Update #8 - La despedida

January 3rd

The family did the usual painting, playing, and serving.

Unfortunately, I was in bed all day. I have hundreds of bug bites and some of them seem to be infected. My legs and arms are swollen, there is blotchy redness everywhere and many of the bites are forming blisters. It has been unbearably itchy and painful. I started antibiotics last night and am hoping for some relief soon so that I can get back to doing God’s work. I’m resting today so that I can get back at it tomorrow. Elevation and icing has helped the most so far. Creams and oral medicines (like Benadryl and ibuprofen) are not helping. 😢

During the day, a portion of our team was able to return to Jocotillo and build a house for a mother and child that we had met a few days prior.

In the evening, Casa Bernabé put on a program for us to thank us for our service. I am so glad that I crawled out of bed to go because it was the most beautiful gift I have ever received. Each house presented a song or a card.

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Day 1 - ¡Llegamos!

We are safe and sound and tucked into our beds at Casa Bernabe. It was a long day of travel but it was all worth it for the warm welcome of the children. There is so much love here. So many kids remembered my name and gave me hugs and it was the best gift I could ever ask for. Unfortunately, American Airlines did not process our group in a timely manner and 4 team members didn’t make it on our flight. It was a very frustrating experience, when we did everything by the book. We arrived at 2:30 for a 5:07am flight. Turns out they don’t open the checked bags counter til 3:30am. They had our group wait in a line (over 30 of us) and processed us one at a time…and they were in no hurry. By the time the last 4 got through security the door to the airplane was shut and there was no way they would open it. Please pray for our team members to be able to get some rest. They were able to get on different flights but won’t be arriving til 2am and then a 45 min drive here. I can’t imagine how exhau...

Day 3 - Projects

On day three the team started several projects. A lot of the men have been mixing concrete and preparing an area for laundry for a new pastor that will be living on campus. This is the first time Casa Bernabe has had this resource on campus and they are all so thankful! Caleb was helping run the electrical and plumbing for the washer and dryer. Another portion of the team got to paint the exterior of the school building. This is where Timmy chose to serve and I heard he rocked it! One of the house parents is on break and they were short a helper. I was so humbled and honored to be asked to help for the morning. I helped with dishes, held the cutest 12 month old, and entertained foul energetic girls outside so that there could be some peace in the house for a bit. We also bathed the baby and I was shocked when the “encargada” heated up the water on the stove, brought it to the bathroom, and mixed it with cold water to get it just right. So much work!!! I have an incredible a...

Day 2 - Church, Shopping, and Donations

We started the day by attending church here at Casa Bernabe. It’s always beautiful to hear the children praising God! We also heard a message about Barnabas (how Casa Bernabe got its name…Bernabe = Barnabas). After lunch, some of the team went shopping for our big New Years Eve bash (including me). Others organized the team donations and divided them into the 8 households. It is amazing to see the abundance God provided for the children and houseparents- everything from jeans and towels to bandaids and coloring books. After donations were sorted, it was time to hang out with the kids. Tim played a LOT of soccer (he’s sore today! lol). Hannah played with the girls and helped Caleb teach a group of younger boys how to play Dumpster Dice. He said the boys couldn’t get enough of it and they were all giving him hugs. He always worries about the language barrier and connecting with the kids so this was a real blessing for him. It also kept the kids busy to give the house parents time to get...

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