Food for the Hungry

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 (Day 12):

Hola mi amigos!

Today was a pretty good day! It seemed kind of long, but it was good. This morning started off with a team member not feeling so hot. We called in the doctor and waited for him to come and check her out. After that, we left our member at the hotel to get some rest and took off for the market. We went to this huge market that was like a huge Sam's outside. We got so much food for the girls home today. We got about 40 kg of beans, two huge bags of rice, butter, cooking oil, 160 eggs, meat and surprise snacks for the girls. There are some things at this market that no one would ever see in America. Eggs just sitting out and fresh meat just hanging out in the open. We got the chicken from this little stand. The chickens were hanging by their feet. The entire body was there, minus the feathers. It was a little disturbing for us to see. We couldn't believe people were sitting there eating lunch by this stand. I guess if that is your culture, you are used to it. We watched as the ladies cleaned out the insides and chopped the chicken into pieces. Again, we all had to turn our heads. We are all very thankful that we don't see our food like that before we eat it all the time. Surprisingly, Kelli and I did have chicken tenders at TGIFridays tonight! After we gathered all the food, we headed off to the girls home. Once we got there, Mama Rita was in such shock that we brought so much food that she was pretty much speechless. It is great knowing that we are helping these girls out not only by providing them food, but also by showing them love and God's mercy and grace.

Since we spent most of the morning at the market, we had little time to work with the girls this afternoon. Our thoughts were that we'd rather provide them food than work on crafts. However, we were able to work on crafts and tell the story. The girls were split up again, older girls and younger girls. While Julie was outside translating the instructions for the crafts, I entertained the younger ones by playing the "Como se dice?" game. I would point to something and they would tell me what its name is in Spanish. Then Julie told the story of David and Goliath. The girls loved the story. They didn't even want to sing songs, they wanted the story. Then we switched and the older girls came in. They had been working on friendship bracelets. I had to give my testimony today and once I started talking, I noticed that all the girls stopped working on their bracelets and were listening intently. One girl asked me why I believed the Lord's peace or something to that affect. I read to them, or I should say Julie read to them, Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:6-7. As Julie would read them, she would constantly ask them questions about what she just read. She would also ask them questions about what I had just said. What an awesome teacher she is! Always checking for understanding :) The girls got both verses down pat! Once we finished with the story, we went outside with the younger girls and Sulay gave me a friendship bracelet she had made! By the end of this trip, I'm going to have an arm full of friendship bracelets!

One thing I have noticed about these girls is that they love to hug on you and to give you kisses on the cheek. I guess I thought that since they have experienced some sort of abuse that they would be leary to have someone near them and hugging on them. I'm thankful they like our loving affections towards them. When we arrive, all of their faces just light up! The run up and immediately starting hugging everyone. I can tell that they really enjoy having us there. I have a feeling Saturday is going to be a rough day when we leave.

Many thanks for your prayers and support!

In Him,
Dawn