Journal: Day 2

We arrived late last night. Guillermo rented a van to pick us up, along with our luggage. Some of the kids were waiting for us to arrive, they were all very excited. There are also an additional 4 volunteers here that we weren't expect ing, nor were they expecting us! It was a little awkward, and took a little while to sort through the confusion, but we have united and combined our efforts.
I only got ab out 5 hours sleep last night, and then we woke up ea rly, got ready, ate breakfast, and walked to church. The children are adorable, and it was my opportunity to get to know them a little better. I carried little J ose in my arms the entire way with Jennifer holding my other hand. The children are so loving, and only want to be hugged, and loved by us. All during Sacrament Meeting I had about 3 kids glued to my side. It amazes me how quickly they trust and attach themselves to us.
The orphanage building itself is wonderful. This is an amazing and safe place for them. They truly are s o lucky to have t he opportunity to live here. They all seem genuinely happy to be here.


There are now 10 children here. Jose is the newest of the bunch. He is about 1 1/2 years old, and arrived about 2 week s ago. H is Step Father was physically abusing him, and in the process broke his ribs and c racked his skull. He was brought here by the pol ice. I cannot comprehend how things like this occur to children.


Brian, another new boy, was adopted out by a Guatemalan couple because they believed they c ouldn't have children of their own. The woman eventually conceiv ed a child with her husband, and th ey promptly put him back in the system. They adopted him when he was 3, and kept him for 4 years!!! (He's now 7) Brian is adapting well, but you see his sadness when he thinks no one is looking. He's desperate to please, and find loving acceptance. He's a wonderful littl e boy and his intelligence level surprises me. He's got lots of potential.
Esduardo , Deanna, and Paula are all siblings. The youngest, Paula, was only given 3 days to live due to malnutr ition. She has thrived at the orphanage because of the love and care that has been given. Her mother was a prostitute and would leave the children unattended for days on end, eventually abandoning them leaving Esduardo (7) to care for his younger sisters Deanna(4) and Paula(1 1/2). There was a fire in the home and it burned down their house, and left Deanna with her hair burned off on one side of her head. It's still growing back. This left the children homele ss. Esduardo cared for his 2 sist ers for 3 months on the streets before being found. Th e police brought them to the
orphanage. Esduardo , is one of the most affectionate boys I've ever met. He just glows when given one-on-one time, and needs so much to be hugged. You can literally feel him melting u nder the embrace of a simple hug. I think he's still understandably dealing with residual emotional and anger issues from their past, but is learning to work through them the best that they can. They are sweet children and all 3 have a very close bond with each other.
Every single one of the kids has a story. All of them are ones ful l of heartache and disappointments , but in spite of it all they display an incredible amount of strength and trus t. I can't wait to get to know them better and observe them a little more.



*Cargo box is still at the Port, with no official release date. We MUST have it by Wednesday. Kevin and ken are going first thing in the morning to bribe them at the dock so we can expedite the already delayed shipment. I guess that's just how they roll here in Guatemala.