Hello all,
This is likely to be short because I am on an internet cafe computer with minutes counting down.
I am currently in month 6 and nearing the halfway point to my race. Which is insane. Some days I feel as though I have been away from home for only a hot second and all of this is new. And then there are other days when all of this feels natural and completely normal, as if I have been doing this for an extremely long time.
Our squad is settled in at El Shaddai Orphanage. It is located on a mountaintop and has an amazing view. I had been told it would be incredible, but this is still beyond what I had imagined.
There are large storms, large being an understatement, nearly every night and clouds often roll around our buildings.
We wear layers here because it gets so chilly.
The kids are adorable and I just finished helping to arrange buddies for all of the kids. Each child is paired up with a racer for the month and the high school kids will get theirs within the next couple of days. One team will relocate with the teens to the high school location at the bottom of the hill on Friday. The kids were ecstatic at being paired with one of us. Apparently they think we are pretty cool or something like that.
I love walking through the grounds and being attacked from behind with a hug or a lunge onto my back for a piggyback ride. It’s lovely.
The baby house if filled with children under the age of five. One of my favorites is one we all like to call Marshmallow because she is a little chunker. She’s a feisty one but her story is one that helps you understand why. She was fed beer as an infant and when she arrived at the orphanage went through withdrawals. She is also HIV positive
Most of the children here have past stories of abuse, hurts, abandonment and negligence. I will try to share more of them with later internet time this month. The children will capture your heart and leave your soul with questions of why and hopes for better in the future.
I am still in need of $2100 before January first. Please consider supporting me. Thanks!
