When we came here only a few days ago, we came with a plan. That plan included teaching, or "preaching" publicly; what we didn't expect was the chance to go "house to house" - or "casa a casa".
Previous groups who have been to the orphanage have primarily used the school classrooms for for their activities with the children. Since the second floor of the school is still under construction, we had planned to use mostly outdoor areas. One of the wonderful surprise blessings has been the invitation to go into the casas to interact with the children.
Kathy, joined by different team members, has gone to 10 of the casas in the past two days to tell the "legend of the candy cane", sharing the salvation message through the symbolism in the candy cane. The children have had many, sometimes difficult, questions that have shown how much they are seeking hope and truth.
After the story was finished, each child received a candy cane:
Many other team members have had the chance to share with the kids in small groups. Always, the children are full of questions. Please pray that they will find the Truth - Jesus Christ.
We're all enjoying the time with the children, who are all hungry for individual attention and affection.
Lane spent some time with the little ones:
Josey has spent a lot of her time going from house to house, speaking with them in Spanish:
Another wonderful activity that has been going on all week is training for the teachers of the school. Lori and Carol spent some time early in the week talking with the teachers, affirming them and learning what their needs are. They then spent time training the teachers and showing them how to use the teaching tools that we brought with us.
We will be leaving the teachers with many new tools and skills to help them as they work with the children.
One of the favorite activities of the kids today was receiving temporary tattoos. It was one of our favorite activities as well because it gave us the chance to interact one on one with them. We had planned to use the tattoos as part of our Friday afternoon activities. Once again, God has shown us that when He allows a disruption in our plans, it is often to accomplish His purposes. Doing this activity today worked out so well with our planned craft; the children were able to come to a separate table a few at a time to receive their tattoo, while the others worked on their craft. Each child was touched physically by one of our team members. It was a very special thing to be a part of!
Even Brother Bruce came to the table for a tattoo:
Having six of our team members stay at the orphanage has been invaluable. They have had so many more opportunities to interact with the children and share with them about Jesus and His love for them. As we left this afternoon, Nancy was sitting on the soccer field surrounded by a group of girls:
Tomorrow will be our last day at the orphanage. The children have a fiesta planned for us in the afternoon, so we're all looking forward to that. What we are not looking forward to is saying goodbye. It will be very difficult to get on the bus and leave these precious children who we have come to love. Please pray that God will be in the center of everything we do tomorrow.
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