We awoke to a beautiful blue sky today. Somehow the air felt crisper and the day seemed clearer, maybe it was the good night's rest. Well, some of us slept well, others are still waking up in the middle of the night unable to fall back to sleep...maybe tonight will be a full nights rest!? Either way everyone enjoyed breakfast and then we got on our way.
We headed to a local church, and we were greeted very enthusiastically by the head elder who was sure to get all our names and the names of our different organizations. After finding out some of our plans, he told us he would take us into the church. The Bible study portion of the morning was nearly done, with several classes meeting in the main sanctuary. We were escorted down the main aisle and seated in the very front row, interrupting a teacher during his class. It was quite embarrassing! But after welcoming us he continued the class discussion with enthusiasm, not realizing he was stepping on Shannin's feet, over and over. With the Bible study ended, we decided to move out of the front row and be less conspicuous. However, we were not quick enough, as the sanctuary was filling fast, and we were only able to move back 2 rows. Oh well, it made it much easier for them to introduce us during the main service, by having us all stand and wave to the congregation.
The service was filled with lots of singing and music, which was led by several secondary students, because the church is located on their campus. It was very beautiful! Before the sermon Sonya, told the children's story, encouraging everyone to give with a cheerful heart. She had Ale, Corrinne, and Elivia pass out candy to all 500 students there, and asked them to share with someone else after the service. (Although she did have to scold them when several started eating the candy right away) The service was easy to understand with the help of a translator, and we all survived the heat, it was VERY hot!
Following the service we were able to say hello to several friends and meet a few new ones before hopping on the bus and heading back to the Lodge for lunch. Let me say now, the food has been amazing! We had soup, a couple of salads, local meat dishes, rice, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit and flan for dessert! Needless to say, no one went hungry. Every meal we have eaten at the Lodge has had several courses with everything being yummy and unique!
Following lunch we had a small break to get freshened up and then set out for Havilah, a local orphanage, to spend some time with the children there. Several in the group had been there before, and it was so wonderful to see their smiling faces again. We all walked out to the pavilion to talk, play games, swing, and take pictures! The kids went crazy for the cameras, with all of them wanting to take pictures of each other using every camera that we brought, and we brought a lot of cameras! Some of the kids did gymnastics while we clapped; others just wanted to sit in our laps. All the women had their hair "styled" by the kids, in many fun and interesting ways.
It is hard to put into the words the feeling of spending time with these kids; they have beautiful and loving souls. They eat up any attention you give them, and just want to be close. They want to hold your hand, sit in your lap, or just sit and talk with you! There were tears when it was time to leave--by the children and by some of us. They stole our hearts!!!!! We are all hoping there will be time before we leave to go and visit them again!
It is evening now, and we are back at the Lodge awaiting dinner, visiting, and excited to begin all our projects at the property in the morning!
No comments:
Post a Comment