sweet saturday

Sleeping in today felt great. I still woke up at about 7:45, but it was a treat nonetheless! Those older kids outside our rooms are a great built in alarm clock...let me tell you. We didn't have anywhere to be today until lunch, so me and some other volunteers walked down to the main house to workout a little bit. They have a workout area with some equipment...but equipment is somewhat of a generous term. It felt great outside though, and it's a beautiful place to spend the morning.

After lunch all of the volunteers work with the kids who don't have any volunteers assigned to them right now. It's fun to get to see more of the kids and give them a chance play outside too. I worked with a boy, Jor-man, who was hysterical. He loved playing in the water, and he would run around the balcony when I chased him. He laughed constantly and was one of the most interactive kids I have worked with so far!

Today I got to sit with 3 of my kids as they chatted on web cam with their adoptive parents. It's something they do at the orphanage as a fundraiser, and the parents get to donate to have a certain number of sessions where they basically Skype with their children. Most of the kids can't talk, but it's a really cool opportunity for both sides, and I know the parents absolutely loved seeing their kids. I can't imagine how hard it is to wait patiently for the adoption process to finally be over with. It was also so neat for me to be able to see and talk to some of the parents who will eventually be with the kids I am working with. It made my job seem that much more real as I got to see the wonderful families that I am hopefully preparing these children to be loved by. The parents all seemed so great, and it gave me such hope for the precious children here. They have such bright futures waiting for them. God is so good!

Dinner was wonderful....it was this great soup with potatoes and vegetables! Vegetables are scarce here...so we definitely celebrate when they're included with meals. We are having a water drinking contest tonight to prepare for our hike tomorrow. We are setting a goal to hike to the very top of this pretty substantial mountain, and I am legitimately a little bit nervous...but hey, you're only in Haiti once right?! We'll be fine...but if you want to pray that we make it up there and back safely, then I won't stop you.

I just left the nursery, and instead of grabbing one kid to watch the sunset, Becca and I thought we'd be brave and sit in the nursery with the whole gang. Needless to say, we were quickly bombarded by toddlers...I felt like I was an animal at the petting zoo, or maybe a jungle gym. Either way hopefully you get the point. My chaco is literally tighter right now because I was dragging a girl as she hung onto my shoe strap. Goodness gracious.

Overall it's been a great, relaxing Saturday, and I'm excited for tomorrow! Besides the hike...it will be a good time to rejuvinate for next week. Love you all and have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!

Here's what tomorrow has in store for us. Wish us luck!!