Santa Got Broke!

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Today we started by sorting and getting bags ready to be delivered to the places here on the Hope of Life compound. We were trying to make sure they had items in them to match where they were going, and to make sure the girl bags had girl items and the boy bags had boy items. One of the boys on campus, Carlos, the son of one of the workers, remembered us right away, greeting Chrissy by name. When he came over to me he immediately asked about Austin. He also asked about Caleb, who has been with us from the FWC group for the past two summers. He was a big help in preparing the bags.

After we finished we went to Kelly's House, the special needs home to deliver the Hope sacks for the boys and girls there. We had to bring all the kids outside for pictures and to give them their bags. That included getting all of them in their wheelchairs and carried out. Only a couple of the children here could walk. Chalito also remembered me by name, and asked about Austin. Juan Diego had the sweetest little giggle when he saw Chrissy. Mama found a little girl, Maria, that looked just like Noelia a few years ago.

Next we went to the hospital to hand out bags. Imagine gathering all of those babies around a Christmas tree in the lobby! Thank goodness we had lots of help. We were paired up with another group of about 10 from Atlanta today. I got to hold a precious little baby girl named Dulce Milagros. I kept joking that she could fit perfectly fine in one of the sacks, and that could be my Christmas present. I tried to convince them that I knew from experience that babies really can fit into bags!

After we left the hospital we went to Cause Life Village to give toys to the boys and girls of the village. Chrissy and I gave the toys to the girls. They could choose from a tea set or a doll. The boys got a bus or a motorcycle set. The boys were having lots of fun rolling their buses down the slope of the church floor.

This afternoon began the big party for the orphanage kids, a few of the older kids from Kelly's house, and Maria Delmy and Yolanda from the hospital. All of the kids came down to the Rancho for an afternoon/evening of food, fun, games and presents. There was coloring, card making, 3 Pinatas, cookie decorating, the Christmas Story, Pollo Campero for dinner, and of course a present for every child there. I think a big part of their fun was finding a present under the giant tree with their own name on it! What fun they had trying to find their name. The party went on for 6 hours!! I spent a lot of my time with Cristina and her new famiy. Her new house parents are so sweet to her. She already loves both of them. Her dad's name is Enrique, and her mom's name is Sarah. When it was her turn to get her present she totally bypassed her present to begin with and ran right into Chrissy's arms for a big hug. (Chrissy was handing out presents, and the kids had been hugging the person who handed them their present after they received it.) I still spend a lot of time with the younger kids, especially Maribel. She still has that same infectious grin, and I know why Austin and Caleb want to bring her home! She makes it so easy to fall in love with her. Diego was thrilled with his gifts, even his new zapatos (shoes)! He was holding them up showing them to me saying "zapatos, zapatos". Chrissy fed Chalito a cookie and gave him pepsi to drink as he held my hand, so Juan Diego wanted to be pushed over to sit right between us. He wanted me to get him some pepsi too, so I gave him some. The expressions on his face were priceless. Both of these boys are special needs and in wheelchairs. They need help to eat and drink, but are smart mentally. They both love Chrissy! We all came back to the room exhausted and partied out. Partying with around 100 orphans for 6 hours makes one tired! It's off to deliver soccer nexts at Safe Haven Village tomorrow, then to go and feed at the dump. Tomorrow night we will eat Christmas Eve dinner at the orphanage.

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