Mi primer dia en los orfanatos

My first day in the orphanages is over! It was very exhausting, but went by very quickly because I was enjoying it so much. My morning shift was in OSSO, in the Esparanza house. It was different than I expected, but absolutely amazing. The Esparanza house is home to Diana, Martin, Christian, Vanessa, Lucy, and Edison. They all are in wheelchairs, and besides Christian, they cannot speak or feed themsleves. When we first arrived, we dressed them, fed them, and brushed their teeth. Then we took them outside into the courtyard and did crafts with the other group their age- Malagros. The Esparanza house has children with physical and mental disabilities and Malagros is more just physical disabilities. The age range in Esparanza is about 7 to 10, except for Diana. Diana is 19 years old and up until two years ago, she was in the all girls orphanage that we work in. Two years ago she came down with Multiple Sclerosis and has been going down hill since then. Her condition will eventually cause her to not be able to swallow. The Ecuadorian government will not give her a feeding tube because she is over 18 and therefore is legally accountable. They say that she herself has to give consent to have a feeding tube if she wants one, but Diana is not able to speak, so she only has 2 to 4 years left to live. The first time I met her, she held my hand and said the only understandable phrase she can say, "I love you." I met and spent a lot of time with the Malagros kids as well- Brian, Martin, Blanca, Laura and Jorge. Martin is such a smart kid, but he can't speak clearly and has almost no control over his body. I sat with him and did crafts with him, he pointed to what he wanted me to do, and what color he wanted me to use and where, and I did it for him. It was perfectly symmetrical and the colors matched. Laura was very excited that I had a camera and pointed to it, so I had one of the other volunteers take our picture. Laura grabbed my neck in a huge hug and kept kissing my cheek. These children are so loving and perfect. As I sat with each of the different children, it hit me how much they are influencing my life. I believe that they were all such perfect spirits that they were just sent here to obtain a body and not have to be tried by temptation. I realize that they need me and the other volunteers to help maintain their lives, but my life is being so enriched just by being with them for 5 minutes. My second shift of the day was in Cunas, with the toddlers. The children there are Anna Lou, Anna Kris, Javier ("Javi"), JoJo, Sophie, David, Erica, and Camilla. We played with them in the Sala for most of the time and then fed them, and brushed their teeth- they love this and scream "zapillas! zapillas!"(toothbrush) when it is time. Then we changed them and got them ready for bed, played with them a little longer, and put them in their cunas with bottles- at 6 pm! They can't say my name, and David started calling me Lanita, so now all the children I work with call me that. I love these children so much and would take them all home with me if I could. Little Anna Lou is the most well behaved child I have ever come across. Any time the other children would get worked up and I would tell them "Suave"- to be soft/gentle with eachother, Anna Lou would go over to the kids that weren't listening and say, "Escuche a Lanita!" , or "Escuche a Mama!!" The work here is very hard and draining, but there is nowhere else I would rather be. After shifts, we came home and made dinner, then had an activity with all the girls in the house. These girls have become my best friends and it is so nice to be living, working, and hanging out with girls that have the highest standards and the same desire to serve that I have. We spend at the very least an hour each night talking about "our kids" and just laugh and cry at all the experiences we all have.

Today is Sunday, and I am just back from church. I worked my morning shift in Casas, it is in the same place as Cunas, but is for older toddlers. The children there are Dominica, Natalia, Santiago ("Santi"), Dylan, Andre, Junior, Victor, and Raul. They were a little more challenging because they always want to do things by themselves ("Solo!") At one point, the other volunteer with me was out in el parque(little park area) with the older boys and I had all the younger children with me. I brought out a book, and every single child ran over to my lap and fought for a place to sit to read with me. That was my piece of heaven for the day. After that shift, we went to church (all en Espanol) and I enjoyed listening for any sentences I could understand. Then we took a taxi home and ate lunch as a group. I have an "Off" today, which just means I have one of my shifts off. -we get two off a week- So me and the 3 others that have their offs will prepare dinner for the other girls!

Les amo! Lanita