One of my dreams for The World Race was to work in an orphanage.
Oh hey, look it’s month TWO and this dream has come
true!!
To be honest, just
not what I thought it was going to be like.
WHY??
Well, we are working
with special needs children.
I’ve never worked
with special needs children before, but God is teaching me so much here.
It’s such a blessing to be
here.
God is teaching me so much about my heart.
God is teaching me so much about how much He loves me.
God is teaching me so much about His love for His children.
God is teaching me so much about how He has everything under
control.
Similar to last
month in Honduras, we have an American contact.
Our contacts name is
Maureen and she is from West Virginia.
She is the director
of the orphanage that she founded in 2003.
Her heart, her love,
and her passion for these children is evident in her interactions with each of
them.
The orphanage is
located right outside of a not-so-quiet town in Guatemala called Chimaltenango.
Maureen has had the
ability to see transformations in the lives of these children.
These children have anything
from Cerebral Palsy, to delayed development, to scoliosis, to Down’s syndrome.
BUT let me just save
those miracles for another blog… (stay up-to-date with my blogs by subscribing
here: http://brandiwilcox.theworldrace.org/?isFunction=alerts
Our month consists
of assisting the nannies and teachers here.
There are 4 school teachers.
There are 6 nannies that rotate shifts every two
days.
There are 10 children that live on the property.
There are 7 more children that go to school on the
property.
Nancy, the oldest girl at Los Gozosos. Her smile & her eyes are precious.
Daniel is the oldest boy at Los Gozosos who SPEAKS English, he’s awesome!
Some “American” luxuries we have this month; wifi on property (even
in our tents), HOT showers, washing machine, and filtered water from a faucet.
So, essentially God
has blessed our socks off!!
On a day-to-day
basis there are chores that we are doing around the property.
We have two people
help bathe and dress the children at 5:30 am.
We have two people
help with breakfast at 6:00 am.
Everyone eats
breakfast at 6:30 am.
The children start
school at 7:30 am and four people from our teams go to help at school.
Chores continue for
those that are not going to school and range from folding laundry, pulling
weeds, cleaning windows, sweeping and mopping the floors, entering data in the
computer, helping four of the kids with therapy, setting the table for meals,
to whatever else the nannies need help with.
Our day normally
ends after dinner and the children are asleep which is around 7 pm.
Then, we spend time
together as a team.
Honestly, I have
been going to bed late at night, but that’s just because I am a night owl.
Prayer Requests:
Pray for the children’s
daily needs to be met.
Pray for the ability
to serve wholeheartedly.
Pray for the love of
God to overflow from these children’s hearts.
Pray for the ability
to give grace; not only to others, but to ourselves too.
Pray for God to
provide for this ministry financially.
Pray for God to give
us energy to wake up each morning.
Pray for God to give
us a new perspective on His children.
For more information on the orphanage, check out their website http://losgozosos.org/LosGozosos/Welcome.html
