Sunday's Playtime and Monday's Work

The past 48 hours brought two beautiful days - one nice quiet tourist day and one hard-working one! And, of course, both were just perfect.

We started Sunday with church service at Grupo Amor. We may not understand much of the sermon, but we sure love worshiping together!

Then we headed out to the country for a beautiful view and delicious lunch

Team photo!

And lastly the members of our team who haven't been to Hogar de Amor yet took an orphanage tour, complete with plenty of playtime.

And Monday was here before we knew it! Monday was our first full work day and like every work day at Hogar de Amor it included both time with the kids doing activities together and time spent making the homes as attractive and functional as possible for the orphans and their caregivers.

Activity time is super fun because the kids love it (of course!), we love being with the kids (double of course!) and it gives the caregivers some time when we can take care of the kids and they can kick their feet up. It's a really special way that we can bless these amazing caregivers who work so hard with a little time to relax.

The sports station made good use of the parachute today

In crafts the kids made nametags that they'll (hopefully) wear all week so we remember each child's name

And in games they made candy towers...

...and everybody had a great time with the Chicken Dance!

Stephen gave his transfixed crowd a short yo-yo exhibition

And then it was time to get to work! We have several projects that we hope to finish this week. We'll paint, we'll sew, we'll mend some (literal) fences, and we'll do whatever the houseparents want to make these houses even more lovely and functional.

Painting time!

This year's sewing projects started with transforming flat sheets into fitted sheets

This year we have the pleasure of working at a home we haven't visited before in the neighboring town of Esperanza. Esperanza is home to 11 kids and they have a problem - believe it or not, armadillos keep coming under the fence and entering the yard!

So we are working to lower and secure the fence and keep it armadillo-proof. And we're also hoping to see an armadillo in the process.

Check out the view from Esparanza - wow!

Working on the fence

Tonight we went to one of our favorite taquerias. There's a park by the taqueria, so while our food was cooking the kids took a ride on one of our favorite park features. We call it the Death Swing. We do not believe that anybody has yet died on the swing but it's only a matter of time.

And now we're hitting the hay with full hearts, happy tummies, and very tired bodies!

Please join us in prayer for the rest of the week - your prayers mean so much to us and we believe they are powerful and effective!

• We would dearly love to get all of the projects we're working on done this week. It's a lot - please pray that project planning and logistics go smoothly, that supplies are plentiful, and that projects don't get blocked or delayed so that we can make the most of our time here.
• Please continue to pray for the health of each team member. Pray that our bodies would be strong, our sleep deep, and that we can give our very best work for Hogar de Amor.
• The team has been working so hard and pitching in on every task. Please pray that this spirit of sacrifice and teamwork would continue and that each team member would give his best for the Lord, for the team, and for the kids and caregivers of Hogar de Amor.