Thursday, July 30, 2009 (Day 20):

When we got to the home today, we were greeted by some of the girls with their babies. The nursery workers were back from their holiday break, so it was nice to have them around. We thought we were going to be able to hang out with just the girls, but Isabella's mom came up and asked if I'd watch her for the day. That made me feel so special. Isabella is definitely my little buddy. I just love playing and hanging out with her. We also call her "Pelo" because of all of her hair. It's wild and crazy, but she is oh so cute!!! Isabella even fell asleep while I was holding her today. A few of us hung out with all of the babies while Julie told the story and the girls worked on their crafts. Julie finished the story of Esther and the girls made bracelets and earrings with beads. I wasn't really in the craft room at all today, but when I did walk in there briefly, I could tell the girls were really enjoying their activity. I can tell the moms love the fact that we watch their babies for them and give them a break. Just like when Juanita, Isabella's mom, walked up and immediately wanted us to take her. I know Juanita loves her child, but she is also 13 and wants to still be a little girl. I still can't fathom what these girls are going through. Each day when they look at their child, it is a reminder of what horrific event happened to them. It breaks my heart knowing that all these babies came from their mothers being raped. It finally ocurred to me why some of the mothers don't want to have anything to do with their kids. One, they are young teens and want to enjoy life like normal young teens and two, they are constantly reminded of an event that they would really like to forget. Don't get me wrong, some of the mothers are great mothers and really take care and love on their kids like most mothers do. To show the immaturity of some, I'll share an example from the other day. One of the little girls, Sandy, fell off her mother's bed that morning and bumped her head. The nurse at the home told her mom, Mary Cruz, to make sure Sandy did not sleep for two hours. Meredith was holding little Sandy during Mass and all of a sudden, Sandy went to sleep. Meredith started moving her around in an attempt to wake her up. She then got up and ran outside in a panic. Sandy's mom just sat there and started giggling. Later, when she realized that Meredith was really worried, she became worried. Today, Mary Cruz left her friend Flora to watch Sandy. Mary Cruz claims to have swine flu. Sadly, she really doesn't want to have anything to do with Sandy.

After lunch, we began painting their rooms. We painted two walls purple in each room and two walls pink. The rooms looked so much better and the girls loved them! They were so excited. Even the twin boys said, "muy bonita!" We sure did make a mess though! I got paint all over my hands and clothes! Tomorrow we are going to look for some curtains to hang in their rooms. Kelli saw a curtain shop just down the street from the home. The girls really want to hang out and watch a movie, so we are going to watch "Cheaper by the Dozen" and eat popcorn tomorrow afternoon!

Julie told us that after the girls gave their testimonies and she told the story, she began sharing the Gospel with them. She said four of them raised their hands saying they wanted to have a relationship with Christ!

I'm heading back to the States in a week!! I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support!

Blessings,
Dawn

P.S. Andrea, the girl I talked about the other day, has had a huge smile on her face the past two days!