Day 10: "One Candy, Please!"

Hola amigos!

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not updating yesteday but let me tell you that yesterday was chaos! So we got back for dinner and I was so tired hehe. But I will always update you, don't worry :)

Okay so yesterday, we had the morning off and got to sleep in (well, not me, I went out) but after lunch, we went to the REMAR orphanage. To be honest, I'm not sure what it stands for but anyway, this orphanage is in La Libertad, El Salvador. The orphanage is beautiful and there is a lot of space. At first, I freaked out because there were A LOT of kids but I just prayed that God would give us patience and just really get to know the kids. We divided them up in 6 groups. We had story time, karate, team work games, group games, juggling & the Chinese yo-yo and the salvation bracelets.

All the kids enjoyed the activities but the teens were a lot easier to control and easier to play with. The younger kids were a mess! Hehe. They left their groups and ran around everywhere. You might be wondering why I put that title, well, that's what a lot of kids knew what to say haha. It was pretty funny to hear the kids asking for candy. They were crazy for the candy! They kept asking and asking for it and we would have to make them stop and form a line (muahaha). It was crazy but so much fun!

The orphanage has great resources, great bathrooms, great rooms, they even have cable TV, they have the school right and it's just a wonderful place. Although the place was great, to be honest, the kids were not well kept. Many of them had head lice, some of them had accidently peed their pants, most of them smelled and their clothes were very dirty (which is normal hehe). So it was a great time and experience to be able to care them, hug them and just spend time with them.

The orphanage also had a rehab centre. There were a few girls there that were mothers. I had the chance to talk to a few of them. There was a 15 year old girl that I found it hard to believe she was a mother because she looked like she was 12 years old. I just pray that God really takes care of them. It was so heartbreaking to see them and see that they were mothers at such a young age but they were also so caring, respectful and so mature. I was also talking to this little girl who randomly grabbed me and told me that when she grew up, she was going to study hard and come and help out at the orphanage. I pray that it truly happens because there's always help needed there.

Yesterday was crazy but it was such an incredible experience. I'm so glad God gave us the opportunity to be with those kids, love them and spend so much time with them. This whole mission trip has been such a great experience. I've definitely learned a lot.

Pray that God gives us strength, wisdom and knowledge to just continue to do His work with the same energy and joy that we had in the first few days and that we finish this mission trip strong.

God bless you all and may He work in your lives as well!

Laura