Good morning from Guatemala! We're at Hannah's Hope right now for breakfast on our last full day here, and although most of us look pretty tired, we're ready for the day. Today is the day we get to have lunch with the five families that we collected stuff for, and then we're having an outdoor church service with them. The plan right now is for Laura and Kevin to share, and we'll probably do a little singing - the singing we do is a LITTLE bit different from the full band worship at the church we went to, but the message and intent are the same.
Yesterday we had "Girls Day in the Ghetto," and all of the women and Kevin and Ryan went to paint. The guys finished up some electrical work in one of the houses, and most of the women cleaned and painted there, and a small group of us stayed a little below them to paint Ashlee's house. It made a huge difference, and there were people hanging in the alley all day watching us through the window. When we finished the inside, we went outside to paint the neighbor's house, and I started handing out all the stuffed animals we brought. I had about 5 in my hands for the kids I could see, and withing 5 minutes, there were about 20 more kids standing outside the door, waiting for theirs. One little girl got one of the pink bears that Mrs. Munsey made, and she LOVED that bear. I have lots of pictures.
My favorite moment of the day was when a little girl named Sharon, about 6 years old, came walking down the alley holding the hand of her little brother, about 1 1/2. I was handing out lollipops - all the bears were gone - and she took one with a big smile. I reached into the bag to get one for her brother, and when I looked up, she had unwrapped the one I gave her and bent down and put it in her brother's hand with a huge smile, and she looked up at me and said, "Gracias!" Then she stood up to walk away - she didn't ask for one for herself. When I gave her one, she lit up, and for the rest of the afternoon, she was my buddy. She brought her brother home, and stuck to me like glue, looking at all of the pictures on my camera, asking about my "ninos" at home, touching my hair, posing for silly pictures. I felt so bad that we ran out of animals - a feeling we've had every day when we just don't have enough to give - and then Ashlee told me that her family is one of the ones we spend the afternoon with today! So she'll be getting some cool stuff then!
This has been an amazing experience. We can't wait to come home and show you all our pictures (and there are many!!( and get all of you to come back with us. There is so much need here, but so little want. They are happy in the Limonada, with no shoes, with dirt floors, with ceilings that leak, with dogs roaming the alleys, living in filth. They are so appreciative of whatever we can do for them, and we can make a difference here, for families and for children.
We also visited another orphanage yesterday, the saddest we've seen yet. I can't even write about it without crying, you'll just have to wait and see for yourselves!
Please keep us in prayer, for the day today, and for our safe travel tomorrow. We're coming home with empty suitcases, but full hearts!
Joe, Ana, Micah, and Matt, we love you very much and can't wait for our 72 kisses when get home! Be good for Gramma and Grampa! XOXOXOAmy - Mommy