudly showing the other children what they received.
Tonight we are going to a local art gallery where artists are having a show. We hope to find some artwork to bring home! Wednesday we head to the Kind Hearts school to deliver our supplies, get a tour, and see where the St. Joseph Christian well will SOON be built! After that we are touring the Black Lion volunteer medical clinic/hospital...we met the founder on the plane and arranged a visit after he shared his vision with us. Amazing, amazing, work.
Please keep us in your prayers!
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