In other news, before I got sick, Mariya and I played mom for 13 of the kids that live in Casas Familias while the house mom was on a weekend vacation. Let´s just say, taking care of 13 small children in Ecuador is way different than taking care of them in the States. You don´t realize how great things like plenty of diapers and paper towels are or washing machines to help with the piles of underwear that result from pottytraining. It was a beautiful if not trying experience and I am thankful to now know more first-hand what that part of the work here is like. I also now have an even greater appreciation for the consecrated women who serve as these house moms, or ¨educadoras¨. We were supposed to continue with caring for the children this week but due to other pending work and my subsequent illness, we did not.
A part of our time with the children included the welcoming and acclimating of three new babies, Stiven (es-tea-ven) de 4 años and twin 2 year old girls, Ximena (he-meh-nah) and Sara. The first few days were rough as Stiven was very sick and Ximena cried the majority of the time as she tried to make sense of her new surroundings. However, by the end of the second day, they began to smile and oh - how precious and hard-won those smiles were. Stiven was placed quickly in a foster family but Ximena and Sara stayed with us and have now completely stolen our hearts. In fact, I have created a new album on shutterfly dedicated to them and the rose farm, babies and roses, two of my favorite things. Mariya is talking about bringing them back with her but I intend on putting up a fight to bring them to Atlanta. Oh, they are adorable and are very special to us.
Ximena Smiles...
Currently, I am hanging out in my room, in my bed and working on being better. I am so thankful that they let me borrow the base´s one computer with internet so that I could reach out to the outside world, thanks Fatima. Prayers for a speedy recovery so that I can go on the medical mission with the kids from Franciscan Univ. next week (we´re goin´ to the jungle) would be much appreciated. As always, if any of y´all have prayer intentions, post a comment or email me and let me know, I would love to know how to pray for the folks back home.
Much love to you all, hope to have an exciting post next time, recounting my adventures in the jungle :) Check www.lavidaloca.shutterfly.com for more pics!
1 comment:
Maribeth!
I miss you and it's so exciting to hear about the wonderful mission work you are doing right now. I also wanted to let you know your health is in my prayers (as I am currently sick too, and know what fun it isn't...). Now that I know your blog exists, I intend to keep reading as much as possible.
God bless,
Ashley K.
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