This morning, Sunday, we all woke up way earlier than necessary and was ready for church almost 3 hours before time to leave. Haha. Church was good, as always. I always love watching people serve and worship their Lord. Even if you can't understand what they're saying, you can tell by the look on their faces that they are thinking of Their Lord and worshipping His Name. It is always a beautiful sight. During Sunday school we did the story of Esther. She was an orphaned girl that grew up to be a queen and change the lives of all the Jews in her country. It is a powerful story that we all believe can impact these children.
After lunch at Pollo Campero we headed to CIPI. It is the government intake center and was especially packed today. There were lots of little boys that were all wild and wanting your attention!! It was chaotic but an amazing time. The teen moms and teen girls came out and joined the wild boys and it all turned wild and crazy!! But in a good way for sure. We did tattoos (temporary of course), jumped rope, water color painted, and did a lot of hanging out and holding babies.
There were a couple of girls that didn't get to join us because of issues they were having. One, sadly, was going through drug withdrawals and was shaking and having a really hard time. The other girl was having an anxiety attack. There is absolutely no telling what she has dealt with that triggered her anxiety. The girls had both received medication to help them calm down and the team prayed over the girls.
When it was time to leave, we got out the treat bags to give out to the kids. While doing that, we also called the Tia's (the caregivers) over and spent some time talking and encouraging them and asking for prayer requests from them. We also had some bags for them that contained jewelry and a small toiletry item. They really appreciated that we took time out to recognize them and pray over them. They have a very important job in taking care of all the children and go unnoticed most of the time. It was a special time.
So far we have had a great start to our trip! Continue to pray for us and all the people we will encounter!!
