Birthdays n' Goodbyes

So much has happened in the last week, it is hard to process!!! Last Tuesday was Jhesica's 11th birthday. I went into Quillacollo and managed to find a cake with red (Jhesica's favourite colour) icing! It was quite the ordeal carrying a cake on the crowded "mini bus" (more like a van). I was praying the whole way that I would get the cake safely to the centre! Thankfully I got away with only a small bit of icing being brushed off by the lady next to me.

In the afternoon there was much excitement as we set the table and brought out the cake, coke (a favourite drink with the girls), and "rollo de queso" (a kind of cheese roll). We enjoyed our birthday "feast," and, most importantly of all, Jhesica seemed very happy! (Can you tell by the smile on her face in the first picture?)

On Saturday we had the closing ceremony where there were awards given and everything was wrapped up for the school year. The centre was a busy place with parents arriving for the ceremony and then preparing to take their children home. Of the girls, Jhesica was the only one to leave that day with her family.

Sunday was a cold rainy day, so the girls spent the day indoors, and I started working on my packing after our Sunday morning meeting.

On Monday my parents and sister, Elisa, arrived from La Paz around midday. We took the three orphans (Anahi, Manuela, and Sonia) as well as Mercedes into town to Burger King. We were celebrating Sonia's 17th birthday. It was quite the experience! Sonia didn't even seem to know how to eat a burger or an ice cream cone. I ended up juggling a melting ice cream cone (which I was trying to feed Sonia), napkins (to wipe away the ice cream that kept getting on her face), and toilet paper (to wipe her runny nose). What a mess! Then there was Manuela, sitting on my other side, barely able to eat her burger because of laughing so hard! She always laughs when she is extremely happy!

From Burger King we took the girls back to the centre and picked up my stuff. Then it was time to say some heartbreaking goodbyes. There was tears and there was a lot of bawling on Manuela's part. It was heart-wrenching to hear Manuela's wails as I headed out the door. It was overcast and raining, adding to the melancholy of the moment. As we drove away, I lifted up Manuela in prayer, asking God to somehow put His arms around her and comfort her.

BLESSINGS:

-God answered my prayers and my time at the centre ended well.

-Special birthday celebrations!

-My parents and sister were able and willing to come and help me pick up my stuff!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-That God would be comforting the girls--especially Manuela and Sonia who have no family and will be staying at the centre for the whole summer vacation (remember we are in the southern hemisphere!)

-That I would be using my time wisely.

-For clear guidance for plans for next year (more on that in my next blog entry).