A few pics

Just a few pictures from the past month...

2 weeks ago, the kids performed at Patti Sue's church. They sang several songs in Spanish & English. I'm still having trouble posting the videos on here, but I'll try to get one up! Jeniffer, in the back left-black dress, has been taking piano lessons, and this was at her recital. The other kids are a few of the missionary kids here in Shell.

Nicole working on some beads...

Gilmar LOVES to have everything in the perfect order! Isn't he beautiful?

Little Fernando continues to do great with all that goes on here! I love knowing he's here, and not in prison! Praise God....

Goodbye Hopewell, Welcome Manor Church!

I wish I had more time to write after each group has been here...but there's not much time in between! I'll try to do something for each group at the end of the summer.

Dwight and I got on the bus with our 2nd group- Hopewell Methodist from Georgia- on Monday at noon to head to Quito. The bus made it all the way to Quito before we had problems....which is a HUGE blessing! It was a bummer though, b/c the public tourist site at the Equator was closed by the time we got there. We dropped the group off at the airport, and then took a taxi to a missionary family's home to spend the night. The next morning we headed to the grocery store to buy $300 worth of food for the next group...raced home to make sandwiches for the bus...then raced to the airport to pick them up! I was so thankful the transition went well, too. The entire group arrived with all of their luggage, and we got on the bus and headed to Shell.

It was a very quick turn around, but things could ALWAYS be worse! We got this group to the Guesthouse last night at 8:15, and they were exhausted. They had been traveling from Pennsylvania for over 24 hours, so they were wiped out.

This group from Lancaster, PA is made up of 13 high school seniors, 3 adult leaders, and 2 teenagers from Quito serving as translators. We still have around 18 other people that are volunteering in some capacity at the orphanage, so there is a lot to be coordinated!

It really is awesome to be here as all of these people come and go. Everyone has a specific story, and we have been so encouraged through the relationships being built! Ideally, I would love to post a blog about each person on every trip, but there's just no way!

Please keep Rosa and Dolly in your prayers. Both of them just had surgery yesterday, and they're doing well now. They were both minor surgeries, but we're so thankful everything went well.

Also...please just be praying for the orphanage right now. We are in the middle of some legal issues with some past employees who are trying to get money. It's a complicated situation, but the current tia's are being so great about it. They are actually going to meet together this afternoon to figure out a way to keep the orphanage going with their current salaries.

Other than that.... summer is great! We have several young ladies here this summer who are working with the kids in the afternoon. We have it set up with rotating groups in stations, and the volunteers are doing a great job! We have limited resources, and they're just jumping in and making it work. I'm so thankful for all of them!

Enough for now....Sorry I don't have any pictures. :-) Hope you are all enjoying your summer breaks!

New Video

So....I'm just a little short (heavy sarcasm there) on time lately, so I thought I'd post this video really quickly. The groups and volunteers are coming in non-stop, but it's been great so far!



A lady who has a heart for Casa de Fe has created this video for a church to use for their VBS. She did it from a child's perspective, and I think it's great! I thought our nieces and nephews would enjoy it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZP2BwzAa4

Thank you, Sarah!

I've been meaning to do this blog for so long! Sarah (you know who you are) sent down a ton of little girl clothes and shoes. We finally got to go through them and give them to the kids, and I took pictures. A lot of the clothes were from Gymboree, and the girls look so precious!!! Here are just a few of them....

Little Sarita

Nila

One of the girl twins...hard to tell in this pic... :-)

Little Laura Rosa! :-)

Also, we were able to use 2 different shoes to give Grace more support than she had before. I thought you would like to see the pics of her, too!

Thank you so much for giving to these kids! Love you~ t

WOW

...The summer has DEFINITELY begun! I don't have any pictures to add at the moment....I can't believe I'm even stopping to type this! :-)

It began last Friday morning.- Dwight and I got on the 5:00 am bus and rode to Quito. We took a taxi from the last bus stop to a huge mall in Quito. It's always very surreal. This was a very high-end mall that reminded me of Northpark. (for those of you in Dallas) :-) It's always so strange to be back in that environment! Anyway...we had Burger King for lunch and Dunkin' Donuts for dessert. That made me VERY happy. I had a donut...and half of Dwight's. Yes, I'll say again, that he is the BEST husband EVER!!! It doesn't take much to make me happy.... Oh, speaking of that- I also found Miracle Whip in a store in that mall!!!! As far as what everyone has told me...Miracle Whip has never been available here before. You can only get Lite Mayo. I'm telling you....little things like this just make my day. - wait, make that month. ha!

Ok...So we had to run around and pick up things in Quito before the group arrived. Our first group for the summer was from Brookhaven, Mississippi (16 adults). They are actually Patti Sue's home church from before she left for the mission field. To say the least.... I LOVED THEM!!! It was like a piece of home had come to see us! Within five minutes of them arriving at the airport....I had picked out someone who reminded me of my Nani, and another guy who reminded me of Daddy! It just got better and better..... When we made it to the Guesthouse in Shell the next day, the first thing they did was make sweet tea. They stole my heart right then. :-)

We also picked up 4 of our individual summer volunteers at that same time, and we've had 2 more arrive this week! It has seriously been non-stop. The group left earlier today for Quito, and Patti Sue went with them. I've switched gears to get ready for Chantal's wedding shower on Sunday, and I can't wait! I've got to do some baking for a huge going-away party tomorrow night for a couple of missionary families that are leaving. We got an email this morning informing us that the electricity will be OFF from 6am to 6pm tomorrow. Fabulous. That's exactly what I needed...... At least the internet is back on after someone stole the national antennaes the other day. Only in Ecuador....

So, back to the group- they were just great. We really had a great time getting to know each of them. I'll have to follow up with some pictures whenever I get them. They were so eager to work and help in any way possible, and it was so awesome. Some of the ladies helped me tackle the HUGE amount of old clothes that have been stored away in order to sit and mildew. It is a daunting task that's just been hanging over my head, and they accomplished so much! I'm so thankful for their help!

The guys were busy at the construction site, and there is now running water! They hauled 4 large tanks to the top of the water tower, and they're all filled and working properly. Dwight was so excited to see this, so I'm hoping he'll do a blog. (FINALLY!)

2 of our ladies, Arta & Kali, did a VBS in the afternoons this week, and they're doing awesome! They'll be here for 2 more weeks, and they've got lots of fun things planned for the kids.

Matt is our new housemate for three weeks. :-) He's been here before, so he's just jumped right in. It's been fun getting to know him, and I'm so thankful to have guys around who love to spend time with the kids.

Meredith also arrived on the 29th, and we're lucky to have her for the whole summer. She has done an awesome job of getting the children involved outside in the afternoons. Every time I turn around she's helping in a different area. The other day she was kind of traumatized when she changed her first cloth diaper...(it was running down the legs...) Well, I had misunderstood- and it was her first diaper EVER. I can't imagine! What an awful first experience. Cloth diapers are touchy for anyone who's not used to them! She's a trooper.

We had 2 other girls arrive- Lisa and Sarah- who will also be here for the summer. They're going to be leading some different stations, focusing on education & arts/music/crafts. They're so excited to be here, and it's refreshing to have all of this energy and enthusiasm!

It's really amazing to see how God brings people from all over the U.S. to the orphanage. Every person has a different story about how they feel called to be here at this time. It is so encouraging to be surrounded by all of these people who are truly seeking God's will and FOLLOWING whenever He calls. If any of you who read this blog have toyed with the idea of coming....DO IT!!! This is such an awesome experience, and now is the perfect time. Don't worry about tip-toeing out of your comfort zone....just jump out of it. I guarantee God will open your eyes and show you something amazing!