Wednesday - August 8, 2012

Hello from Huehue!

What a great day it has been. Praise the Lord!

Our day began with breakfast and devotions at the hotel before leaving to work at the orphanage. Lane and I had devotions this morning, and ours focused on the story of Dick Hoyt, and his son Rick. If you have not heard of, seen, or read their story, I wholeheartedly encourage you to google their names, or pull up a youtube video to learn more. It is a story of love, devotion, strength, and respect, a story that completely parallels our relationships with Christ, focusing on our need to trust Him always.

We arrived at Fundacion Salvacion early and got straight to work. Lane, Justin, Jessica, Jonny, and Juan sanded the last four cribs while the rest of the team (minus Sue, Nancy, and Antonio) finished priming all of the cribs. Sue, Nancy, and Antonio went shopping for necessary breakfast supplies for tomorrow's breakfast that we will serve at the orphanage early before the kids go to school. Let's just say we're boarding our bus at 5:45am in order to get all things set, and breakfast on the tables in time! More on that in tomorrow's blog:)

After priming all of the cribs, we packed up and headed back to the hotel for lunch. After eating lunch, a small group consisting of: John, Lane, Glenn, Juan, and Antonio went out into the city to purchase drop ceiling materials and old tires for playground equipment. The rest of us took some time to relax at the hotel before heading back for VBS.

We altered our format for VBS today, and it worked out nicely. Previously we had four groups and four rotations. We decided to try two larger groups, while combining story and snack which allowed for a longer craft time. We've found that in order for the kids not to rush, and really take their time on their craft that more time was necessary. It was a rainy afternoon, and the format worked well. I think we are going to try it out again tomorrow. We've learned that flexibility is the key and that altering or changing things doesn't have to be a bad thing but instead something that can benefit the whole group.

We had a delicious Italian dinner at the hotel this evening, and we all left full and satisfied. We then returned to the orphanage to have our bonfire but we were rained out. We ended up having another movie night, and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks (in Spanish with no English subtitles this time! I think we'll need to watch it in English to really grasp much of the story line:) We handed out glow bracelets to the older kids this evening, those who were still awake for the movie, and we had a lot of fun watching the kids play with their glow bracelets in the dark. It was a beautiful display of neon yellow, green, orange, pink, and blue! The kids laughter and excitement was contagious! We all had a fabulous time this evening.

Ally provided our evening devotion about trusting the Lord while in the 'wilderness' (times of distraction, loneliness, sadness etc.) and it was a perfect way to end the day. We serve an amazing God, and it really is our honor to be called His children.

Well, our early morning is rapidly approaching, so you'll have to tune in tomorrow for more details and stories! We hope you're well, and that you're blessed with God's goodness.

-Lane, Anna, and Team