One to go.

Yesterday we had a huge Christmas party for the kids, held by members of the church we attend, as well as another group. Mary Ellen and I both had lots of errands to run that day, so we didn´t spend a lot of time with the kids (bummer). Mama and Papa encourage the kids to give away some of their gifts because they receive so much every year, which is pretty crazy to me (that they get so many gifts and that they actually give them away). The gifts they give will be given out at ´Navidad en la Calle.´

Andrea with her face painted. She's a queen, I think.

Rafa, aka Batman.

And Gustavo, too. Is he a rabbit?

The Brinca Brinca. We'll have several of these at the event next Saturday.

Lucia and Leslie said, ´Take one for Marcos.´ Here you go, Mark. (I love this one.)

Lined up for face paint.

Brenda, Gabi, and a new girl.

Tortillas! We´ve been here for five months and haven´t had a chance to watch the kids make tortillas (they make them about every week). For the past three Friday nights, we´ve had a time of fasting, prayer, and singing, and afterwards everyone who stays up the whole time eats sandwiches and burritos. So these photos were taken Friday night as the kids were preparing tortillas for the big feast.

Ana, Marcela, and I.

Jasmin, Ana, Carla Joana, Rubi, Karla, and Marcela.

Ana and I.

Rubi with the dough before the kids roll it into balls.

Karla, Leslie, and Karla Joana.

Rubi, Marcela, and Ana, super-hyper at this point because it´s getting late.

Ana has these glasses, don´t know why, but they´re hilarious.

New girl (again, don´t remember her name) and Rebecca. The new girl wasn´t feeling well so she stayed home from school. And Rebecca couldn´t find her backpack. The elementary school has a rule that if you don´t have your backpack, you can´t get in. Some of our kids ´lose´their backpacks on purpose so they don´t have to go. Very frustrating.

Our girls were in a basketbal tournament at school and came in first place. Woohoo! They were so excited...couldn´t stop talking about it when they got home from school that day.

Kinder kids, almost ready for school. Jaqueline had to change into pants because the only dress shoes to go with the skirt were about 4 sizes too big for her little feet.

Friday morning, the pigs got loose. This is always funny. It was right about the time that everyone had to go to school, so they wandered around the property for a while until someone finally corralled them back in.

I love this picture for many reasons. We have the pig, the dog (Lola) with a vest on, and Andrea and Jaqueline, running from the pig. This place is never boring.

Flor and I hung out for a bit on Friday afternoon. She´s such a goofball. I wish I could take her home with me.

I asked her where her favorite place in the whole orphanage was, and she said right here.

Flor and Beto.

Hanging out with the animals. Flor loves them. Also, Vito loves Karla. She loves him, too.

Sweet little Marcela, feeding the goats.

Disgusting.

Here's a little clip of Marcela, Karla, and Flor feeding the goats. In case you didn't know and were wondering, the infamous white goat has been sold.

Ramon and Beti picking up trash on the grounds.

New girl, whose name I can´t remember, Jose Miguel, his sister Isael, Irela, and her sister, Rebecca.

Joanna, with her hair in a mess (on purpose), and Alondra picking up trash.

Well, this post is for the readers who don't actually love to read the blog, just look at photos. I don't have much to say tonight, that hasn't already been said. I still don't believe my time is almost up. I do wonder when it will settle in. Maybe not until I'm given a ride to the airport next Tuesday morning. Yeah, it's not real to me.

This week has been cool because I was priveleged to see God work in an amazing way through relationships at the house. I'm still amazed at what He has done, and is continuing to do in the lives of the staff. Please pray for community among all the staff members. This job is very draining, and it's so easy to focus on the work and yourself, and not pour into the people around you. I'm speaking from experience, because I've struggled with that the entire time I've been here. I have an amazing amount of respect for my partners in this ministry here, and want so badly God's blessings for them.

Hopefully I'll have lots of photos and videos next week, and even more to post after I get home. I imagine I'm going to fill every bit of my memory card this week, capturing as much of the kids and life at Lily as I can.


See you next Sunday.

-Lauren