Saturday - The Beach and a Party!

On Saturday, we slept a little later and enjoyed breakfast with all of the boys. Our preparations for the beach started right after breakfast. We are taking nine girls and three boys to the beach -- most of them are six years old and younger. We prepared sandwiches for the adults to take. The children ate lunch prepared at the park. The place we take them is within walking distance to the beach. After playing with the children in the surf for awhile, we came back up to a park, with "palapas" which are like thatched huts, where we relaxed and enjoyed our lunch. The palapas are right next to three very nice swimming pools. One very shallow, one medium depth, and one bigger pool for the older children.   We swam with the children in the pools and relaxed for awhile until it was time to eat.

Back at the homes, Hope and the staff were busy preparing for a very special party. The girls' housemother, Theresa, has recently graduated, receiving her masters degree.  Hope and Steve offered to throw her a party, and she invited family and friends to join her in the celebration.

The children really love Theresa, especially the girls. For many of them, she is the only mother they have ever known. She is very loving and attentive to them, and she encourages them to talk openly about their experiences, which for many of them is new, and not easy.

As the team and the children returned home from the beach, preparations at the girls' home reached a fevered pitch. Everyone helped get ready, as about 45 people were expected for dinner. The evening was very pleasant. Tables were set up in the backyard, fresh flowers were arranged, and a real party atmosphere was created.

After dinner, a mariachi band came and sang for us for awhile. When the band left, the people in the group began sharing how much they love her and how proud they were of her accomplishments. The older girls had joined us and also spoke. Most of them could not speak for long without weeping because they feel that they are so blessed to have her in their lives. Some of the girls (ages 10-13) performed a little dance that they had prepared in Theresa's honor. She graciously received many gifts from her friends and loved ones.

After cleaning up from the party, we were all exhausted, and very happy that we could sleep until 8:00 a.m. on Sunday!