Spa Day - Latacunga

We had our annual spa day again a couple weeks ago. This year, we also brought the fun to the Tias in Latacunga (our other home which is 2 hours south of Quito).

There was a team of 7 people who spent 3 weeks volunteering in Latacunga during the month of January.  They are part of a mission called World Race---they travel to 11 countries in 11 months and get to partner with various projects around the world. Nobody on the team spoke Spanish and this was their first time in Ecuador. They were going the full immersion route. After dropping them off at the beginning of January, I went back down to Latacunga couple weeks later so that we could to the spa day. When I arrived, I walked into a room with 500 roses. They explained that they had wanted to buy some roses for the Tias so they went down the street to a greenhouse. This greenhouse only exports flowers and does not sell them. Well somehow (again with no Spanish) they ended up being able to purchase 500 for $30!

The Tias had a great time and it was fun getting to know the Tias in Latacunga on a deeper level. I honestly do not know that how they do the work they do. They embody Matthew 25:40 when Jesus says ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

A Wonderful Reunion

It’s been about five months since Jennifer was adopted. It’s rare that parents will bring their child back to the orphanage for a visit. I think a lot of times families are hesitant because they don’t know how the child will react. On the rare occasion that a young child comes back for a visit, they often cling to their parents and become very shy.

Well this past month, we’ve had an awesome volunteer from the States at the orphanage. She is the older sister of three adopted For His Children girls. She’s pretty amazing! Anyway, she made Jennifer’s baby book album (an album that each child gets when they are adopted). Before returning back to the States, she had asked if she could personally deliver the album to Jennifer and her family. So, the parents decided to come to FHC and bring Jennifer along.

When she got out of the car, I was there to greet the family. She was in her dad’s arms and was looking around a little unsure.  As soon as he put her down on the ground, she came running to me and gave me a hug---such a precious moment. I took the family into the baby house and Jennifer was right at home. She wanted to play with all the toys and check out what all the babies were doing. It was so great to see her happy and confident. It was crazy to see how much she had grown these past five months. She is now talking and even learning to count in English!

Her parents are so sweet and as I say with all of the adoptions – it’s amazing to see God place these children with their families.   

Look how big she is!

Having fun with some rings!

Jennifer with her dad