A Warm Welcome!

Things are going well so far. Yesterday we were able to buy a whole truck load of food. Our “mom” Grace was so overwhelmed when she saw the loads of food that she fell to her knees in prayer and that just got me crying. All the children gathered around the truck excited that they were going to get a meal. We handed out bananas and they all got in a line and curtsied and they thanked us for the fruit. I feel as though we got there just in time, for they didn’t know where
to turn to for food next and were just trying to live day to day.

It was an emotional first night; major sensory overload. And oh how we just stand out out here!! But we got the best welcome ever, they sang for us and danced for us and expressed their love and gratitude for us through song. And yes I was crying through that too. There are about 40 orphans 10 of those being boys. They are sweet kids but seem a bit apprehensive toward us which is hard because we want to interact with them. I think they will loosen up with time. We have our own room each with a bed, I am glad I brought a pad and a sleeping bag because those beds are like sleeping on just the frame itself. There is no running water in the house so we bathe out of a bucket in the tub. There is a well out back where we get water and we can heat some up
with a kettle. The weather is cold today (60’s), it is their winter so it seems to stay in the 70’s...which is a bummer cuz we were hoping for a bit warmer! There is plenty nearby and the volunteer office isn’t too far either which is nice.

There are other volunteers at many different project locations. They are all involved in either teaching, aids work, or orphanage work. We have 2 or 3 other volunteers at the Queens home, but Jaimie and I are the only volunteers living there. All the children are called queens and all the boys are called kings. We are known as Queen Jaimie and Queen Carly, its so cute. I have a lot of pictures but I keep forgetting my adapter. But I will try and send some pics and video tomorrow. As far as what we need, I think we are fine. They really just need more money to purchase things they need, and those items are cheaper over here. We are going to set up an office and food storage while we are here so we can organize the orphanage. We will help them keep inventory and we will organize and file all the children’s paperwork so that when the next set of volunteers come there will be a sort of system in place. We are going to spend some of our funds on getting an office together...a desk and chair, filing cabinet and maybe a computer if we can raise a couple hundred dollars to get that. This way they will be able to keep track of all the children, their medical records, school information, etc.

I read some of the girls’ files and I can’t believe the things they have been through. Some were found on the side of the road abandoned, many of their parents have died in
different ways and I can’t imagine the suffering they have had to endure in just a short amount of years. Yet they sing and dance and thank God daily for all they have. This will be quite the journey, and I am still trying to adjust, but I am sure that will take some
time. Today we will take a little trip to a place called 14 Falls, its supposed to be beautiful, full of different waterfalls and tonight we will go to Karaoke night with some of the other volunteers.
Normally we would be working all day, but we are getting together to say goodbye to a couple other volunteers so they wanted us to join them. I am glad we have others to show us the ropes! They come from all over...a few from Australia, Ireland, Canada, California, UK etc.

They are great people! Jaimie and I are having a great time together,
laughing and being crazy as always and I only almost peed my pants
once=) Its going to be a great growing experience for both of us and I am glad I get to share that with her. It will be great when we get into more of a routine and we can’t wait until Jordan comes and we can show him around. Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone! We miss you already!