It is quiet here in LaPaz but it's not because the kids wanted to go to bed at 9:30pm. The pajama party with dancing and singing was the ultimate way to end what seemed to be one of the longest Sundays I can remember. We joke about "Honduras" time, but truly, this day was filled with so many sights, sounds and experiences that it is worth recording the highlights.
Waking up to roosters in the morning, breakfast with the kids and a devotion from John 10 about Jesus being the gate was how it started. Being Sunday, people from town were invited to come to church - some walked from as far away as seven miles! Sixty-five people attended but I can't tell you about the service. I heard it was a very traditional Lutheran service. I was helping entertain about twenty preschoolers so there mothers could worship. We read books in Spanish and played with play dough. Many of them were terribly thirsty from their journeys and so we gave them much needed water. It was amazing to me to see the creativity expressed in their dough creations when on appearance, they seemed uninterested or sad. The kids perked up when they knew they could get chewing gum as a prize.
Before noon most of us boarded the foundation's bus to travel to Siquatepeque - the town where Doris was born - for lunch and an outing. It took about an hour or so to get there, and we settled on a buffet style restaurant that was extremely nice and welcoming. Afterwards we drove to the town center and walked around for a bit. There were department stores and a flea market in the same city block.
Back at the orphanage we reconnected with the kids. We brought basketballs with us and that was a huge hit. Everyone seemed to get involved with the kids in some way or another. In preparation for a service project later in the week we packed 50 gallon bags with rice, spaghetti noodles, beans, flour, sugar, coffee and tomato sauce. These are going to unexpecting people nearby. It should be quite impactful.
After dinner we played some more with the kids but the highlight of the day came when Doris announced it was time for "pajamas" which meant a pj party was on. The kids danced together for hours to American and Spanish music. One of them fell asleep in my arms!
I want to record one of the highlights of my day. It was in a conversation I had with Naidee, the oldest of four children. We were looking through her Bible and in Spanish I asked her if she believed in Jesus. She replied that she did. I said to her that to me Jesus is everything. With a look of confidence she said that Jesus is everything to her too! There is no doubt that this place is a foundation of love.
