Saturday

Hola Amigos y Familia!
This morning we got up and headed to the church for a program practice (Yesterday's was a little rough). Craig, Ben, Efrain, and I spent about 40 minutes going over our story, learning to be more animated and enthusiastic. We practiced a few songs, then boarded the bus for the orphanage.

Some of you may remember me talking about a girl named Maria last year. She was 13, and had a 3 month old baby. As soon as we got to the orphanage, she found me and hugged me and told me that she remembered when I was there last year.

My mom found her "Peruvian daughter" Patricia, whom we have seen every year. She was very happy to see us, and kept saying "Mi Americana Mami, y mi hermana americana!" It was a very emotional reunion, and an emotional parting as well.

Our program went very well at the orphange. We acted out the creation story as well as telling it, running around like birds and fishes, and making animal noises. The kids loved it. Our songs were better, and the puppet show was HILARIOUS. We gave ice cream to the kids, and airplanes to the boys. We had hair things for the girls, and candy for everyone. They were all very happy.

The orphanage is such a hard experience, but so rewarding. These children remember us year after year. Maria did not let go of my waist for literally 20 minutes. Leaving is hard, because we don't know what will happen to these kids.

We had lunch at the church, then went back to the house for a siesta. After that, we went back to the church. The guys worked construction, and the ladies talked with Monica and Betsi, our translators. It's amazing to hear these ladies talk about their ministry. Betsi and I walked down to a few shops together, and just talked and laughed. These experiences... building relationships, making friends... they are so precious to us.

Now we're leaving for dinner at Los Rosales, one of our favorite Peruvian restaurants.
Thank you for your prayers.
We love you.