Donations

Attention everyone, I have the best family, friends and support system ever!! 

Especially family. 

For the past couple of years my dads side extended family during christmas time has taken the money that we would spend on cousin gifts and done something for the less fortunate. 

This year since I was going to be here in Ecuador for Christmas we decided to get donations for the orphanages. 

I was amazed by all that they gave me to donate. It was above and beyond and I was so grateful. 

I got tons of pajamas, shoes, lice shampoo, and bilingual books; all which the orphanage specifically asked for. I have seen them get put to good use and I couldn't say thank you enough. Because of my limited luggage space I was also given money to buy things while I was here. 

Finally on my last saturday here I went shopping for things to buy with the money. 

Two nuns that work at the orphanage, Sean and I packed into a car and headed off for a shopping spree. The orphanage gets lots of donations and they do quite well because they are Catholic and well known. I told the nuns how much money I had gotten and asked them what they thought the biggest need was. They told me that they really wanted new clothes for the children. I do not blame them, the clothes we have now aren't horrible but they are very stained and most have holes and don't have all the right sizes. 

We went to a place called Ipiales to get the clothes. It was like a huge indoor flee market. 

We walked around and picked out some things we liked. The nuns then told us we had to act like we didn't know them. If the workers saw white people buying the clothes they would say that the prices are way higher than what they would tell a local. So we stood away as the nuns did the final buying. 

It was kind of a funny sight. 

A couple hundred dollars later the nuns bought tons of clothes. 

You cant really tell in the pictures but it was a lot of clothes! We got pants, shirts, dresses, belts, pretty much anything and everything. I saw one random pair of pants that really didn't match the others. I asked what they were for and they told me that the next day was a 12 year old boy that lives at the orphanage birthday and this pair of pants was going to be his birthday present. That made me so happy that he was going to get a present this year for his birthday. 

And the next day when I saw him I told him happy birthday and he got a huge smile on his face. He was shocked that I knew it was his birthday and it made him feel so special that I told him. I then asked him if he got any presents and he got an even bigger smile on his face as he pointed to his pants and said that they were his present. I know he felt special on this day and I wish I could share the sight of his huge smile with you. 

Every morning at the orphanage whoever is working in sala dos picks out the clothes for the kids the next day. The day after we went shopping I was shocked to see that all the clothes had changed. That night after we left Sor Kristina had gone through and changed all the kids outfits to the new clothes that we bought that afternoon. She wanted me to see all the kids in the new adorable clothes as a way to say thank you. And let me tell you, they were so cute! The kids didn't really know the difference but the workers and us volunteers were so excited to see new clean fresh clothes! 

After we went shopping for clothes we were told that a different girls orphanage was in need of laundry detergent, deodorant, and cooking oil. So to a different store we went to purchase these things.

(cooking oil in bags packed into a box. weird, I know) 

They were also very grateful!! 

I can not thank you all enough for your generosity in donating to these kids! 100% of the money went to these items and it was 100% appreciated! 

This is Sor Kristina. She is the main nun over the orphanage we work at. She was a nun that went shopping with us. She is my hero!! She has dedicated her whole life to serving these children, serving others, and serving the Lord. She has the sweetest spirit and is indeed a daughter of God. Her love for Christ shines all around her. Although our beliefs are a little bit different I look up to her in many ways. She does not have an easy life yet she gets up every morning giving all she has to the children with a smile on her face. She is the most selfless person I have ever met. 

She was so grateful for all your donations that she was thanking me with tears in her eyes. I told her that it wasn't me to thank, it was my wonderful family. She wanted me to tell you guys that she is so so grateful. She wanted me to tell you that she will be praying for you and praying that God will bless you with all that you need to repay you for giving to her and her children(the orphans). She says THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! And I second everything that she says. 

LOVE

Valentines day. Don't worry, I had plenty of cute Valentines surrounding me today. I had this conversation with a boy (my favorite boy) this morning while I was getting him dressed. 

Me: Hey Diego, can I be your Valentine? 

Diego: *confused look on his face*

Me: Just say yes. Diga(say) si(yes).

Diego: siii

Me: Muy Bien(very good). So Diego, who is your Valentine? Diga chica! 

Diego: Chiiiica! 

So I might have had to tell him to say that he will be my valentine, but nonetheless my day was fulfilled. 

I have been thinking a lot about love lately. As I approach my last days here in Ecuador I cant even fathom leaving these kids and quite frankly I don't know how I am going to do it. I love them so much. I wake these kids up in the clothes that I put them to bed in. I am their caretaker. I am their mother figure. I have felt many "mother moments" as I like to call them while I've been here.

For example, one morning I took some of the older tres kids to school. When we arrived the kids ran in and immediately started playing with their friends. As I was saying goodbye and walking out the door one little boy got up and left his toys and came and ran up behind me so he could give me a hug goodbye. Melt my heart. 

One morning a little girl was crying uncontrollably for no reason. The workers were trying to console her but couldn't figure out why she was crying so much.  Finally I walk over to her and she reached for me so I pick her up and she rested her head on my shoulder and immediately  stopped crying.   I was the only person she wanted.     

 Another time a boy that was barely learning to walk stepped on a toy car and his leg went all kinds of crazy directions. We thought he had for sure broken it. The doctor came to the orphanage to look at it. I had to hold him down while he was screaming with pain as the doctor was moving his leg trying to figure out what was wrong. He was looking at me with the most helpless eyes just hoping that I would take away the pain. I couldn't hold back the tears myself as I knew there was nothing I could do besides hold his hand while he was having to go through 

so much pain. 

I'm the one awake at 3 am with newborns. So tired and exhausted but somebody needs to make them bottles and change their diaper when they don't yet know the difference between night and day. I am that somebody for them. 

 I like to think these experiences and many others show me what it will be like to me a mother someday. It is the best feeling in the world and I can not wait to be able to experience them with my own children. To share my unconditional love with them and to be able to feel it right back. 

It makes me think about my own mother. How grateful I am for her. And of course my father too. I wish I would have learned and trusted sooner that my mother always knows best. I am grateful for her wonderful example in my life. I hope to be as good of a mother as she is one day. I know she loves me and I love her. I couldn't imagine having to live my life without my mom. I have learned much from her and hope to teach the same things to my own kids. 

Then it makes me think about my loving Heavenly Father. Who's love is the greatest of all. I know how much he loves me, how much he loves you, and how much he loves these orphans. We are all his children. As sad as I am to leave these kids I know that they will be watched over. They are Gods children too and he doesn't want anything bad to happen to them. He placed them in the lives that they were given for a reason. One of those reasons I know to be true was to inspire and bless my life. They are miracle children. So brave and strong that they are able to live their earthly life without a family. I know I couldn't do it. 

I lover these kids, I love my parents and family, and I most of all love my Heavenly Father. I love my life and I love this opportunity I have been given. I am indeed very blessed. 

Happy Valentines day!! 

ps: Happy birthday to my sister Hannah! Hope you had a wonderful birthday! I love you. 

Friday once again

Today was an incredible day!! It was filled with so many fun and adventurous activities.

 I had night shift last night so I spent the day going on only 3 hours of sleep but there was no time to be tired! 

We had planned to go to the equator today. Something I was very much looking forward to. 

Here are us volunteers in the car ready to go! It was about a 45 minute drive from our house to the equator. 

The entrance to the site. 

They first took us on a little tour around the place. They told lots of stories about Amazonian tribes. It was very interesting. My favorite was learning about how they used to do shrunken heads. 

(Me on the equator) 

We then got to the actual equator. They told us all about how the sun goes to the different hemispheres different months of the year. They had several sun dialed months and clocks. It was very cool to see.

They also had fun activities for us to do. This is a picture of me balancing an egg on a nail. Its not impossible to do anywhere else but it is very hard when not on the equator. It was also impossible to walk straight on the equator with your arms out and eyes closed without tipping over. It was like doing the sobriety test walking in a straight line heel toe heel toe and really not being able to do it. Very interesting how the force worked. It is also impossible for there to be a hurricane or tornado on the equator. And all hurricanes or tornados in the southern hemisphere go clockwise and all hurricanes and tornados in the northern hemisphere go counterclockwise. Just some random knowledge I gained while there.  

After the equator we headed to a restaurant nearby to try some guinea pig. Yes you read that right. Guinea pig is a delicacy here so we had to try it. 

They cook the whole entire thing on a stick rotisserie style over a fire. They let us pose with it for a picture. 

Bon Appétit!! We knew lots of people that had tried it and they said it tasted like chicken so I wasn't to nervous to take a bite. I just couldn't look at it for very long. It did taste a lot like chicken. It wasn't something I will probably ever want again though. It was a fun experience! 

After we finished eating... One volunteer even ate the brain and heart. 

We were grateful we didn't see the guinea pig coop until after we were done eating. 

When we were finished eating we headed to a nearby orphanage. This orphanage isn't supported by OSSO but the person that does support it is good friends with the people who do OSSO so they go there often to visit. I was excited to visit but didn't realize what an experience I was about to have. 

It is called the Remar Orphanage. Its an orphanage that houses 46 boys. All different ages. When we pulled in they all got so excited and just started waving like crazing and jumping up and down! It was awesome. 

The orphanage was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were out of the city and in a very rural part of Ecuador. 

These are the two houses. We didn't go inside but I was very curious to what it looked like. 

They had chicken coops, dogs, and guinea pigs on one side. 

Then in the front was just this huge cement patch. They had swings  and teeter totters and other fun toys. They had soccer set up of course and lots of balls and boy things.  

When we got out of the car they ran right up to us and grabbed our hands to come play with them. We jumped right in and had so much fun. They were seriously adorable! 

They loved my phone and how it had a forward facing camera. They loved to see themselves in the camera. 

The boys just started hanging  all over us and wanted us to spin them around and wrestle. Of course we did what they wanted and it was a blast. 

This little boy had a crush on me and kept following me around. Of course I was nothing but flattered. 

Doing one armed push ups trying to show off. Boys will be boys. 

The older boys loved playing soccer

This little boy was such a cutie. 

We had lots of fun on the teeter totters. The boys kept jumping on trying to make their side heavier than the other. We filled it to the max. 

We tried out best at a group picture but some of the boys were just not interested. 

And it turned into mad chaos, like usual. 

These boys are an inspiration to me. I felt nothing but pure happiness while I was there. It was an orphanage kind of like whats in the movies. It was just pure chaos of boys everywhere playing around with no supervision. Boys would get hurt and no one would come and make sure they were okay. Boys would fight and no one would break it up. It was very sad to see.  They stole my heart, showed me humility, and changed my life all in a few short hours! This definitely will go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my trip here. These boys have hardly anything. And anything they do have they have to share with 46 other boys. Their life is not anything easy. Yet they were so happy and so loving. I could honestly spend days with them, and I wish I could. I wish I could give them loving parents and a better life. God has a special plan for them and I am glad that I was able to be inspired by them today. It is a memory I will hold with me forever. 

Quito tour

For free Friday this past week we went on a double decker tour bus around Quito. It was 3 hours long and it was was fun to learn more about the history of Quito and see some more cool places. I took tons of pictures so enjoy. 

Here we are on the bus ready to go. 

This is really what all of Quito looks like. Every house is square and some are painted really cool colors. 

The first place that we chose to get off the bus to look around was the Basilica. 

It was very very beautiful. So many little details.

We climbed to the top of one of the spirals. It was so beautiful to look out. I felt like I could see forever. 

A view from the bus. 

Do I look like a total tourist?! 

A beautiful statue on top of a mountain that overlooks all of Quito. I see it everyday and it was so cool to be up by it and look down on everything. 

We spotted the orphanage from standing up by the statue. I zoomed in as best as I could. Look for the patch of grass with a diagonal sidewalk going through it and that little square lot is the orphanage. 

Me and Karissa in front of the bus. 

We drove by the Basilica again and I got a picture where the whole building fit. 

This wasn't part of the tour but this is one of my favorite views from our drive to and from the orphanage. I love all the different colors and the houses are literally stacked on each other going up the hill. 

Quito sure is beautiful!