Day 5! One of the most FUN days.

Thursday was one of the most FUN days that I had on the trip. We went to San Martin. It is a special needs home for adults. At first, while they were in their rooms, I got a little sad and maybe a little grossed out. They are just like kids but in grown up bodies. I had to train my brain to think of them as children. We toured the whole place before we did anything else. This is the sad part. Seeing how they live day in and day out.

He liked my hair :) 

This is David aka "Wassupp" :) Play the video to see why! :)

He would repeat anything you said! :) He was so sweet. When I asked him how old he was, he told me that he was 2!!! I asked him again later just to see and he said 2 again! :) Poor thing thinks he is 2! :) It's kinda sad but you have to find the humor in it!

In there sewing class they were making these pretty things. On one side they would put a picture similar to this and on the other side they put a starfish and the word "Starfish". Of course the team bought all of them! :)

She was so proud of her shoes. :) 

After we finished the tour, we got to the really FUN part. Puppet shows and music! :) They had so much fun. And so did we!

Playing close attention! :)

Not sure they really knew what to do with the camera! :) haha

Here is a video! :) The boy in the black and yellow kept telling us his name was Michael Jackson! He even requested that we play Thriller! So, we did! :) It was a BLAST! If you listen closely you can hear Mr. Wassup say it again! :)

They also got to do the t-shirt craft! It was probably my favorite group to watch making their shirts. They tried SO hard and did their very best! :) It was sweet!!!

Take 1

Take 2! That's more like it!! :) haha. This was by HIS request that we take the second pic!

Sweet Mabel! :)

David aka Wassup! :) I think he knows what letter his name starts with! :)

After this we a few of us left San Martin and walked over to the Aids/HIV orphanage. I will do that in another post. While we were gone a couple of the men (Robb and Jody) played Boo-Boo doctors! They let them line up and show them boo-boos and Robb and Jody would put neosporin and band-aids on them! It absolutely made their day!!! :) Robb also told them that they needed "two pickles and a peach Nehi" to get all better! They of course had no clue what he was saying but it became a slogan for our trip! We even stopped on the way home from the airport to buy Peach Nehi's but they didn't have any! :(

When we came back to San Martin they all had their shirts on and we got to do a pinata! :) They were sooooooooo excited!

I just LOVE this picture. :) 

Is he not SO handsome?! I feel so bad for him. Rudy does not have any mental disabilities. His only problems are physical. He is miserable at San Martin. He says he doesn't have anyone to talk to and that no one cares for him. Kurt and Laura are working on getting him moved to somewhere else. Please pray for him. He told Jenny (one of our wonderful Jesus-loving translators) that he had tried to kill himself. We gave him a bible before we left. I pray that he reads it and feels God's love so THICK around him. 

I kept telling him how handsome he was. He just blushed! :) But don't you agree??

After San Martin, we went over to the squatter's camp. It is much similar to what we work in in Nicaragua. I will also put that in another post! This was a BUSY day!!! :)

Carlos Update!

Yesterday, Chris went to see Carlos and not only was his mother there, his dad was there, too. What a mess?! Chris said that his father was pretty ugly about the whole situation. Just to keep things calm they made them all leave. Chris didn't get to see Carlos long but noticed that he had a rash. They are guessing that his rash was from meds. They didn't seem too worried about it.

Day 4 of El Salvador! :)

On Wednesday, we worked with the Fuller Center. The Fuller Center is a lot like our Habitat for Humanity. They build new houses in 3 days.  In this particular community, the Fuller Center is building these houses because many were lost in mud slides! They are also opening up a daycare. The reason is that most of the parents in this community have to travel pretty far to work. This means that they are leaving their children home alone for hours on end. Building this daycare center will serve 2 purposes. Obviously one is childcare. The other is offering a few ladies in this community a job close to home. They asked us to come in and train these ladies how to run a daycare! Rachel, Laura, and Ryan did the job. :) They did a very good job, too. Even handed out certificates at the end of the day. :) While they were doing that, the rest of us played with the kids! It was a nice change to get just a few kids and give them some attention.

This sweet boy is only 10 years old and takes care of his little sister all day. He and  his brother walk for an extra hour each day before school to take her to an aunt's house! I hope this daycare changes things for them. Here he was changing her diaper. And did a darn good job!! :)

We put on our puppet show and gave out snacks. The kids were so good that we allowed them to do their own puppet show! They were so good! :)

This is good!! :) 

While we were playing with the kids, the men were helping plaster in one of the new houses! I'm glad someone worked hard that day. 

This is hardly work but I had to look like I was doing something! :) They are alot cuter to carry around than sticks!! :)

It was a pretty chill and relaxed day. We got to just hang out a lot and get to know our group a little better. :)

Carlos Day 4

Today my sweet Carlos was MUCH better! Hallelujah! I am so glad. Chris went in to see him and was thrilled at how well he was. He said he looked better than even the day we took him to the beach! :) It made my day!

Eyes are open and getting some smiles today! :)

Here is Chris giving some love to Carlos! :) I'm so glad he's there! 

Chris in his "batman suit" as he called it! :)

Carlos' mom showed up again today. She got permission from the judge to see him. It's a sticky situation but Chris says there is no way she can get him back. So, I'm not sure what her concern is now. I'm sure it is a tough situation all the way around. Please pray for the right things to happen and that will keep Carlos as safe as possible. I know his orphanage is not the best place in the world but I don't believe with his mom is either. I don't know if he knows it is her or not. I kinda hope he doesn't. That will be tough on him emotionally if she keeps coming around. :-/ So, pray for discernment on all accounts. She has permission for today and tomorrow. 

Now's it nap time. Sweet dreams. Dream of us on the beach! :)

Back to the trip details... :) Day 3 in El Salvador!

On Day 3 of our trip, which was Tuesday, we went to Cisna. Cisna is an all boys orphanage. Within the walls of Cisna, they go to school, sleep, eat, play, and have extra classes of art, etc. It is not a very pleasant place for the boys. A lot of the boys are wild. But they still all want LOVE. We had a really good day here at Cisna. I enjoyed it.

These boys have SO much talent.




We split the boys up and made their t-shirts while some listened to the story and others played soccer. Some boys just chose to hang out with us and get some attention. Which was fine by me! :)

Stanley, myself, and Luis :)

I think Luis is so handsome. I told Cassidy that he was pretty and then realized that he could speak English. :) He just blushed. So did I. :)

Many of these boys have very tough stories. They have lived on the streets. Been kicked out of their homes. Been left by their parents. Tried to join gangs. Been sexually molested and abused. Physically abused. You name it. They've seen much more than I could ever fathom.

This sweet boy, Douglas. He had lived on the streets with his brother, Jose (picture directly below) for 5 years after their mom left them to come to the States. I am pretty sure that I couldn't survive on the streets now at 24 much less as a kid!

They took a LOT of interest in their shirts! Douglas put the words "Mama" and "Papa" on this shirt. :( They may act rough but they still miss having a family. 

We had a lot of chance to just hang out and give these boys some attention and love. They crave it.  The top picture is of Douglas and me. The next one is Samuel. Samuel has been through a lot. I pray that he can always remember that God loves him. The Starfish Team and Kurt and working on getting Samuel moved back to another orphanage that would fit him better. He is pretty young for Cisna. Then there is Eddie. He was such a love bug. He would hug you and NOT let go. I wish I could have hugged him all day!The bottom is Wilbur. You had to be careful with him, he would snatch your camera. :)

This is Daniel. He and I became buddies. I gave him my friendship bracelet. He was a sweet kid. I wish I knew his story. I was sitting beside him while he was making his t-shirt. He moved my hair aside and looked at my name tag. Then on his shirt he wrote this: 

It says: "Merany mi amiga por sien pre" ("Merany is my friend forever") How sweet is that? I hope that every time he wears that shirt he is reminded of me and that I love him and pray for him. These boys, regardless of their age, want to be loved.

Here are a couple pics of their shirts. Some are very creative. They have a ton of talent!

We also had a cookout for the boys. :) We grilled hundreds of hotdogs. And when I say "we" of course I mean, Russ and George! :) These boys ate and ate and ate until they couldn't eat anymore. :)

Jose had just made it to Cisna a couple days before we got there. He did not have any shoes. I just happened to have a pair of flip-flops in my backpack for him. :) Is it sad that they fit?! He was 10!!! Oh well. He was happy. :)

 After the cookout we had planned on splitting up. Some of us painting faces and balloon animals. Some of us playing games. And some of us cleaning the bathrooms. Of course I hid behind a rock when they ask for volunteers to clean the bathrooms volunteered to clean bathrooms! Well, karma came around and another group of people came to play with the kids, so we ALL got to clean bathrooms! YAY! :) They were pretty nasty. 

No privacy whatsoever. No doors on toilet stalls or shower stalls. They are not made to clean anything. So, as  you can imagine... it was pretty bad. We oddly enjoyed cleaning these bathrooms. It was a time of service to these boys and a bonding time between our team. We also got a few good laughs out of it! :)

Look at that toilet!!!! They had said that a plumber was going to have to be called to get this toilet fixed but Jody, Laura, and Mike prayed over the plunger before they used it and it worked!!! hahaha. Oh, us of little faith!

This was AFTER the bathroom cleaning! My clothes were ruined. I am the messiest cleaner, EVER. :) That is why I buy clothes at Goodwill! :) We had a REALLY good day at Cisna. I hope those boys are still feeling the love that we gave to them that day.

Carlos Update :)

Chris just informed me that I need to update you on Carlos. Today, Chris went again to see him. They have worked with some attorneys and such and they have been granted permission to visit Carlos anytime and for however long they want. :) This is good news. The more love that he feels the faster he will recover. :)

Chris called this the A-Team! :) 

Carlos is still having a lot of congestion! Today, they cleaned out his lungs. I can imagine that Carlos was NOT happy about it. But I sure pray that it helped.

I wouldn't be, would you? 

He was also running a little bit of a fever today. They got it under control before Chris left him. In the middle of their visit there was a riot outside of the hospital! Crazy. 

They had to evacuate the hospital for a little while. But thankfully everything ended up ok. I guess. :-/

Chris says that all the nurses are just falling in love with him. He's a charmer for sure. :)

The doctors and nurses seem to be pretty happy with his improvement. Doctors say he is doing a lot better now....his only problem are his lungs and running fever, he has antibiotics and the nebulizer for the lungs. He is breathing on his own and can make eye contact and squeeze hands really good. :) I sure wish I was there for him to squeeze my hand! God has given me much peace about not being there with him. I still WANT to be with him but God has placed Chris and Lorena there with him. I'm there in spirit! God is still faithful. :)

He's waving Goodnight! :) Don't stop praying for him!!! And for Chris and Lorena. The doctors and nurses.

Also, Chris said Carlos had a roommate at the hospital and that sweet baby passed away this morning. I don't know the whole story but Chris said he was neglected. He's with his Heavenly Father now and being loved and adored.

Update on Carlos...

Chris went back to visit Carlos today. While there, Carlos' birth mom came. It  was a pretty big deal since she was an abusive parent. They weren't sure if she was going to be able to see him or not. Chris wasn't sure how he felt about it, either.

They did let her see him.

I can't seem to figure out why she would want to see him now, since she is part (if not most) of the reason he is where he is today. I struggle with my feelings towards her. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and think that she has had a change of heart. But I can't bear to think that she is going to hurt (physically or emotionally) Carlos again. I'm not sure if he is even aware that it's her. But anyway, Chris has found a nurse that will stay with Carlos so he won't be alone. She seems from her picture that she is really sweet and should take good care of our Carlos. Chris said it was love at first sight for the nurse when she saw Carlos! :) Praise God. I feel better now knowing that someone will be there to love on him. He has improved today. Praise God again! :) It's still tough to be here and not there but I am feeling better. God is faithful and I know He placed this nurse in Carlos' life to look after him. :) Thanks for the prayers but continue!

This is Carlos hanging on the Chris's hand yesterday! :( He didn't want to let go.

This is Carlos and his new nurse! :)