Today we built four more houses and it was a great day filled with many God given moments of down time. Our Canadian culture seems to want to rush everything, and get things done as fast as possible. Today, we felt there were times where God forced our team to rest and enjoy our time with the wonderful people we were building houses for; rather than rush to complete the house on time. We are so thankful for the people we got to spend time with today, the children we got to talk to and the memories we made!
Leah, Otto, Andrew, Pastor Luis, Justine, Jacqueline and Kims hat&sunglasses
I think riding in the truck was so fun because its illegal at home!Today we built our final two houses. We were building them side by side. It was nice to be able to walk back and forth between the two houses and see the families interact. The property was down a narrow road and there was a locked gate. Behind the gate there was a large green space with the two cement pads for the houses. There were numerous structures made of rusted tin and rotting boards. We aren't sure how many families lived on the property, but now they have two safe houses!
After we built, we head back to the school for lunch. There were four students who had helped to make the food and they served us food. They then shared a little about themselves. Julio is 14 and he was so proud to share about himself in English. He told us he likes to play soccer and his favorite food is pizza. The next boy shared how he lived in an orphanage and decided he wanted to leave. He said when he left he learnt that people who say they are your friends don't care, and that the world is a scary place. He wrote a letter to the orphanage begging to come back, and they allowed him back into the school as well as the orphanage. One of the girls graduated from the grade school and volunteers at the school almost every day. She is going to school on weekends to be a teacher. The final student is a beautiful girl who is the top ranked student in all of Parramos. She was so happy to be able to serve us.
We then had the kindergarten students perform a farewell song and play which was so cute. They dressed up as animals from Noah's ark and danced around. They then wanted a picture, and then we got hugged by a bunch of tiny animals! As we were waiting to leave, the kids kept running up to us to give us hugs. Colleen and Darryl were told by the social workers they had someone waiting for them. Their little sponser child Stephanie had went out with her mom to buy some treats. Diane was saying that the treats they had purchased were traditional sweets but were quite expensive. Stephanie had brought them to school as well as a letter for Darryl and Colleen. She was so excited to share with them. One of the social workers translated the letter, and then Stephanie hugged Colleen. She didn't let go for at least a few minutes. She then peeled herself off of Colleen and did the exact same thing to Justine.
Stephanie and ColleenI was able to see Christian briefly today as well. He saw me from across the room. I looked up and saw the blur of a red shirt with a smiling face and before I knew it, he had jumped into my arms. He didn't stop smiling except for when I told him I had to go home tomorrow so I wouldn't see him for a while.
All of these kids are so incredibly precious, it makes leaving them so hard. Saying goodbye to the staff is difficult as well. I already hate goodbyes, but today was really difficult.
Before coming on the trip, we noticed we had some extra money that wasn't allocated for a certain need. Len had emailed AOJ and asked where they think the money would be used the best. Today we went out to a small community that had been given seven stoves with that money. We were able to see that the women had been cooking on the floor in these small huts. The walls and roofs were black with ash and it was so smokey. These new stoves are going to improve their quality of life and their health. When we were talking to the ladies, we found out that they were all widows and most were single moms with small kids at home.
The Widows and some of the children
Happy about her new stove!
Thank you for being a part of this week, even without leaving home. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers as well. Please don't stop praying for all the staff at the school and for all the children they care for wholeheartedly every single day. They put in long, hard hours. Pray for encouragement for them and for safety as they travel to and from the school on public buses. Pray for the children, that they know what it means when they are told God loves them. Pray they are able to stay in school and stay healthy.
Tomorrow we have a day for sightseeing, and we fly home on Sunday. We would love to tell you about our trip when we get home, but please be patient if we are unable to put into words what we experienced this week.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and encouragement.
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