Last week we stayed at Casa de Mi Padre so that the married couple who works there could have some time off. It was an exhausting week but made me appreciate the work that those in orphanages do…they are amazing!
Here is what a day in the life of Casa de Mi Padre looks like:
5:20ish AM Wake up to go and wake up the kids. They had to shower and clean their rooms before school.
5:45- Begin to help make breakfast.
6:15- Search for an early morning translator so that someone on our team can lead devotions.
6:35- Everyone gathers around for breakfast. One morning we made pancakes, another morning was cereal with hot milk (you’ve gotta try it), and another one they had hard boiled eggs with some tomato sauce.
7:03- Load 17 kids into the big van to head to school! I’m slowly becoming a morning person because I actually loved this. Jamming out to “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” and “My Father’s House” are a fantastic way to get the morning going.
7:50- Get back from dropping 3 loads of kids off at different schools.
8-11 AM- Eat breakfast, workout, tranquil time, dishes, sometimes painting, and lots of laundry.
11:25- Begin helping make lunch which includes patting out a bucket of tortilla mix. We have become excellent tortilla makers. Our work used to be denied by the Guatemalan pros but by the end we were finally accepted.
1:15 PM- Kids get home and sit down to lunch. Guatemala style includes lots of rice, beans, and fried bundles of vegetables such as cauliflower…yum
1:45-Dishes, lots of dishes
2-4 PM- Kids do homework, we rest/clean/help with homework/take hikes
5:30- Help make dinner for the kids as well as for the 2 teams staying there
6:30- Kids eat dinner. They eat light dinners here and heavier lunches. Sandwhiches with jelly or soup and always the staple item…tortillas!
7- Lots more dishes
7:30 Different night activities such as movie night, and a night hike.
8:30 Night time devotion. One night several kids shared why they were at the orphanage which was heartbreaking. Praise the Lord, they are in a safe place away from the sexual and physical abuse they suffered.
9 PM Bedtime for kiddos and 9:30 bedtime for this girl. Can’t remember the last time I went to bed at 9:30 but it felt fantastic.
One of the last nights of ministry the whole squad came to the Casa for pizza and to meet the kids. That night seemed to hit the spot for many people including myself. One of the sweetest moments was seeing the men of the squad jump in and play with the little boys. The men loved on them by wrestling and letting the boys play on them like human jungle gyms. Those boys needed that and it was a sweet sight to see.
God has revealed himself to me in crazy ways. Revelations have begun but an important one that I’m holding on to is that He continues to say “Worship me, Jenni…sit in my presence, don’t expect anything from me and just worship me and who I am in your life. If I have something to speak then I will make it clear to you.” For a while I was struggling with the fact that He wasn’t using me and crazy ways and then I realized I hadn’t been asking him too. Once I asked he opened my eyes to His work. Don’t overlook the simple things and don’t over spiritualize aspects of life, sometimes it’s the easiest concept that God wants to reveal.
Cheers to 21 kids, lots of dishes, and simple revelations,
Jen
