Full hearts and full bellies

Today was a day full of love from start to finish.  I got to see a bunch of kids I haven't seen since November and spend time with some of my favorites.

Some of the older kids were sitting outside the gates of the church (Iglesia en Transformación) using the internet yesterday.  The church was closed because it was Saturday.  Don Juan cannot be responsible for a bunch of kids hanging around, so that is why they were outside the gates.  A car passed by, turned around, came back and held them up with a pistol.  The bad guys robbed the kids' phones, a tablet that one of them had, everything of value and even the shoes off their feet!  How scary!

People think I am crazy when they visit from the US and we asked them to take off their valuables and not to use their cameras or phones in Los Pinos.  They don't understand that stuff like this really happens.  One of the boys told his Mom that he thought he was going to end up with a hole in his head because of how forcefully the man was pressing the gun against him.  That is horrible.

I want to be clear, I do not think the church did anything wrong.  The kids are constantly told not to hang out there.  It is dangerous!  Traffic drives by way too fast and it is a bad neighborhood.  I was sad to hear about this.

I invited my friend Ana to visit my new church today.  As I picked her up I saw a bunch of the younger kids like Homni and Esteven and Memo (or whatever name he is asking to be called these days).

As I dropped them off I saw a bunch of older kids like Ingrid and Alejandra.  They gave me big hugs and told me how much they miss me.  It was great to see them!  I realized I have been trying not to think about how much I miss them too.

Ana, her kids, and her nephew enjoyed visiting my new church.  The kids liked the classes (and the hot dogs).  Ana said she completely understands why I love the church and the people there.  After church we went to my house where we played games and played outside.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.  I made brownies and we ate the whole pan!  The kids kept saying they liked the cake and they didn't understand that the walnuts were nuts.  They have never had brownies before!

Laura and Fany were not home when we first got there.  Laura was so good about sharing her bikes and toys!  She is not your typical three year old.  I was proud of her.

Ana, Fany and I had some nice lady time as the kids played.  Being with Ana and her family made me realize how much I miss them and love them.

As I took them home Ana said she had a great day.  She said first she was filled with the Holy Spirit at church in the morning, and then filled with friendship and love during our time in the afternoon.  I felt the same.  But I was extra happy because it was nice to see Ana relax and receive spiritually.  She works so hard between being a single Mom of four kids and also cooking at the church for all of the kids every day, she deserves to be refilled!

I told her I will not pester her to come to my new church, but she is invited any time she wants to come.  It meant a lot to me that she could see why I love my new church and to know she liked it too.

In the evening I hung out with Fany.  We had Chinese rice, which is kind of like fried rice, but with no eggs.  It is a basic staple in Honduras when a family doesn't want to cook at home.  We sat around talking about girl things and about how in the world she is going to handle her daughter, who is so smart it is scary!  Fany has never tried time outs before.  She saw a North American friend use them, but Fany mostly threatens the belt.  Today Laura dropped her bread on the floor and then refused to pick it up.  While Fany threatened to get the belt, in my head I could hear my mother say, "I am going to count to three..."

I the whole process of time outs to her.  Fany said she is willing to try it.  I expect it to be hard at first, but as we always see on Supernanny, in the end it pays off.  I am not a mom, but I think time outs can help Fany set firmer limits now and make her life a whole life easier both now and in the future.

I also got to spend the day with Ana's nephew.  He is a really sweet boy.  My heart hurts when I think of him.  Ana is about the only adult who shows him love, so when I am around him I do my best to make him feel special and loved.

Here are some photos of our day:

David, Samuel, Angel and Isabela

David and Samuel

Love that smile!

Jetty smelling a flower

WOW!  Great jump Angel!!

Jetty and Isabela.  Thank God I have the gentlest cat ever.

Lounging around

Even Samuel is tired after a long day of fun!