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.