Day One at the Orphanage!

Sunday, the Lord’s day, started off well. We ate breakfast at the hotel Premier and then had devotions together, led by Rob and Amy. After that we headed to the orphanage for the first time to see the ninos. We were greeted by the smiling faces of God’s beautiful children. The children of the Fundacion Salvacion are truly under the care of God and radiate the joy that comes with the knowledge of that. We had the opportunity to take the older children to church and enjoyed an evangelical Spanish service. Once service was over we took the kids back and started planning our VBS lesson for the day. Lunch promptly followed and we had a lovely time at Pollo Campero. We had three kinds of chicken and four flavors of pop!!!! Plus, three kinds of ice cream… Manuel knows how to take care of us. =] Kara was very excited about the ice cream.

Once we loaded up the bus with VBS supplies we headed back to the orphanage. It was wonderful to see the children and spend more time with them then we had in the morning. The VBS lesson for the day was on Speech. The theme for this week is centered on 1 Timothy 4:12. This verse explains that no matter what our age is, we should conduct ourselves in such a way that we set an example for all believers. We all sang songs in Spanish with the kids (what we’d been practicing for months) and did a skit (Moses and the burning bush) for them. Then we broke up into groups and rotated through various stations: Crafts, Snacks, Lesson, Verses, Games and Coloring. The kids loved it!!! We had some fun free time with them… took photos, played soccer, etc., and then went back to the hotel for dinner. Kara was very excited about the jello....but Chase had her beat. He ate nine jellos for dessert! We (Rachel and Mike) feel certain he will feel the effects of it soon. Mike led us in devotions tonight, and now it’s off to bed before another full day. Bruce and Glen looked over the construction projects and formulated a plan to begin to tomorrow. We will also be continuing the VBS!

I (Rachel) am really excited to be here. This is my third year here, and so I’ve had an opportunity to form relationships with the kids. I was disappointed this morning because the little boy I had been close with for the last two trips was not here. Wicho and his sister Zulma got moved to Zacapa. But this evening when I walked into the nursery (where Wicho stayed) I was greeted by two friendly faces: Christina and Nata. Christina stays and takes care of all the babies (right now there are twelve) and she remembered me. She specifically asked me about Wicho and asked me to come into the room. When I came into the room I saw a picture board of all the children that have been moved or adopted (Alex and Dino.. both adopted). She pointed to a picture of me and Wicho and said that she still had the Christmas card I sent him. I about cried. She told me about her disappointment in seeing the kids leave. It was nice to know that someone else grows attached to the kids and understands our disappointment in not seeing the faces we’ve come to love. She asked me to continue to help out with the babies this week, and I am so excited to do that! She was a comfort from God this afternoon.

So… to sum it all up: We had a fantastic first day here in HueHue!!! God really is blessing the work we have began and we patiently wait to see his continued work through the hand of his willing servants. Thank you for your continued prayers!

All honor and glory and praise be to God!