Friday, January 25, 2013

Birthday Party!!

Today was a little chilly....... but we had fun inside!!

The highlight of today was the birthday party!! They have a party once a month for all of the birthdays in that month, and since there is only one February birthday they did that too! So we celebrated 5 birthdays today! It was so much fun, and so special for the children!
They had it all decorated!!

They brought all the babies down, and sponsors that live close by, came and joined the fun!!

The children were all dressed up!!

Bubbles!!


 The sweet little birthday girl!!



 A few of us had a baby strapped to us!!

 Another birthday girl, and a birthday boy!!

The little girls were all so pretty in their dresses!! It was definitely very special for them!

I love this little guy!

I love watching all the children interact!!

 This little girl is such a sweetheart!




Their faces were so cute!!

I love this one!!

Today was a wonderful day, but it was a long and exhausting day!! So I'm very glad to be heading to bed! It had a few challenges, but I am resting in the fact that, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.



Another day in Ecuador.....

Our morning view.......

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
My love be with you in Christ Jesus. Amen. 
1 Corinthians 16:21-24

The word "Anathema" means "cursed,"  and the word "Maranatha" means "the Lord is coming." So if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed upon the Lord's coming. I found this closing from Paul, pretty interesting! He was blessing those that loved His Lord, and cursing those that didn't, not now, but when God's grace for them had ended. But praying Gods grace would be upon them!

This morning the tias asked us to come a little earlier to help with Neb treatments as they have more right now, since quite a few of the children have been sick, which we were very happy to do!

This little guy does so well!

So about mid morning we took the two little brothers from the baby house to visit their sister at the toddler house, and it was so special! She was so excited running back and forth between them kissing them and giving toys to play with. It was amazing how much she looked after them and she is only three! How much they all have been through!
This is her with her littlest brother..

Then we went on a walk and played down at the bottom of the orphanage lot, the house below is actually rented out. It is just beautiful, like a little oasis!! Of course I came from Wisconsin!!
They look after each other in such a special way!

Heading on down the lane....







We found dandelions and flowers to play with in January!!




This little girl is such a doll!

The little family......

Her love for her little brothers is amazing!

They enjoy every moment they have together!!


It seems that all ages love my hair!!

For lunch we went and got some authentic Ecuadorian food.........it was actually very good!! They heaped our plates so full!! Mine had a sweet flavor, with fried potatoes, cheese, lettuce, tomato  and some meat, and no, I didn't ask what kind! I just enjoyed it! :)

So then we did some grocery shopping, so we can start our cooking adventure...... :)


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Day 7......


THIS MORNING I CAME ACROSS THIS BLOG POST.....

TREVIN WAX|3:47 AM CT

If Days Could Speak (January 22, 1973)

What if every day of the year could speak? What would the message of each day bring?
I wonder.
Do the days soak up the joy of weddings, births, and victories that take place during their hours?
Do they bend and bow under the weight of heaviness, weeping over deaths, losses, and tragedies?
Does September shudder every time the 11th rolls by, as it recalls the horror of human carnage and the blood that now stains the beginning of fall?
Will December 14th forever strain under the weight of sadness, remembering the children gunned down in the innocence of youth?
There are days that remain with us, carving out a space in the calendar, forcing us to rethink life in terms of before and after.
And then there are days whose sadness spreads. Quiet events that bring monumental changes. Effects felt not on the first day, but on the second, the third, the hundredth, the thousandth.
More than fourteen thousand days have passed since a quiet winter day in January, when the rights of an entire class of human beings were denied with a stroke of a pen, when the most powerful nation in the world determined to withhold protection from its most defenseless.
If January 22 could speak, what would it say?

To read the rest click here

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Today was a little different, we went to a state orphanage (not sure if that is the technical name for it) it was actually a lot better than we were prepared for! The verse that continually popped into my head as we were working was........

The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

There was so much we could do! They have tons of donations but they don't have the time to sort them and set them up to put them to good use! I was so amazed by the amount of donations, it was so wonderful to see how God is providing for these precious children! But yet, there is so much yet to do! We put all new sheets, blanket, pillows and liners on the beds, new towels and blankets on the shelves. The entire time as we were working I was praying for the children and imagining their faces when they seen their beds, and I was not disappointed! When some of the children came home from school, their faces lit up like light bulbs!! They were so excited!! One little boy started talking to me in Spanish, so I told him, I didn't speak Spanish, but asked him to tell what was on the blankets in Spanish, so the little boy, proceeded to teach me. One little boy walked right up to me and gave me a huge hug, without saying a word. I was able to put my "amazing" carpentry skills to good use, by helping set up a crib. So we started out with a hand screw driver, but them the security guard (we are pretty good at making friends with security people :) came by and did the screwing for us! YAH He wasn't one that you would probably put into the macho man category, but he was definitely in our eyes! It was amazing to see him helping around the orphanage  he wasn't above doing anything. You could just see how happy everyone was that we were there and they were getting some of the help they needed. 
I left but those little ones and their needs are imprinted in my heart and mind.......

This evening back at For His Children, we had an amazing evening at Casa Vaughn (the baby house)!! We are really getting to know the the tias and their routines, Natasha our amazing translator, is so wonderful about asking all my questions for me! We were asking how to make a few of the foods we have seen them making, so with their instructions we are going to give them a try! We stayed and helped them put all the baby's to bed, we had such a fun time with them! and I'm pretty sure we gave them something to laugh and talk about for the rest of the night! :) I'm so thankful to have someone to translate, otherwise I wouldn't be able to be so snoopy, but you don't land in Ecuador everyday, so I have to find out as much about them and their culture as I can!!

High Altitude.... It seemed like no big deal, until I started trying to cook a few things! The first thing I tried to do was boil bean, I couldn't believe how much time it took and how much water! But now I have been looking into it a little so the adventure begins....my rice today, actually turned out very well to my surprise!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Rejoicing in His Children



“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Romans 12:15

This morning was a busy morning! After breakfast I was playing with the toddlers and they kept picking on our new little boy. He gave it right back! but I was so amazed that even these little ones pick on the "new" or "different" one. They got a new toy, and everyone was fighting over it! It was so insane, I have never seen anything like it! In a room with 5 toddlers, walking/crawling/chasing after this little car and bulldozing anything or anyone in the way! 

A very special highlight to my day was one of the little boys that doesn't smile much, was in such a happy mood, laughing and smiling, it was really special! One other thing that was really neat, was seeing how much the tias started trusting us, and having us do different things and being more independent with the children! They are very cautious, but they have a lot of volunteers coming and going so I don't blame them at all! I am getting better at figuring out a few different phrases and knowing what they are asking, so that is defiantly a huge blessing!!

Natasha, went to a doctors appointment with one of the tias, so I stayed behind and it was neat to see how they were having me work with some of the volunteers and helping them! yah so I'm not the rookie! ;)

I met a volunteer from Switzerland!, its been so neat meeting people from all over the world!

It was a very full morning! I spent 5 hours with the toddlers and baby's, but it was such a blessing!

This afternoon we headed to Casa Harlow (2-8 yrs. old) I met the new little girl, who absolutely loved my camera! I don't think she knew what one was. I showed her the picture and she started talking to it.



Snack Time

 
This amazing little 8 yr old loves to braid hair! I got in on it a little later...I was feeling so special!


This little guy, claimed me when we were outside! He pulled me around by my pinkie, and showed me all the sights! :) O yes, and I pushed him all around on the tractor!



They were loving the monkey bars......

and the trampoline!

This was the first evening I spent with the older children, it was a little harder since language is a little more important, but it was very special anyway! They are so accepting, they love to hold your hand, and I had three piled on my lap, reading....of course in English, but they didn't mind at all!

I am so amazed by how small and behind developmentally some of the children are, from malnourishment, environment, special needs and other factors, but how much of this can change, by love, a family, and knowing that God has created them and loves them! These children are so special!