DAY 3
Monday, March 4

Today was filled with laughter, tears, hugs, and friendship. We started our day with 7:00 am devotionals in the courtyard with all the children, Claudia, Gladys, Margo, the dental team, and a service team from Toronto. The early morning was unseasonably chilly. Short-sleeved cotton shirts were not enough to keep the children warm. Sweatshirts magically appeared for everyone. Together we prayed, gave thanks for our time together, and honored the gifts we had to share.

Then breakfast. Pancakes, honey, orange juice and of course coffee! After breakfast Claudia came to speak with us. She told us heart-wrenching stories about several of the new children who had just arrived in January. A few of the new boys and girls were brought in to meet us as their pre-El Hogar stories were told. How on earth could children be exposed to such extreme poverty, physical abuse and neglect, and still greet us with a smile on their faces and hugs aplenty? As our tears flowed and stories unfolded we came to realize the pain, suffering, hope and joy that is the story of each El Hogar child.

Then on to Santa Lucia to the girls` new home. Raul took us on a hair-raising bus ride to this glorious place. Here we visited ailing Matt at his spacious home. He had the purple cast on his arm and a big boot on his foot. Still he greeted us graciously. Matt will fly to his U.S.A. home tomorrow to have a doctor examine his broken hand, foot, and lacerations. We wish him well.

We dug a garden and built a brick wall outside the girls` lovely dorm that overlooks a vaste expanse of fields, mountains, and vegetation. Some of us painted a dorm room, others planted vegetables outside Matt`s house. The day was warm and sunsplashed.  We had pizza at Matt`s house for lunch.

Back to El Hogar to shower and read. Laughter follows us wherever we go. So do the children. Hugs and smiles are ever-present. Here is a place where a heart can break with sorrow one minute and overflow with love the next.

Dinner time! Pasta and salad and the ubiquitous Coca-cola. Then playtime in the courtyard. Football, crafts, coloring, soccer, jewelry making, and tons of hugs. Then we met for our team end-of-day devotional at the volunteer house. We prayed, read scripture and poetry, highlighted our day, cried and laughed some more. We are tired and sore and blessed. We acknowledged, each in our own way, that we are here to share our gifts and ask for God´s guidance in all our works.

With God`s Grace,
Pam