Day 5 in Guatemala is pretty much in the books, and it was a fruitful day!
We headed back up the mountain from Panajachel to Eagle’s Nest to spend some more time at the orphanage and the feeding program with the kids. On our first day at the orphanage I met a little boy named Carlos Raul. Carlos is around 2 years old and has been at the orphanage for about 3 months now. He has been really slow to open up, interact with other people, and even receive affection and love from people. It really has just been since last week that he’s even letting people hold him and love on him with out pushing people away or crying. Each day I’ve gone back this week it’s been so cool to see him open up more and more. He loves playing with my sun glasses and cell phone. Today he stood right up when I came in and held his hands up. Without a sound, he was asking me to hold him…and I was happy to oblige. He sat in my lap and rolled a basketball back and forth to the girls…he was super content to just be held.
The girls spent time with the preschoolers again today. Leading a Bible story about Naaman, the military leader, and the little girl who should have been his enemy but instead pointed him to Elisha to be healed. They also spent some time doing crafts with the kids. After lunch we worked at the feeding program again, but before serving the kids lunch the girls shared that same Bible story again with the kids from the community. They had some help from their friends Parker and Anna Kate (the missionaries children that we are connected with down here). Parker and Anna Kate have been incredible for Kennedy and Mia this week. They’re just a couple of years older than our girls. So being a bit more mature, and understanding the lay of the land down here, it’s been great for my girls to have two friends to look up to who are providing a great example to them on their first mission trip. Leadership has no age limit!
After coming home and getting the girls down for a late afternoon nap Lee and I ran by the coffee shop he introduced me to yesterday to pick up some whole bean coffee for the trip home. Incredible coffee! Right from the growers here in Guatemala and then roasted this morning. You can check out the website here. Let’s just say there are going to be a few happy coffee lovers when I come home.
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