YPO Week

This week we were able to work with three YPO families, the Garretts (founders of Orphan Helpers from VA) were one of the families and there were two others with them. One family from Bermuda and one from England. It was fun to have a change of pace and do some different things this week since doing the same thing every day can get a little tiring. It was also great to be able to meet the founder of Orphan Helpers and to really gain some insight into his passion and vision. He is a great guy and his love for the kids shines through. It was inspiring and reassuring for me to see that. He loves these kids and wants to see them excel in life and exceed the low expectations set for them.

The week started on Sunday when we dropped Cramer off at the airport (sad!) and picked up the Garrett family. Sunday night Hermana Filo cooked lasagna for all of us at the promise house and three of the girls shared their testimonies. It is really hard for these girls to talk about the things that have happened to them in the past. I admire their strength so much. For all of my prayer supporters, if you could please keep Marta in your prayers that would be wonderful! Marta is one of the girls in the Promise House. She is 15 years old and has a 4 year old son (Miguel) as a result of being raped by a friend of her dad when she was 10 years old. She is a very strong and independent girl but she struggles, understandably so, with anger and feelings of guilt. It has taken her a while to be able to love her son since he reminds her so easily of horrible events in the past. She has such great potential to do great things. I can see her leadership abilities clearly in the way she interacts and leads the other girls in the house.

Monday and Tuesday were spent at CISNA doing sports in the morning with the boys and then hanging out with the girls in the detention center in the afternoon. There are a few new girls in the detention center, one of them is Ester´s sister. Tuesday night Hermana Filo cooked for us again and we were able to hear some of the testimonies of the boys from the Faith House.

On Wednesday (yesterday) the YPO group invited us to eat breakfast with them at the hotel. It was so nice, really good food and the families are just a lot of fun to be around. Very good and geniune people. It is kind of funny though because I feel like my lifestyle has changed so much that I almost feel out of place in nice settings or places where there is a lot of food. We all joke about how we feel like the orphans being taken out into public. There is some truth to it though, my mindset on a lot of things has definitely changed since I have been here. Anyways, after breakfast the group headed to CISNA and I went to the airport to drop Lauren off. It was so sad! She was such a blessing to me here and she is missed! We also picked up a new girl who is staying in the Promise House for 2 weeks. Her name is Lydia and she is 14 years old and from Mississippi. It is her first ¨mission trip¨experience so I´m sure it will be great for her.

Last night we had a little ¨sleepover¨at the Promise House. Marina, the 16 year old from England, spent the night with us and we had some junk food and hung out with the girls for a little while before bed.

Today we were back at CISNA in the morning and then left at lunch time. The family from England left to catch their flight and we showered and then went to the mall for a little while. It really is weird to see how different the classes of people here are. There is ¨rich El Salvador¨and ¨poor El Salvador¨ I know it is like that in America too but here the rich seem richer and the poor seem poorer. We drive by families living under bridges with nothing except the clothes on their back and then we walk into the mall where everyone is dressed nicely and shopping in Tommy Hilfiger or eating in a nice restaurant. It really blows my mind how a few miles can make such a difference. It is something that I daily think about and struggle with. The world truly is a broken place and it is very evident in this country.

Tonight we are going to have one last dinner with the Garretts. It was a huge blessing being able to meet them and they will definitely be missed. Tomorrow we are taking some of the boys to the zoo and then were going to check out the Mayan ruins. Saturday is the fourth of July but I am trying not to think about it because I´m a little sad to not be in the USA for Independence Day! :( So while you are enjoying your cookouts, fireworks and the beach...think of me, at least for a minute!

Love you guys...can´t believe I´ll be home in less than 2 weeks! My calendar is clear for anyone who wants to share an American meal haha (as long as it doesn´t include beans) :)