Count it All Joy

Our day began after breakfast with heading over to the warehouse. As a group we loaded pre-cut walls, floors, and windows, cement blocks, and bags of gravel and sand onto a truck that we will bring to a village with us Tuesday and Wednesday to build a house. This was lots of lifting and the team definitely worked hard to get everything onto the truck.  

Next we headed over to one of my personal favorite places in the world, San Martin (center for disabled adults). We had a dance party, made slime, painted nails, ate snacks and broke a piñata with these sweet men and women. They enjoyed picking up and eating the candy or “las dulces.” They also absolutely loved the fake mustaches, hats, and sunglasses that we gifted them. Singing and dancing to the music is one of their favorite things to do, one even taught me how to salsa! Saying goodbye to this precious group was very hard and their excitement and joy will be missed.

We loaded up and headed to States Diner for lunch. We were all pretty hungry by this time, so the cheeseburgers and ice cream was very satisfying. Seeing States Diner again and the new bakery added was a reminder of the work God is doing through Sus Hijos, and was very encouraging. 

Next, we went over to Guirola. This is a center for special needs boys and girls. We gathered the children (not able to attend Day of the Child on Friday) in a large room, played music, gave out stuffed animals, and enjoyed showing them the love and care that they don’t often receive. Later on we got to help the “tias” feed the children dinner. This consisted of beans, cheese, bread, and eggs. Some children that struggled with mouth and tongue control took a long time to feed, whereas others downed their food in just a couple minutes!

It was then time to head back to the mission house to pack food for the homeless and eat supper. We ate what we later gave out to the homeless which consisted of hot dogs, chips, apples, and cookies. 

It’s been incredible to see God work through our team and through this day. There has been so much joy! Continue to pray that we will do God’s will, have the right words and actions, and impact these people in the most effective way.