Una Dia Buena

(I hope that's how you say it...)  What a wonderful, busy day we had today!  As soon as we arrived we got busy painting and touching up paint on the outside walls of two of the buildings with bright green and yellow paint.  Before lunch, that painting project was completed.  Darlene, Maria and I cooked lunch for the 37 children, some workers who are laying paving stones on the driveway, the caretakers, and the team.  We made tuna noodle casserole on the stove top and served fruit cocktail and horchata (a traditional Guatemalan drink) with it.  During the morning Kristi, Ally, Marty and Kara were teaching in the school.  It went very well in spite of the language barrier, and they said that the children were very eager to learn and delightful to work with.
After lunch there was some time of just playing with the children doing puzzles, listening to them read, playing board games, etc. which was relaxing and fun.  I enjoyed doing puzzles and playing Strawberry Shortcake Memory with Rosio and Sylvia.  Then, we sang with the children and then divided up for doing crafts with some of the older ones and playing games with the younger ones.  From the sound of the children on their playground coming in to where we were painting, they must have been having a really great time!  Marc, Angie, Randy and I were painting in the hallway entrance to the school building and got that section almost completed.  Many of the children are very good at jumping rope, so we had a great time doing that with them.  The boys enjoyed playing four-square with Ian and Mary. 
The best part of it all is of course the time we get to spend with the children.  Sometimes the interactions are very brief, maybe a smile or an "hola," and other times we can have conversations or play games or work together with them (in the kitchen).  I treasure the moments when some of the girls and I have "connected" either by teaching each other Spanish or English or by laughing about something or just by understanding what the other meant.
All of us are so thankful to be here.  It is such a blessing to be able to spend time with the children and to help improve their lives in little ways at Little House of Refuge.  We are all hoping for a restful night and looking forward to more tomorrow!
We are so thankful too for your prayers for us as we come to be present here.  God is faithful, and we are amazed and glorify Him for how He is providing for and caring for His children here on this one mountainside in Guatemala.

Lynn