Entertaining Angels

I told you so. If the man who worked on the bus to Valle de
Angeles could have spoken my language, he would have said "I told you so."

After walking about a mile and a half from El Centro to the bus stop, there were 2 options: Go on a bus with about 100 other people, or go on a busito with about 12 other people and arrive there about 30 minutes prior to the bus. So, we chose the busito. The bus driver told us not to go on it, but we just thought it was because he wanted our money. I mean, who wouldn't rather have a little more personal space and arrive at your destination more quickly?

Our destination, by the way, was an orphanage about 40 kilometers outside of the city. We were going to stay there Friday night, work with the kids all day Saturday, and then come back to the city later on in the day.

About 30 minutes later, we were quite a ways out of the city and stuck on the side of the road. In the dark. With only us girls....and a guardian angel that God sent to help us...I am convinced of that. There is really not much of anything between Tegus and Valle, and even Valle is rather small. So when we broke down, we knew that we would have some difficulties, probably in the form of sleeping on the side of the road in our broken down busito. There was one other woman who was with us, and as we were trying to explain where we were going in our not-so-perfect English with our not-so-perfect directions, we were even more convinced that there would be difficulties. Then, in the sweetest voice, Beatriz (guardian angel) said "I speak English. Can I help you girls get to where you are going?" Godsend. So, as we are walking in the direction of the town "(which was definitely quite a ways off) we see a few buses go by, but Beatriz helped us get on the right one--the one going to the actual pueblo that the orphanage was in. As we walked on the bus, the driver and the money changer looked very familiar, and then I place their faces. They were the ones that tried to convince me not to take the busito in the first place, but rather ride on the bus with 100 other people. God definitely has a sense of humor.

Beatriz rode with us and got off on our stop and showed us where the moto-taxis are, which are tri-ped motorcycles with coverings on them that seat about 5 people. We took the mototaxi down about 3 different dirt roads, and finally we arrived at the orphanage. She came with us the whole way, even though she needed to go in a different direction and had a 1-year old at home waiting with her husband.

After arriving at the orphanage, we were shown our room and brought into the TV room where all 16 kids were in their jammies watching Mulan. The kids range in age from 2-7 and most of the kids have been there since their infancy, except for Aura (the beautiful girl pictured on the right) and one other girl, who have been there since age 5. Aura has the most heart-breaking childhood story, and I do not know how she has lived through the horrors she has lived through, but in this home she has brothers and sisters, a mom and dad, and is surrounded by love and stability. The orphanage has been open for 4 years, and is run by this amazing young couple. The wife is the daughter of a missionary and graduated from Academia Los Pinares a few years ago. The orphanage is still in the process of being built, and is only built as the money comes in from the states or from mission teams who stay at their facility. The bedrooms are totally cute--not the institutional feel-- and the whole place is created so that it feels like a home and not a government building. Their goal is to have 25 children, all long-term and all successful with their education.

As soon as we walked in the orphanage, we were attacked by the children. They were stuck to our sides the whole time, and would hardly let us leave the room without clinging to our legs. These children were so loving and trusting...but you could tell that as soon as you left you knew they'd feel the disappointment of someone coming into their lives and leaving all too quickly. When they knew though that we lived close by them and weren't leaving for the states, they felt much better...especially after arranging our next visitation time. On Saturday, we took the kids on a hike on the mountain range closest to the valley where the pueblo was situated. They loved it, and don't get to do things like that very often because there just isn't enough supervision normally. The view was incredible, and I got to take some really great pictures of what life is like outside of the city in these tiny villages.

I am so glad that I was able to experience this orphanage, and I am even more excited at the thought of being able to return on a semi-normal basis. I also am planning on writing the older girls during those stretches of time that I am not able to come so that they can see that not everyone in their life is temporary. Being the oldest and coming into the home at age 5, they have had to overcome more difficulties in their lives than the younger ones, but any amount of love and individual attention that they are shown goes so far.

I hope you enjoy my pictures, and I will add the link to the website for the orphanage when I can find it. For anyone who is interested, they have room for and accept mission teams as a way to pay for the children's needs throughout the year. You do not have to do work at the orphanage to be able to stay there, but for $10 a night per person, they are able to house, clothe, feed, and educate 16 children for an entire year. For those of you looking into summer missions, this would be an amazing opportunity.

It says in the Bible that we are to not neglect kindness and hospitality to anyone because we never know when we might be uknowingly entertaining angels. I think I had my encounter with a few of them this weekend, and its so amazing to see the work of God in this place. I cannot look into the eyes of these children, see glimpses of their beautiful hearts, and not want to do more than I already am doing. I look at the people who run this orphanage, or those people who just give of themselves so selflessly for nothing other than serving others, and I see the impact of their kindness. Although its slightly terrifying to think of the amount of responsibility thats needed for endeavors such as running an orphanage or ministering to street kids, I am also completely drawn to it. Everyday that I am here I want to do more and give more, and I am so excited to see where my life will lead me. I don't know where I'll be, but God does and thats all that matters. All of this is just prep for the work that lies ahead...

The pictures below were all taken from that day: The first two are of some of the children from the orphanage, and the rest are pictures from our hike. Enjoy!