Woodland Hills January Team Day Seven (Friday)

     Our last day here in Puebla has been a roller coaster of emotions.  After bonding with the children this week, it has been very hard and sad to say good-bye. 
     We cleaned and packed this morning at our house and sat in the sun one last time for morning devotions and  debriefing.  Then Jerry and Susy, the founders and leaders of Living Hope came to share their testimony and story with us.  I think we all sat with our mouths hanging open and eyes wide as we heard all the unbelievable stories of God's guidance and faithfulness to them in the past 25 years of being missionaries.  It was so moving, so challenging, and so powerful.  We felt so blessed to hear their story.  We all were changed forever by this time.
     We spent our last afternoon doing a few activities with the children, first with the girls and then the boys.  We shared many special hugs and photos and tried to treasure our last moments together. 
     Tonight started "Es Tiempo de Entregarse" (It's Time to Surrender), a big conference that Living Hope puts on every year.  We were honored to be a part of the first session and it was a powerful time of worship and teaching.  Both the teaching pastor and the worship leader were English speaking, so it was interesting to hear it all translated to Spanish instead of English.
     Our time here has come to a close, and although we are looking forward to being home and with our families, it is hard to say good-bye.  We have had a powerful, life-changing trip, and we know we will not be the same again.
     We are excited to share our stories as we come home, and we will be ready to see you all tomorrow.  Please pray for a safe, smooth day of travel, ad we will see you soon!
     May God's glory rest on Esperanza Viva and may we never forget all we learned here.  God is present and he is good and we cling to that with all we are. 
    Thanks for sharing in this week with us.
                     Much love,
                          The Woodland Hills Puebla Team

The card says, "You are special."

Time with the kids.

Card making with the girls.

The card reads, "Abigail and Jesus together."

The girls really enjoyed the flower and heart stickers.

Sandra liked the space stickers.

All the girls who made cards.

Time with the boys.

Woodland Hills January Team Day Six (Thursday)

     Well, today was a bittersweet day indeed.  We said our official "good-bye" to the children at the orphanage since we will be helping with the big conference tomorrow.  Our whole day was spent with the children, which we really enjoyed.  We read books together, played with the parachute, played with balls and, a highlight for the kids, taking turns riding in the double stroller!

     After a yummy lunch of beans, rice, and tortillas, we made cards with the kids and they decorated them with a variety of letters and stickers.

     The children planned for us a beautiful despedida, a farewell time in which the children took part.  They handmade cards/pictures for each individual team member and they gave meaningful thank yous to us as a team. 

     The boys planned a creative skit of Jonah and the Whale, and the girls planned and coreographed a wonderful dance.  It was so special.

     We all enjoyed some jello together as a farewell treat and then spent time visiting with one another.

     We are thankful for a day to spend with the children and are being so blessed by the faith and joy and love they all have.

     We will spend our evening making dinner back at the house and then we have devotions with the Nielsens, the missionary family here from Woodland Hills. 

     Please pray for our last day - that we would complete the work the Lord has for us here this week.  God is doing great things here - may our eyes and hearts be open to all He is doing.

Blessings and Love.

Reading books and doing a small activity.

Beginning the card making.

Two boys made cards with outer space themes.

One boy signing his name to a thank you card that will be sent

to the store that donated materials for the team.

The despedida or farewell.

Woodland Hills January Team Day Five (Wednesday)

     The day is coming to a close and all of us are getting ready for church tonight.  We've had a good day...especially with everyone feeling back to themselves!  We started the morning by hearing about the sponsorship program for the children at the orphanage from Jim, a missionary here.  We were excited to hear about how we could continue to stay involved here with the ministry.  After our morning meeting, we had a team outing to downtown Puebla, which was absolutely beautiful.  We walked through the gorgeous cathedral and had some time in the shopping district.  It was a fun time out together, and we enjoyed the warm sunshine!
     We returned to the orphanage for our daily craft time with the children.  They stamped and painted little drums and then we sang a few praise songs with them in Spanish.  The kids requested to sing them in English too, so we had a fun time singing in both languages. 
     Just as our time is drawing to a close, we are finally getting into the swing of things!  Our systems are getting faster and we are falling nicely into the routine and pace of life here.  Our team is continuing to get to know each other more and are sharing lots of inside jokes. 
     We never cease to be in awe of all the stories of the orphans here and we hope and pray we are able to give them a glimmer of joy and love this week. 
     Thank you for all your prayers!  We love you all back home!

Oh, and p.s., Colleen says hi, to all her "K's" and "C's" at home!

Activity time with the kids.

Woodland Hills January Team Day Four (Tuesday)

     Tuesday was yet another full day here in Puebla.  We worked at the church this morning, helping to set up tents for a conference that is taking place this weekend.  All the teenage boys from the orphange were there helping and they were distracted greatly by Micah and Samuel!  The team was moved seeing how much the teenage boys really loved our little boys, especially Samuel.  They played with him in the grass for a while, until they were called to work and played with Micah on all their breaks. 

     This afternoon our team member who is a dentist, Mark, gave a presentation on teeth brushing and flossing to the children, and we read a book in Spanish regarding dental health.  After this, we had a new toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste and some floss for each child and they were so excited to get them. 

     We also made homemade play-dough with the kids using peanut butter, so they each had their own "chunk" that they cut out into shapes and then ate!

     Most of the group then attended the staff "CIA" which is a prayer and praise session with the missionaries and staff that work here.  Zach and Sarah, unfortunately, had to miss it in order to take Samuel (our youngest team member) to the doctor for what we thought was an ear infection, but he just has a virus and a bad case of teething!  He is, of course, still smiling!

     A late dinner and a time of debriefing will end our day and we once again will give thanks to God that we are each here. 

     Although we have had a few minor sicknesses come up (a virus, a sinus infection, and stomach issues), the team is still happy and overwhelmed with emotion by all that is happening here.

     We are getting to know the children (and staff) more and more and are amazed by all God is doing here at Esperanza Viva.  It is a privilege being a small part this week. 

     Please continue to pray for us - especially for health and for energy and stamina for our full days. 

God is so good!

As always, love to all!

Tooth brushes and dental care. 

Lalo was thrilled that he got his favorite color toothbrush.

Let the peanut butter play-dough begin.

Messy but, oh, so much fun!

Yummm...... Eleazar said he was washing his hands with his mouth.