The day starts early. We were awaken at 4:30 am to the sound of weed wackers and lawn mowers so no need to wait for the alarm clock. Then the team splits up and heads in small teams to the different houses of boys and girls for circile time. I am lucky enough to be on the team that gets to go to circle time with the Power Toddlers, which are active young boys ages from 4-6. They can be rowdy but they sure are sweet! Our lesson this morning was on the miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fish. After interacting with Rosa El Pez (the fish puppet for all our lessons that the kids adore), we shared the story about how God can provide abundantly from very little resources. Then the kids entertained us with a sweet song and then we said 'Adios' as they lined up for school and received granola bars and fish stickers to start their day.
Then I joined the 6:30 am Circle Time at the toddler/baby house for the young mothers and high schoolers who work there. My friend, Brenda, works there. She is a 16 year old high schooler and her job when she is not in school is to help take care of the toddlers. I love how God has brought Brenda and I together over the past 3 years. The first year I came I took her to the store with a group of girls from the big girls yard on my last day here. Last year I ran into her on my first day and we sat together at church. At that time, her job was to cook for the small girls house. I would go up everyday at 3:00 and help her in the kitchen and setting the table. This year I got to spend time with her at the toddler house and in the mornings in Circle Time. While our conversations in the past have been light hearted and fun, I found out that she is dealing with a lot of pain from her past that has brought her to the orphanage by participating in the circle time. This has allowed me opportunity to encourage her and pray for her. After a beautiful lesson on prayer, each person in the circle was planning to share. Unfortunately, I had made a promise to a 13 year old girl that I had sat with in church that I would take her to the store at 7 am so I had to leave before they started. I missed an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit as each girl opened their hearts and shared their struggles. There was not a dry eye in the circle and God's presence was felt in such a strong and powerful way!
While at the store, a random teenage girl came up and asked my friend for a some chips. Instead I bought the girl a bag of chips and a drink and my friend snapped a pic on my phone.
After a delicious breakfast of fried tortillas topped with refried beans and pico de gallo from La Tienda (the store), a group of us headed up to the toddler house to let Rosa El Pez (fish puppet) share another Bible Story with the boys and girls. Then they headed out to the playground for activities and running around. As you can tell by this blog and others, one of the highlights for the kids is going to the store. Our group took 26 toddlers to the store and then for a long walk before naptime. What we did not realize until later today was our trip to the store was a direct answer to prayer for some of the young mothers who work at the toddler house, as earlier that day they had asked for strength in taking care of the babies. By taking the toddlers out for the hour, we allowed the young mothers and workers an hour of unplanned rest and refreshment.
We sponsor a sweet little 7 year old boy named Gibran we met last year. Me and Macki had an after school date with him and his brother at the store. While there, they were thumbing through my photos on my phone and excitedly exclaimed that they found their sister. When I looked at my photo, it just happened to be the random girl I bought the chips and fresca for.
Then we had the small boys, small girls, and power toddlers over to the team house for ice cream. As we were finishing serving the girls, we noticed that there seemed that there was not enough ice cream to feed the remaining 60 or so boys. (Also the chocolate had stopped working after the 2nd cone for the girls). We were starting to panic and thinking we need to send the boys away. I remembered our lesson from this morning on the miracle of loaves and fishes and I begin to pray for a similar miracle. And right as we were getting ready to tell the boys that they would have to come back tomorrow, the ice cream machine started working and we were able to serve all of them plus the workers for the houses. (Also the chocolate started working too!). Not only did we have enough for the boys but also enough for our mission team to have some after dinner. Just like the fishes and loaves, God provided in abundance.
These are just a few examples of how God provides and is working at Orphanage Emmanuel.
Blessings!
Kelly Walsh
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