The Gardens Day 2

Our team awoke today early as usual. But I on the other hand was woken up even earlier then the rest by Grace who forced me to protect her by accompanying her this morning on a run. Since Grace also needs more time to get ready since she is a girl, I had to much time between the time I returned and breakfast. Not enough time to go back to sleep, but to much time to sit in a calm, quiet, boring, sleeping household. After breakfast and devotion led by Stephanie we boarded our bus and headed to a new school to give their morning devotions. I sometimes feel like a rock star because we travel to a new school every morning, and kids swarm our nice bus as we enter the parking lot. Kids bang on the windows as the bus comes to a stop, and as soon as our feet hit the pavement kids just want to touch you. It is also funny that each school we have been to has been bigger than the one the day before. Anyways, like always, we did well to put it modestly. But to be honest.... we dominated.
Next we were off to our second day at Blossoms Gardens Orphanage. No chores were needed again today, only to play with the children so that the ladies working there could now spend their time dedicated to helping elsewhere. Though after seeing them throughout the day, it seemed as if we were just giving them a break instead because their new free time was not used to provide any special attention or work for the children. We play with all the children on a gated porch that is connected to a big room where it seems a majority of the children sleep due to the rows of beds and cradles. In the back of the room against a dark wall are four cribs that seems to be set apart from the rest of the room. As the course of the day went on different team members curiosity led them to the back of the room to those cribs to encounter kids we have never had to see before. Kids we have never even imagined existed in this kind of condition. Kids so heart wrenching for our teammates from the pain they were in, that the image of their faces and moans of their breathing will never be forgotten. One child was brand new, around 5 years old we are guessing (since he has no identification papers), laid in his cradle so starved that he looked like a corpse. I hate to refer to it like that, but that is literally how bad it was. Another child laid crippled from God knows what just struggling for air. Each breath this child took looked so painful that you had to look away every so often. The worst part about the siuation is nothing can be done for these children. Money is not available to help provide treatement, and care is only offered by maids who only do as much as they can for what they are paid. Yet we still did our best by doing all that we could which was just LOVE. Love ALL the children. Another interesting thing that happened was when we were returning from lunch, three ladies tried to come in with us when the gate was unlocked. we didn't think anything of it until a staff member ran out from the building telling them they were not allowed on the property. From their conversation we came to realize that one of them was a mother to a child in the orpahanage. The ladies waited outside still after being locked out and told to leave. I was shocked by the situation. It's not a everyday thing to see someone telling a mother that she is not allowed to see her child. You wonder what kind of cruelty took place in order for someone to take her own offspring away from her.
After we left the orphanage, we all took a relaxing swim which was encouraged by the sun being out. :)
Tonight we went back in town to talk with people and hopefully visit with the friends we made last night. Michael and Rocky were again extremely friendly and open about their lives and very happy to share with us. Yet me, Grace, Jenn, and Sami unfortunetly had encounter a intoxicated Joshua down the road who only wanted to argue and eventually turn dissrespectful. Not such a good way to end the night. But I keep telling myself that I came here not for a easy vacation, but for a hard, eye opening experience that I will take with me forever.
Tomorrow we are are all nervous for Westhaven.


Mom, hi. I'd appreciate if my brother would show some love and ask if he got my happy birthday message I sent him. Also, I would really like you to teach grandpa this blog thing because I could really use some of his wise words to help me out here. Thanks.