Monday - The Real Work Begins!

Today was our first day of direct work at Hogar de Amor and we hit the ground running!  We sanded, painted, sewed, crafted, sweated (a lot), and gave lots and lots of hugs. We had a great day and even got to eat lunch with the kids, which was especially cool.

The guys spent the day prepping 2 rooms of bunk beds for the teenage girls to be painted tomorrow and then painted most of the second floor of another house.  Way to go, guys!

Others of us worked on new curtains for 2 rooms in the sibling house.  We finished up 1 set of curtains for the girls' exterior windows and have a couple more days of sewing left to do.

It was fun hanging out with the kids while we worked in their common room.  They were pretty good sewing assistants!

First set of curtains done - 4 more sets to go

And we all participated in cleaning up the houses we were assigned to and organizing crafts, sports, and games time.  The kids loved working together with folks from our church on their nametags, especially when it meant they had another set of eyes to help find just the right bead or sticker.

Sports were a big hit.  It's amazing the number of activities you can organize with just a rope and a bunch of guys.  Jump rope and tug of war were big hits, especially when it was kids vs. adults!

And over at the games station, kids worked out their energy with some volleyball.  Lots of kids and lots of energy on that field!

We had a wonderful day serving and getting to know a whole lot of wonderful kids.

The next couple of days will carry similar routines - each day we'll do crafts, sports, and games and then spend the remainder of our time working in the orphanage buildings on sewing, painting, and repair projects.  Please join us in prayers for this trip:

• Several people in the group have been fighting tummy bugs - join us in prayer for each team member's body, that we would be well and strong and able to serve.
• Temperatures are still hot and humid and the kids in our group wilt pretty quickly after a jam-packed morning of sports and activities.  Pray for each of us to be able to withstand the heat. A break in the temperatures would be great as well.
• We want to be open to changing our planned activities to match the interests and pace of the kids here.  Please pray that we would quickly perceive any schedule or activity changes that would fit the kids better.
• Pray that the work we undertake would be useful to the orphanage and well-suited to our abilities.  Pray that there would be just the right amount of work to keep everybody busy and nobody overwhelmed.
• Pray that we would be able to connect with the kids and share the love of Christ with each one in our words and actions.