Ants! The little critters breached our wall of lime and invaded! Actually, it turns our tent was placed on their primary place of residence; we were the ones who invaded. Nevertheless, they must be destroyed!
Shortly after this discovery, our minds and bodies were jolted into even fuller alert as Holly greeted us all with a lovely solo of wooden spoon against aluminum pan.
With a great French toast breakfast in our bellies, we quickly arranged ourselves into our work groups. Our tasks for this morning were – firebreak details, painting, electrical, drywall repair, and trail maintenance.
The neighbour’s kitten came with all the cuteness a kitten could deploy, and for a time entertained the firebreak crew. This was literally short-lived as our ever-present canine protector Scooby intervened. In spite of protests from the crew, Scooby launched an all-out military campaign and after a short and very one-sided battle, the cat (who Holly had just earlier named Carlos) succumbed to his injuries. Carlos the Kitty is now in the Great Litter Box in the sky and is being mourned. Ryan and Zach performed the memorial service and burial.
Food is comfort, so Jenny’s lovely grilled cheese lunch helped us forget about the morning’s tragedy. Shifting gears from food to fun, we set up crafts and games for the kids. We made up three teams: Astronauts Azul (Blue Astronauts), Pantheras Rosa (Pink Panthers), and Salsa Rojo (Red Salsa). With minor injuries to one of our own leaders, we still had an amazing time laughing, running and connecting as well as colliding with each other.
Before our heart rates returned to normal, we transitioned to craft time. Craft time was super fun, but super messy. We made paper mache masks, and hand sculptures for all the kids. This in of itself is a tricky task, but the most challenging part of all was explaining to the kids that they couldn’t move the entire time the mask was being applied – as well as for twenty minutes after. After a time of wiping and chipping plaster out of their facial orifices, we set dinner and invited all the kids and workers of the orphanage to join us. Another great meal whipped up by Jenny and her crew – we enjoyed pasta and Caesar salad with garlic toast.
When dinner was finished, and before chapel, we took part in our first foot wash of the week. This was a really cool experience. We are all serving each other in various ways, but washing someone’s dirty, yucky feet is a lesson in humility for sure – for both people.
Tonight’s chapel was run by Haley with the help of Dominique, Siara, Ryan, Geordie, and Peter. Everything went according to plan with a few extra laughs along the way. It was awesome to be with everybody – and to be there with a singular purpose: worship.
With night one of chapel over, we had a quick play with the kids. Playtime is super important to the kids. Even though we are here to help with repairs, maintenance and building stuff, our presence would be in vain if we didn’t play. Note to self: do the relationship stuff.
After a good play and sweat, we headed back to our little camp. We wrote in our journals, ate a snack and enjoyed a campfire where we worshipped some more and shared about our AHHHH moments. Some of the group members went off on a late night hike to see the stars before crawling off to bed. The neighbour’s dogs thought it would be a nice treat for us to hear them bark the entire time the hikers were out. Nice touch. Not. It didn’t matter, we were all asleep very quickly.
Goodnight! - Haley, Dominique, and Twila
Yay! Thanks for the update girls – great pictures Graham!
Wow! So proud of Haley and her crew leading Chapel on day 1! It is so great to hear everything that you all are doing for Rancho Milagro, the children & yourselves. The write ups give those of us at home a small peek into your daily adventures but the endless collection of smiles in the pictures tells us a story that comes from the heart!
You are all awesome!! Now play safe.
great pictures nice to see Peter is having a great time and working hard
I don’t think Aaron is in any of those pictures
I guess doing work projects all day…or hiding in his tent, one of the two.
Wow, you guys are seeing and doing some amazing things!
That must have been so traumatic for you guys when Scooby decided he didn’t like that kitten. It is so hard as a “citified” person and one who has pet cats and dogs to understand that a dog would do that. Our pets are just that, pets, that are coddled and taken away their natural instincts. I pray for you all that this episode does not leave a lasting impression in your minds.
It is great to see the many smiley faces in all the photos. I do recognize some faces and see some new ones as well. Are Luce and Maggie still there, I haven’t seen them in pictures. (I know Maggie likes to shy away from the camera.)
Thank you for your hard work, thank you for loving the kids!!
Nick, BB has been AMAZING this week….it is sad watching it without my BB buddy! How is team Neter doing?
Love to you all – keeping you in my prayers,
Alexis
Hi folks,
Thank for great pictures and lots of happy faces, except i don’t see pictures of my girsl Jaya e Saira where are they?
Love to you all
Helena
Happy 10 year anniversary Ken! Missing you lots and can’t wait to see you!
The boys say they miss wrestling with you. Hopefully we’ll be able to skype with you today. We love seeing all the pictures and reading the stories.
Lisa