This morning began rather early – waking up at 5 and eating breakfast by 6. We had devotions after breakfast – we read the story of Eglon and Ehud (Ben was rather excited that we were finally out of GenesisJ), and then we headed off for Oratorio.
It took over 2 ½ hours to get there, and the ride was rather
interesting. The landscape was beautiful,
the scenery was breathtaking, and once we got outside the city, the traffic
finally settled down. We almost were in
an accident as a large dump truck pulled onto the road in front of us, and had
we not stopped, we would have been hit.
Both Phil (our driver) and the truck stopped before we crashed, but
because of the bus between us, neither knew what the other was going to
do. We didn’t get hit – so it really wasn’t
a bad thing.
However, about 10 minutes later, we watched as a gentleman
carrying a box of some sort on his shoulder, stepped out into traffic and was
hit by a pick up truck. The truck was
not going all that fast, but fast enough to send the man hurling to the ground
a few feet away. Instantly, cops and
others ran to the man’s aide, so we didn’t stop. We did however pray for him and the driver of
the truck (as there was no way he could have know the man was coming). It was sobering to think about.
Finally we arrived at Oratorio. We were met by scores of kids as we were
ushered into the main room set up with hundreds of chairs. Kids were waiting for us, and while we waited
for things to start, we interacted with the kids. Doug and Lynne sat amongst the kids, Wayne
found his sponsored child and sat with him, Ben mimicked the kids and team
members to the delight of the kids, Jack seemed to enjoy smiling and
interacting with the kids as well. As is
normal, I was mingling and making the kids wonder why I am so weird – they laughed,
they told me their names, some asked questions, some even spoke English – it was
fun to talk with them.
Eventually the presentation began – they did a quick skit
with a little girl trying to sleep, and angel, an angry parent, and a scary kid
in a mask – you’ll have to ask about the skit later – it was fun to watch. Then the kids sang some songs as we
listened. Finally it was our turn to do something,
and the group was still all over the room.
I sang “No Hay Dios”, and the kids joined in – I should have sung it
with them twice, but I didn’t. Then the
team introduced themselves and gave a brief word.
After the presentation, we handed out bundles – one after
another after another… It was
tiring. There are 450 kids in the
school, but many were not there. I think
we handed about 260 out before we finally called it quits. We hugged kids, took pictures, laughed with
them, encouraged them… much like we did the other days this week. It was wonderful.
As the kids began leaving, Doug and Lynne and Wayne gave
their gifts to their sponsored children and spent some time talking with
them. Eventually the Hanson’s kid left,
and we all joined together for lunch – Wayne’s kid included. We ate, listened to Gilberto’s testimony,
and talked.
After finishing lunch, some of the team did a house visit at
Wayne’s kids home, and Jack, Ben and I played basketball with the
teachers. We had a lot of fun, and the
rest of the team had a wonderful experience blessing the family they
visited. Overall, it was a great day!
After a LONG trip home, we arrived back at Thelma’s around 6:15,
and got ready for dinner. As we ate we
discussed the things we saw, the things that we would like to see God do at the
centers, and what part the group can play in making it happen. Wayne wants to help them get a computer lab
going at Oratorio, and the Hansons would love to see more vocational teaching
happening there as well. We will pray
together towards these ends, and Phil will collect information and talk with
the correct people about making it happen.
Well, that’s today – tomorrow is our final center. I know
the team is excited to do it again tomorrow!!
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