Day 2...

We began our day today at Good Shepherd Children's Home and it is always such a treat. The children run up to the bus and eagerly await the procession of the "gringo's" cause when they arrive playing WILL happen!! We painted fingernails, we played soccer, we hugged, we colored, we laughed, we cried, we gave ourselves away only to find out that God would replenish whatever we gave in His name. Beautiful how that works.

We sure needed the refill, because next on the agenda was the hospital and it always takes about everything we have. We had a neat addition to the agenda this year, in that the group was able to help some specific patients this year which was a tremendous idea that some of our team members came up with. The children selected were children here who have hydrocephalis (which is basically fluid on the brain). It is common in this country because of the deficiency in the mothers diet. So we were able to contact the sweet lady named Mida who works with hydrocephalis babies, (as a sidenote she does this because she lost her 8 year old daughter and because of her broken heart was inspired to help others), and were able to find ways to help provide shunts, which will allow the children to live. Initially we thought with the money we had dedicated to this project that we would be able to help 2 to 3 children, but yesterday when Miss Mida arrived she told us that some medical supply store which had heard about what she was doing and how we were willing to help agreed to discount the price enough so that we could help 4 children. AMAZING...our God is AMAZING!!! That was the high point of our day.

The hard parts were seeing a mother on her knees in the hallway on the floor because she had just lost her 2 month old daughter, or seeing children without hair lying in a bed with amputated arms and soon to be legs because they had cancer and that's the way it is treated in an impoverished country in a free hospital. Forgive me if the details are hard to hear and read, it's just that I'm certain now that we do no favors to one another by leaving out the parts that remind us of the injustices of the world. I know now that God expects us to do something with what we know and part of our responsibility is honestly sharing with you.

Please continue to pray that as we are attempting to be the hands and feet of Jesus that we will extend the grace, compassion, and love that this country and these precious people so desperately need.

I will post more pictures when we get back from Didasko tomorrow and until then stay tuned!!