Last time I didn’t share much about the
orphanage we are working at and I didn’t have any pictures to post so I wanted to
share that with you this time. Most of
the work we’ve been doing here at the orphanage has been construction. When we got here there was a dirt path that
was in the initial stages of being paved. It led up a hill to where the girls at the orphanage lived. I wish I had a before and after picture, but
I wasn’t smart enough to take one at the beginning. It has been about a week since we started and
I just took a picture this afternoon because we are getting pretty close to
being done with it. Don’t forget…we mix
all of the concrete by hand and have to run the wheel barrows of sand and
gravel up the hill below. It is pretty
tiring work but after a week of it you start to get acclimated and we’ve all
built up our calluses and are fairly good at the work….for a North American
that is.
Other than construction some people are
always doing odd jobs around the orphanage grounds, others help out in the
kitchen, and some work with the little kids by looking after them or getting
them to and from school. The people are
great here although we’ve been here a little over a week, we have really
started to bond with the kids and everyone else living here. We’re all already dreading the day we have to
say goodbye and leave.
because the pastor was out of town we were asked to share two testimonies, sing
two songs, run Sunday school for the kids, and have someone preach a
message. Also, we found out about all
this after dinner on Saturday night…not a ton of notice, but more than we’ve
had sometimes. Kelly Kramp and Damaris shared
their testimonies, we all sang, a handful of girls ran the kids service, and
will preached the main message. Everything went really well and after the main service was over we had a
time where everyone came forward and some of us prayed over individual people. It was a powerful time and great to be able
to connect with the community in another way outside of just the orphanage.
what we call the “hammock station.” It’s
just a simple, open, palm covered hut that has a handful of hammocks hanging
from the structure. It tends to rain
here often and without notice, but I love reading and praying here…especially
when the rain comes and the weather cools off and you can look out over the
lake. Plus there are some pretty amazing
sunsets that can be seen.
Random picture: Whenever we walk or get a ride anywhere on
the island we typically come across something like this…
You know how hitting a deer can mess up your car? Try hitting one of these in a car or on a motorcycle…not good.
