Day 7
A week can feel like the blink of an eye. And it can feel like a lifetime.

Seven days ago we arrived at El Hogar and were greeted with open wide arms and hearts. Where else in life can you meet someone for the first time and be received with such complete, unconditional love? Relationships solidify here with a smile, a hug and wink. And you are bonded for life. It can take weeks, months, years to build trusting relationships. But at El Hogar love happens at warp speed.

Our last full day here was a busy one. Before breakfast stood with the children as the sun rose higher in the sky and listened to Claudia Castro congratulate Dormitory 4 for being a great example for the rest of the students.  Apparently, one boy had been causing problems, offending other students.  A teacher sat down with the kids and the boy apologized to his dormmates and asked their forgiveness.  And they all forgave him. Claudia held the boy - and his dormmates - up as models of how to live in community.  We offend, we forgive, we move on. The children erupted in applause.

After breakfast some of us observed in the classrooms, and others helped fit the younger students with new shoes. There are no words to describe the face of a 7 year old girl slipping her foot into brand new sparkly pink and white sneaker - maybe ther first pair of new shoes she has ever owned. Cinderella, over and over again. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky.  We ran out of shoes in the smallest sizes. But we have been assured, more shoes are coming.

By mid morning, we squeezed back into the van and headed out to shop in a small town called Valle de Angeles. Afterall, we felt it was our duty to contribute to the Honduran economy. We succeeded brillliantly! We came home with Honduran-made pottery, tiles, fabric, jewelry, leather goods and woodwork. After gathering our goods we enjoyed a nice lunch with the dental team and climbed back into the hot van. At several points during the day, we received emails or texts from home with details of the snowstorm, how many inches was accumulating, who was shoveling sidewalks, which schools were closed.  Meanwhile, we were enjoying the 80 degree sunshine!

Our last stop of the of the day took us to the girls school in Santa Lucia where we were able to add the finishing touch on our garden project.  When we visited the Technicial Institute, we purchased three colorful butterflies (mariposas) that the boys in the welding class had fashioned out of metal and painted in bright colors.  We attached the mariposas to the brick wall behind the garden where they now hover over the flowers.  They added a touch of whimsy to the garden. We couldn´t wait for the girls to see them!

Later that evening, the girls arrived at El Hogar and told us how surprised they were by the garden and the butterflies. The teachers and students organized a goodbye party full of music, dancing, laughter and tears. As the children sang us a song, their voices competed with the screeching of cicadas and the honking of horns on the street outside. But I don`t think anything could drown out those voices.  We felt enveloped by the love of these small children with enormous hearts, these children we have known all of our lives.  Or at least that´s how it felt in that moment. Hadn´t we always known them?  How else could we love them so much, so quickly? As the congo line wound its way through the courtyard joy bubbled up in all of us, as did a few tears.

It doesn´t feel like a week could possibly have slipped through our fingers. And yet it seems inconceivable that we only met these children a week ago.  Tomorrow will be a tough day. We know that the children of El Hogar are so loved. So very loved. And so very blessed. But boy, will it be hard to say goodbye.

Julie