After a full day of travel and unpacking yesterday, We woke up this morning and enjoyed a breakfast of fresh fruit and fresh orange juice at our hotel in Antigua. After breakfast, we gathered with our team to begin separating our donations for were they were going to go. It was awesome to see suitcase after suitcase of donations being dumped out on the floor and then to begin to repack for the different locations.While the adults worked on the donations, Karter and his new friends ran and played all through the courtyard. Something we would never have let him do at home, but here it is the normal thing, plus we were just a few steps away in a room with an open door and windows to we could keep an eye on them. Then we went for a short walk to get a Coke to drink. Oddly, I think after being in China for two weeks, and now here, I am actually starting to like the foreign Coca Cola more than the U.S. version. I guess maybe I will just have to travel more and enjoy the flavors of the world.
After our walk, it was time to pack the bus and head to the orphanage. Today was very fun because we also planned a pizza party for the kids at the orphanage, so we stopped at Dominoes pizza on the way and picked up twenty pizzas and drinks for the kids. When we arrived at the orphanage, the children were very excited to see us. I think they got even more excited when they began to see us unload all of the pizzas and other things.It was amazing to get the privilege to serve pizza and drinks to the children and watch them enjoying every bite of it.
After lunch we began unpacking some of the fun items we brought for the children which included a volleyball net, several new volleyballs (which quickly became soccer balls), frisbees, and some new soccer balls. It was amazing to watch as the children began playing right along side out children like they had been friends forever. As I was standing there taking pictures and watching, one of our volunteers cam up to me with a little nine year old girl who specifically asked if I would go play soccer with her. I immediately quit what I was doing and got Karter to come play with us. We did not have a chance against her, but we had a great time playing and listening to her laugh as she schooled us over and over and over...
As we were playingI began to learn more about this little girl. I learned that she is not actually part of the orphanage, but part of a group of kids they have named kids on the wall. As I inquired more about the kids on the wall, my heart began to break even more for some of these children. You see, the kids on the wall are actually a group of kids that live next to the orphanage in houses that really don't hardly qualify to be called a house. It is basically a metal shed that is probably smaller than my garage. They have been named "the kids on the wall" because many times they will climb the security wall of the orphanage and watch the kids at the orphanage because the conditions inside the orphanage are so much better than what they have. I don't know about you, but that just slapped me in the face... We came here to help with children inside the orphanages because of the conditions they live in everyday, yet there are children that live right beside the orphanage that wish they could have the life of the children inside the wall. Sadly, that is the case all across this country and the needs are huge. Thankfully, Rosa (the lady who runs the orphanage) began to recognize these kids and began inviting them in to play and be involved with some of the activities that take place in the orphanage, and that is why this little girl was there. We had already decided that we wanted to make a difference for as many kids as possible so we had already asked Rosa to include all of these other children as well.
The more I found out, the more this little girl tugged at my heart. You see what I found out just before we left is that she is the little girl in the picture I saw months ago who had crocs on that were destroyed, yet she would not let them go because they were her only shoes. She is the girl who cried when someone gave her new crocs and threw her old ones over the wall so one of her friends could have a pair of shoes. She is the one that inspired my family to purchase 24 pairs of crocs to bring to Guatemala to help other children not have to go without shoes. So although this little girl may never know it, she has touched my life in a way I will never forget. Although she may not be able to change her world around her, her story for me, was the beginning of something I hope and pray will continue for years to come. She will always hold a special place in my heart and I am very glad I had the privilege to meet her.
And that is just day one! On day 2 we will get to go to an orphanage with smaller children and babies and then we will get to deliver bunk beds our team purchased for families with children who have never had a bed... I am so blessed to get to be a part of some incredible life altering events... I'm just not quite sure who gets more out of it, me or the children.
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