Each
morning we have morning devotions on the roof. Today Jodi Ann came to visit. She has graduated the house and now lives in a
teen home at the age of 18. They are helping to educate her and help her get a
job. She was so happy to see people she knew from the trip last year.
In the morning I
organized donated shoes. They had so many and of course any girl loves shoes.
It was fun to see the darling little shoes in all sizes. We organized them in a
handy way by size. More often, they hand these shoes out to staff and community
kids.
Lunch was cheese or tuna sandwich and I do not eat tuna. The bread is so good thick and fluffy, but having it every meal does not seem like it would be good for the digestive
system. The past couple days there have been groups that come in for the day to
help. Basically they show up around 9, work a few hours, eat lunch, then
leave back to their all inclusive hotel on the beach. It is a little hard
knowing we are living here for 8 days and they come swooping in for a few
hours. At the same time, I think it is really nice that groups on vacation
consider giving to those in need and thinking of more than just themselves. One
group brought huge bags of donations. I think that is something to consider
when vacationing anywhere. Mark and the men moved gravel from the playground to
areas on the road where they spread it out. In the afternoon, our team wanted
to go for a game of soccer. A few of the boys when asked what they would like to
do most, requested soccer. Before we made the long trek up and down the
mountain, we made a slight detour to a little pop shack. These tiny 6’x6’ shack
sold pop and a few grocery items. To have pop was a luxury for the group. Some
got fruity pop, Jayden enjoyed pineapple pop. The walk was hilly and it was a
very hot day. The soccer field was a patch of grass at a school with as much
gravel as grass. Lou was most into showing off his moves playing soccer. We all
got into playing and some a little too much. Brittany ended up kicking her Dad
in the face, breaking his sunglasses, and putting a good size cut in his face. By
the end Bryon and Mark had broken glasses too. We walked back, we
were tired, hot, exhausted, and ready for a shower. Word was, the water supply
was dry, as in no water.
Lunch was cheese or tuna sandwich and I do not eat tuna. The bread is so good thick and fluffy, but having it every meal does not seem like it would be good for the digestive
system. The past couple days there have been groups that come in for the day to
help. Basically they show up around 9, work a few hours, eat lunch, then
leave back to their all inclusive hotel on the beach. It is a little hard
knowing we are living here for 8 days and they come swooping in for a few
hours. At the same time, I think it is really nice that groups on vacation
consider giving to those in need and thinking of more than just themselves. One
group brought huge bags of donations. I think that is something to consider
when vacationing anywhere. Mark and the men moved gravel from the playground to
areas on the road where they spread it out. In the afternoon, our team wanted
to go for a game of soccer. A few of the boys when asked what they would like to
do most, requested soccer. Before we made the long trek up and down the
mountain, we made a slight detour to a little pop shack. These tiny 6’x6’ shack
sold pop and a few grocery items. To have pop was a luxury for the group. Some
got fruity pop, Jayden enjoyed pineapple pop. The walk was hilly and it was a
very hot day. The soccer field was a patch of grass at a school with as much
gravel as grass. Lou was most into showing off his moves playing soccer. We all
got into playing and some a little too much. Brittany ended up kicking her Dad
in the face, breaking his sunglasses, and putting a good size cut in his face. By
the end Bryon and Mark had broken glasses too. We walked back, we
were tired, hot, exhausted, and ready for a shower. Word was, the water supply
was dry, as in no water.
Daily, the
children would take a dip in the pool. When the water was an issue this counted
as a bath. The kids on our team went for a swim quite often. One boy on our
team swam about 4 times each day. He was all about having a good time. The
little kids and babies were pretty fun to watch in the pool.
The rest of the afternoon, we secretly took each and every kid into the Jake House school room for a craft. We had each child make a craft for Katie and Vicki as a surprise for Christmas. It was so special and neat. The kids used hand prints in paint, decorated, and made a special thank you note. We had to carry the babies to the school room and did footprints for them. The crafts turned out adorable and the kids really took their time and enjoyed it. When the crafts dried, we assembled them into a book and presented them to Katie and Vicki. We also gave Katie and Vicki a very generous gift of cash we had all collected. It was around $400. We wanted for them to have a night away. They are there 24/7 and rarely ever get to leave. Their jobs are so exhausting and demanding. I commend them for what they do!
After supper our family had dishes duty. Mark dug right in and took to doing all the scrubbing and washing. The cooks left early, so a lot of pots and pans were left with food and a mess to clean. Raymian came up and asked if he could help. He is such a sweet boy always wanting to help. He told us he had never washed dishes until that night. Something was wrong with that picture. I really don't understand why the kids don't have jobs and chores to help out. Raymian was 7 years old a very handsome little boy. 
We enjoyed his help and talking to him. It was Christmas Eve and we were spending it doing dishes with a serving heart. Back home we would have finished a big meal, gone to candlelight Christmas service, and opened a heap of presents. After our dishes, we got in on some singing Christmas songs with the little kids and Mark read them the Christmas story.
We also took Raymian with us down to the Jake House where the kids got hot cocoa and listened to the Christmas story. When everyone was going to bed for the night, I sat up on the main house porch and took in the night sky .Most nights Mark would go on top of the roof for quiet time and see the bright stars. It almost felt like a scene out of a nativity. There was a very bright north star shining in the sky. There were palm trees and the silhouette of the orphanage looked like something you would see in a little town like Bethlehem.
After supper our family had dishes duty. Mark dug right in and took to doing all the scrubbing and washing. The cooks left early, so a lot of pots and pans were left with food and a mess to clean. Raymian came up and asked if he could help. He is such a sweet boy always wanting to help. He told us he had never washed dishes until that night. Something was wrong with that picture. I really don't understand why the kids don't have jobs and chores to help out. Raymian was 7 years old a very handsome little boy. 
We enjoyed his help and talking to him. It was Christmas Eve and we were spending it doing dishes with a serving heart. Back home we would have finished a big meal, gone to candlelight Christmas service, and opened a heap of presents. After our dishes, we got in on some singing Christmas songs with the little kids and Mark read them the Christmas story.
We also took Raymian with us down to the Jake House where the kids got hot cocoa and listened to the Christmas story. When everyone was going to bed for the night, I sat up on the main house porch and took in the night sky .Most nights Mark would go on top of the roof for quiet time and see the bright stars. It almost felt like a scene out of a nativity. There was a very bright north star shining in the sky. There were palm trees and the silhouette of the orphanage looked like something you would see in a little town like Bethlehem.
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