It is just starting to feel like Christmas here at Orphanage
Emmanuel! The container that is shipped from the United States arrived on
Wednesday- containing packages that many people have sent to the children. I
can’t wait to send you all a picture of what the tree and presents look like!
It took over 26 hours to organize the presents for all the children, label,
wrap and stack them under the tree. And it’s done!
This week has flown by for our family. We’ve had a pretty
bumpy few days there with my own kids adjusting, but these last few have gone
well. Guy has made a sweet friend named Kenzie. She is in the Little Girls
house, seven years old with a quick smile. She loves to play tag and chase and
climb on the monkey bars and this past week she and Guy have been inseparable
for all of the hours we are there. When
I shower the girls at night she loves to stand in the echoing space and make
quaking duck noises with her hands and
mouth for as loud and as long as she possibly can. Those of you that know Guy
can imagine that yes, she is a perfect friend match for him. They think the
other is hysterical and it is so FUN to see them become friends despite such
differences in life, language and culture.
Some things that are not so fun? Sending my kids to bed
hungry because they decided not to eat perfectly good orphanage food. : ( We attend every meal with the Little Girl
House, but don’t require our kids to eat every meal. One evening that we did,
it was on our menu plan- there was whining, while everyone else ate it right
up. So the option passed and Elena and the boys went to sleep with nothing in
their belly since 10 a.m. We all re-learned that hunger is very uncomfortable.
How blessed we are to have insane amounts and healthy varieties of food
available to us most of the time in America. Joey, Guy and Elena (and even me- the pickiest
one of all!) now eat what is in front of us. Even when we dislike it, which honestly, is
most of the time.
Joe is loving the woodshop, they work, talk, take a break
and eat bananas and cookies, teach/work some more… repeat. His Spanish is
surpassing mine (I tend to say the same phrases over and over – “Come here, How
are you today?, Where did you leave your sweatshirt?, Whose is this?, Please
speak more slowly…”). A local man works in the woodshop and told Joe he could
get him 40 bananas for one dollar. Tomorrow we are expecting 40 bananas- I’ll
let you know if anything got lost in translation/transaction.
I think that's about it for an update-
The mornings here are cold, the days are hot, and the nights
are cold again. Tonight I hugged Joey and Guy fresh from the shower, in clean
pajamas and realized that my children are starting to smell like beans and
Honduran Laundry detergent. In fact, they smell just like the children in Orphanage
Emmanuel at the end of the day,and that means fed and cleaned.
And in America or Honduras, it is really all children
need: to be fed, to be cleaned, to be
safe, to be loved.
And we are reminded again and again- it is the small simple
basics that hold up a life.
Love, Kate
Hi Kate, Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your days. I know I am not the only one reading. We missed you today at our Christmas Party. But you are in the right place!
ReplyDeleteMelissa stole the words from my keyboard! You were missed today at our Christmas Party. Your posts are so real, transparent and thought-provoking. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy days to share! We are praying for you…and thanks for the prayer card. My kids keep asking, "Who is that (pointing to your picture hanging on the wall)?" And I get to tell them about my awesome friend from CBS who's spending 3 months in Honduras with her family serving Jesus. Then last week at dinner, my daughter decided we should go to Africa to deliver our Operation Christmas Child boxes. =) You are an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to share, Kate; it's lovely hearing about life, as well as what we can be in prayer about for for y'all. Much love, girl!
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