overview of week 3

Week 3 in El Salvador was great. We definitely had a lot going on and the week went by supper fast. On Sunday, after church, we were able to help the boys in the transition home move to a bigger and better house, which it right upstairs from the mission house. We got them all moved it and helped them clean and put all their beds together, which was some what of a challenge. On Monday, I got to stay at Cipi, which is one of the orphanages, and do a bible study with all the classes. They had started talking about the 10 plagues that God had sent to Egypt the week before and I was able to continue the story this week. On Tuesday we were able to build another house for another family. We worked all day and was able to get it finished in one day. They were all extremely grateful, as every family is. On Wednesday, I got to spend all day with the babies again. Even though babies can be easy to take care of, they are also every exhausting to take care of. On Thursday, we had such a good time because we were able to take the special needs adults to pizza hut and the zoo. Boy, can they sure put down some pizza. The adults had such a great time looking at all the animals at the zoo and just being able to get out of their center for a few hours. We also had fun just being able to watch them and see their faces light up with excitement. Friday was a very special day because we were able to take 7 very special girls to the beach with us. These girls are in a very protected orphanage because of some very awful things that they have dealt with in the past. We had the best time getting to talk with them and just have fun with them. They were so excited and very appreciative to be there. Their laughs and smiles were some of the best sounds and sights to see. Some of the girls will age out of the system next year because of their age and it's sad because the government will send them back to the same environment in which they have been protected from all this time. Please say a special prayer for these girls. This week we also got to feed the homeless 3 times. One of the times was very hard for me because even though we had so many bags of food, we ran out and about 50 yards ahead of running out of food were all these kids and adults waiting for us, cheering because they could see the truck with all the gringos in the back, and they knew there was food. But yet, we had to speed on by them because we had run out right before getting to them. It was very hard for me to watch so I just closed my eyes as we sped on by. I prayed for all those people standing there, that they would sleep with full stomachs despite the fact of not getting and food from us. This week was very fun and exciting was also had some very sad times.

                                       how many people does it take to take off a faucet in El Salvador? 4

                                           This is the family's house before we built their new one

                                       
                                                 This is the new house for the family!
                                                  

                                                                    Selfie time

                                                      baby feeding time

                                                          baby lovin!

                                               this is the nurses room at one of the orphanages

                                               Special needs adults having fun at the zoo.

                                         We had to turn with our backs to the camera to keep the girls protected.

                                                         food for the homeless

Extreme Home Makeover El Salvador Edition!

We had a very successful and fun week 2. We went to a lot of different orphanages this week. While we were there we played and loved on the kids and did some crafts with them. But on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week was special because we got to built a house for a special family in need. Whenever we build houses, these families have pretty bad living conditions. Although, I didn't get to see exactly what their house looked like before we started building the new one, I have a feeling it was something like this: Old dirty mattresses that they used to sleep on the ground, and the four walls were probably made from old tin or tarp. They cook on an outside homemade stove and who knows how clean the water really is. This family has 6 kids and they were more than thankful to be getting a new house. The houses we build are nothing like the houses we are used to back home, but to them, its an extreme home makeover. The new house took us about 5 or 6 hours to build and on Wednesday we were able to decorate the inside. The house is a 20ft x 10ft house with a tin roof. There is no air condition but the house keeps them dry and safe. We were able to provide for them 3 sets of bunk beds with mattresses and sheets, a table and chairs, a rocker, many dishes and kitchen supplies, and some clothes. But more than that, we were able to share the love of Christ with them. After we were finished with everything, the family was so over joyed and thankful.
        After getting to build the house for the family, we were able to go feed the community. We provided the families with flour, sugar, beans, rice and a bible. We were also able to ask the family if there was anything specific they wanted us to pray for. One of the families that we came to, was only the mom and a young son. I'm not sure where the father was but when we got there, she started telling us that we were a blessing for her because the night before she had prayed that God would do something good for their family and then we showed up the next day. She told us we were an answered prayer. While we were talking to her, she began to cry. She asked us to pray for her older son because he would hit his girlfriend. They already have a child and the girlfriend is pregnant with another baby. As she was crying she told us that he would come and he was very disrespectful to her and his girlfriend and the mom was very afraid that the girlfriend and the child would be hurt. The mom had said she wished the boys dad was there to tell him not to do those things but the dad would not come around. We prayed for her and her sons along with the girlfriend and their two babies. Please pray for this family that God will protect them and they will be able to feel His love.

 

inside of the house

this is the family we built the house for

Princesses of the King

wow, I cant believe week 1 is already over. Despite me not feeling good for a few days, it was such an amazing week. Thanks for all the prayers from everyone this week. A team from California came and they were all so amazing. We spent half of the week getting ready for the quinceanera, which is a big birthday party for a girl who turns 15. We had the quinceanera for all the girls between the ages of 12-18 years old. The party was amazing! We had about 125 girls from all different orphanages. All the girls got to pick out their own dress, shoes, and jewelry, which they were able to keep, get their hair and makeup done, eyebrows waxed, and nails painted. All the girls looked like princesses and felt so loved. Each girl was called by name and escorted down the aisle by the handsome men of the group. As we all cheered for them as they walked down the aisle you could see all the smiles and could tell they looked and felt so beautiful, that they had hope and dreams that were cared for by so many. All the girls opened up as they got the dance all night on the dance floor. The place that held the party was so beautiful and these girls deserved every bit the party had to offer. I feel like this gave them all hope, that they matter, that they are loved and cared for. The whole group was amazing helping the girls feel that they are special. Even the guys were great. I enjoyed getting the watch some of the guys in the group help the girls pick out their jewelry. Even though they may have not known anything about girls jewelry, they still helped and never thought, "I'm too cool to do this." It was really amazing to watch. At the end of the night, all the girls were given a gift with all different kinds of stuff inside. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this next week.

just some of the shoes the girls got to pick from

nail time for some of the girls

one of the guy translators is getting to help this girl pick out some jewelry

dinner time

long term missionary girls

dance time!!

made it safe and sound

So I finally made it to the mission house last night after a long day. My plane landed in El Salvador at 8:30pm which was only 35 minutes later than it was suppose to land. So after getting off the plane and making my way through customs, which didn't take as long as I thought it would, I headed to claim my baggage. So I stood there for a while and finally one of my bags showed up. After standing there for about an hour, watching all the bags go round and round, I finally realized that my other bag probably wasn't coming. So I knew I needed to go through the line when peoples suitcases don't come so they can bring it to you when it does come. But I needed the address to where I was staying, which I didn't have. So after trying to talk to people who don't know English very well when I don't know Spanish very well, and try to explain to them that I need to go out and find my friend and ask them the address to where I am staying, so I can get my bag, I was finally able to get the address. So then I came back in and got in line and had to stand in it for another hour. So I was finally able to give them the address to where I was staying so they could bring me my bag. So even though my plane landed at 8:30 we didn't get to leave the airport till 11:15, which put us home around midnight and finally went to bed around 1am. The first night was a pretty restless night, despite the fact that I had some mosquitos or something feasting on my ankle all night, my nose was also all stopped up and I have a sore throat. I have been praying for my throat to feel better so please whoever will, pray for my throat and that we will have no sickness and for strength and rest. Thanks everyone for reading and for all your prayers.