Fish and Bread

There is a group that is visiting from Colorado. They are here on a short term missions trip and are staying at the orphanage. They were here last year too, so it is great to see them again. It is cool to see groups that come back every year. A lot of these people have known the kids since they were just babies.
Today the group did some different activities with the kids. They told the story of Jesus feeding the 5 thousand. The kids made a really cute project where they put tissue paper in a plastic cut out of a fish. Then they weaved together paper to make the basket where the fish were placed.

In church on Sunday we were asked to pray for one of the members' nephew. He is 24 years old and he was shot while trying to protect the president last Thursday night. I would ask that you would pray for him too as he is in the hospital and has to undergo many surgeries.

Very soon three of the children from here will be adopted. Over the past few months many children have been adopted from here in Ecuador as well as in the United States. We also have some new children who have joined the orphanage. Below is one of the newer members. His name is Michael.

The Week in Review

Wow, where to begin? It's been a crazy week. As many of you heard, Ecuador had a police strike yesterday in the entire country. There was also an attempt to run out the president, made by the police. It was a crazy day as many places were robbed and violence broke out since there was no police force. I live in Quito, but thankfully the orphanage did not have any issues yesterday. Today, things seem to have calmed down.
Also this week, my house was struck by lightning. It is rainy season here and every afternoon there is a pretty intense rain storm. On Tuesday, it was a particularly bad storm and that is when the lightning struck. So high adventure here! No damage to the house except for the internet modem thingy being burned out. So no internet for the past few days.
I have been really bad about taking pictures and I am going to attempt to be better at that. This past week has been a good week with the kids. I am helping with the special needs kids in the therapy pool once a week, and this has been really fun. They are awesome kids and love the water! Bubbles in the water are a big hit. I've also continued with the cooking classes that we were doing last year. We've already made and ate ants, butterflies, and today kiwi faces. Here are some pictures of the kids imitating the face that they made on the kiwis.

And we're back

I have returned back to Ecuador after spending about 3 months back in the States. My time home was great! I was able to do a lot of traveling and got to catch up with friends and family. In July, I decided to come back to Ecuador for another year. This year my focus is a little different. I am not teaching English and I am living in a different part of the city. I wanted to gain experience on more of the administrative level, learning how an orphanage is run. I am still working as a volunteer and a lot of the activities that I did last year, I am continuing to do. However, I am also getting to spend some time in the office and interact with the social worker and psychologist.
When I arrived, I met with some of the staff to figure out what my schedule would look like. One of the areas that I am focusing on is language development with some of the toddlers. I am also tutoring for some children who will be adopted next month. They will be living in Italy, so among other subjects, I am teaching them Italian. I learn the words about five minutes before I teach them. We should all be fluent in no time.
Last week I returned to the orphanage where I lived last year to visit with the kids. About 2 minutes into the visit, the kids pulled me behind one of the houses to show me how they were killing ducks! One of the teenagers was just standing there, nonchalantly chatting with a duck head in his hand. I was then served a delicious duck lunch.
It's great to be back in this beautiful country. I love all the new experiences I am having and will be able to have. I am excited to be able to spend another year here, working with an amazing organization. Thank you for all of your prayers!

You can see this volcano from the orphanage


Working on numbers

Time to Say Goodbye

Well over the past few weeks, things have been coming to an end. I've done my last fieldtrips with the kids, had a big bonfire with the teenagers, had my last day of teaching, went to the jungle, and have had some goodbye parties.

I went to the jungle, to visit an orphanage and school there. They were learning about insects, so we went out into the jungle and caught insects that I've never seen in my life before. In this town, they also have wild monkeys, that swing from the trees. They are quite mischievious and will try to steal whatever you have on you.

On Mother's Day, I was invited to one of the teachers houses where we ate guinea pig again. Nothing celebrates mothers, like eating a rodent.

Yesterday at the orphanage, they threw a goodbye party complete with a mariachi band. It was quite entertaining! I will be leaving the orphanage on Monday and then I will be traveling to Peru and Argentina for a few weeks before returning to the States. I have made many good friends, and have been shown much kindness from Ecuadorians. I have learned many lessons and have been given so much love from the kids here. This year has been an amazing experience and I feel very blessed that I was given the opportunity to come down to Ecuador.

At the bonfire

Dancing to the mariachi band at the goodbye party

Milestones

Today marks 8 years that I am cancer free! Thank you to all who have prayed for me and all those who have been there for me over these past 8 years. I thank God that I am healthy and that I am able to be where I am today.
I will be leaving the orphanage in one week, with a mixture of emotions. I am very excited to be going home for the summer and seeing family, but I will be sad to leave as well.
I will be posting many pictures from the last couple weeks in the next few days.
Also Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

Busy Weekend

Well this weekend started with a 15 year old birthday party here. This is the most important birthday for girls in Hispanic culture because it signifies becoming a lady. The party was supposed to start at 6:00 and true to Ecuadorian culture it began around 7:30. We played games, ate food, and took a lot of pictures. Then on Saturday a group of my 10th grade students went on a hike to some waterfalls. It was beautiful! The water was absolutely freezing though. You could jump into the river and walk behind the waterfall. We had a really great time. Saturday afternoon was spent doing some cloud watching with a 10 year old boy. We just laid out on a blanket and checked out the clouds - very relaxing! He was quite creative in the shapes he could make out of the clouds. Then Sunday was spent with kids from the other orphanage. We went to go to Snow White performed by the Ecuadorian National Ballet. It was a great presentation despite having to keep them occupied until the play started. Today after teaching, I was ready for a nap.

La Quinceanera and her sister



The hike to the waterfall




I believe this one was Aladdin's lamp



5/7 dwarfs

Shell weekend

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go visit Shell, a city in the Oriente of Ecuador. For those of you who have seen the movie End of the Spear, or who are familiar with the story of the Saint family, this is where they lived.
I went down to visit another orphanage which is run by an American lady. She takes in many special needs children raging from newborns to 13 and 14 year olds. The space was quite cramped and the kids loved the attention they got. My friend and I sang for about 3 hours. I pulled out all the kids songs with actions I think I ever learned. I must say it was a little chaotic! They have just started a school on site - it is very small! All of the subjects though are taught in English so the older kids are fluent in English.
I really loved the town. It is closer to the jungle so it has a totally different feel than Quito. I would love to go back and visit this orphanage as they are expanding their space and making some different improvements.

The Nick Saint House


In the midst of some sort of game