Happy Birthday Jane and Jackson!

Each month Emma has a birthday party and celebrates any children who have birthdays that month.  For the month of June, Jane and Jackson both had a birthday and she decided to include that party as part of our pool day.  So fun! So, after everyone had there fill of swimming we gathered around the table to sing and partake of cake in honor of Jane and Jackson.  Jackson did not seem to understand exactly what was going on but Emma does a great job of making there life's as "normal" as possible.  Cognitively they may not understand everything but I'm sure they understand more than we know!

Happy Birthday sweet little ones!

Pool day fun!

If these pictures had sound, you would hear squeals and laughter in very high volume!  The children and staff had such a fun day of play experiencing swimming for the first time.  Pure joy is the only way to describe them on pool day!

Michaela with Gift

Karoline with Hannah and Beth with Opio

Carrie Anne with Jeremiah

Fun at the playground!

The pool had a fun playground that we were able to play on before we went swimming!

Molly with Jeremiah and Drew with Joshie

Me with my little guy for the day, Hudson.

Again, the staff had SO much fun!

Ryan with Zachariah

A great day from beginning to end!

Pool Day Prep

On Thursday we had a big outing with the gems. We went to the pool! Oh my! The squeals of delight! Not just from the gems but also the staff. The Gem Foundation has 28 gems (children) and 35 staff. None of the staff had ever been swimming before. Grown adults acted like children, I don't know which was more exciting to watch, the children or the staff. It was a day of pure joy!

 Ryan ready for a day of swimming!

 The preparation was definitely organized chaos!

It took 6 taxi vans to transport wheelchairs and 72 people to the pool.

Everyone left the Gem Foundation in cute blue gem tshirts. All the children ate breakfast and got all cleaned up. Once at the pool we played on the playground for a bit, then we dressed them in bathing suits. These pictures show a little of the prep.

In the picture below I was learning how to feed a child with a feeding tube.

A great day for all!

Next up I'll post more pictures of the day, with the internet I can only post a few at a time.

Work....then play!

We started our day off again at the baby home, helping wherever needed and to hold precious little ones. My little peanut today couldn't have been older than three months. 

After leaving there we headed to Emma's(the Gem Foundation) to help with projects. We first walked down the street to get a coffee, which was quite the experience...we played human frogger as we crossed the street. Glad to say we all survived!😀 Alex, a teen guy, on our team has an aunt and uncle that are missionaries here and came to visit and help with our projects today. They were a very sweet family.  The guys on our team continued their chicken pen and fence project and the ladies and Carrie Anne worked on deep cleaning the kids bedrooms. We scrubbed down cribs, wiped and disinfected mattresses, cleaned baseboards, swept and mopped. We also sorted and organized clothes. The day to day tasks are so many!

Then, came the play part. We went to a dinner show. While we ate from a buffet we watched a show....there were many types of dances representing the different tribes from around this city. It was a great performance. The pictures are from the show.

This picture is a little blurry but it was a fun picture of our team with one of the "tribes".

It was a fun night! Now, time to rest up....tomorrow is a big outing with all of the "gems"!

Busy Day!

Our days start early. We start off our mornings by going to a baby orphanage. They house children younger than three. Oh, precious ones! I had such a hard time yesterday, I fought tears the whole time. So many little ones wanting love and simply not enough people to go around. When we first arrived a little guy ran up with his arms lifted saying, me, me, wanting me to hold him. As we worked changing sheets, bathing and clothing the children they all wanted attention. Today as went back each child I held or cared for I prayed for them. Praying they would know Gods love and be adopted and know the love of a family. Our time at the baby home each day is a precious time for me!

After leaving the baby home the ladies and teen girls on our team headed to a bible study for pregnant teens. What a sweet time! Every time we do something I think this is my favorite part and then the next day we do something different and I think...oh wow this is my favorite part. These girls have lead such hard lives. The lady that offers this ministry takes in pregnant girls that have no one and shows them love, teaches them of Gods love for them, provides them housing, pays for their medical bills, helps them finish school or teaches them a trade. By the time they "graduate" from her house they are able to care for themselves and do not have to live on the streets. Myself and three other ladies from our team shared a testimony  that we felt God had laid on our hearts and three of the pregnant teens shared their stories. What a sweet time of encouragement for all of us. Definitely a highlight of the trip for me! We had the opportunity to buy some jewelry they make to provide for their needs. A beautiful ministry!

While the ladies were at the Bible study the guys on our team stayed back at the Gem Foundation and worked on building a fence and shoveling dirt and trash. They did a great job!

Below is part of the Gem Foundation. A sweet place for special need kiddos to be cared for and receive love!

I had asked some of you to pray for our team because two teammates were sick. I am happy to say the whole team was back together today feeling well. Continue to pray for our health, please.

May God continue to break our hearts for what breaks His! I am confident no one on our team will leave her the same as when we came. Each night we have a team meeting and each of us share our favorite part of the day or what God is teaching us. This has come to be a highlight of my day to hear how God is working in each of our hearts.

Precious!