We got mail!

Sneaky, sneaky (and delicious)!

Today we had the excitement of receiving a packet of letters for us.  It looks like the packet took only about a week to get from Jenison, Michigan,USA to Trujillo, Peru!! We received cards and letters from our Hillcrest post-high friends as well as from several other members of our church, Hillcrest CRC.  And clever Sally Dykstra snuck some PopRocks in with her card, which we enjoyed immensely!  Thank you!  So many of you asked us questions…hopefully we can blog you all some answers soon!  We have taped all of these cards to one of our living room walls, where we can read them as often as we’d like….especially when we’re feeling down or wondering if our work here really makes a difference.  

Don't worry, folks, there's plenty more room on the wall for more!

 And sometimes I do wonder.  Our work here is hard, and some days it’s REALLY hard.  When I’m told as I’m leaving my office for the day that I need to plan activities overnight for a group of kids for the next day, and that our washing machine flooded the floor, and that 14 kids need photos (lost among the 400 other photos on the memory card) printed NOW for their homework the next morning, and that I have 2 meetings tomorrow (times still TBD)…or maybe they’ll end up being Monday… that I need to prepare for, I feel the heavy, almost crushing weight of my work here.  Then I see the cards on our wall and feel all the love and support from our friends in the States.  I remember that even though I feel like I’m carrying the world on my shoulders, I really have the support of so many other people, and that makes the weight feel at least a little bit lighter. 

So thank you to everyone out there for sharing just a little bit of my load whether it be through prayer, encouraging words, or candy (Kristi, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of your package)!

In addition to the arrival of our packet of letters today, an excitement of the week was yesterday, when we celebrated the Month of the Bible (September) with Bible memory, Bible songs, and skits.  Each of the 4 casitas worked this month on these performances (with the help of some of our dedicated volunteers).  One of the highlights for me was the Tesoros house (littlest boys) belting out “Jesus Loves Me” in Spanish…and then in English.  I wish we had recorded it on video…it was one of my favorite moments so far at the orphanage.  The volunteers also banded together to put on a “skit.”  We decided to do it game-show style: “Which of the Ten Commandments are We Breaking?”  We acted out 10 different real-life examples of ways we sometimes break the ten commandments and had the kids guess which one it was.  They LOVED it, especially when Justin Bieber (aka David Busscher) sang his hit song “Baby” and was swarmed by screaming fans…can you guess which commandment that was?

The Amigos (older boys' casita) doing their skit of Daniel and Goliath

3 boys from the Tesoros house--Adorable!

Look at how much David loves his money :(

Ashley coveting my teddy bear

Justin Bieber being adored by his fans

 Oh, and just so you all know, I have the greatest husband EVER.  We’re in a foreign country, and he still manages to bring me flowers just to brighten up my day.  Who’s the luckiest girl in the world?  That’s right, it’s me.  -C

P.S. Bible month photo credit goes to Samantha Alday :)  Thank you!