Today was our last day at the orphanage. Just like the morning before we all got up and went to breakfast, loaded the bus and then headed to "The Little House Of Refuge." The painting team finished up within no time on arriving at the orphanage, which was great. The sewing team finished everything right before lunch, and the construction team. Well lets just say theres always work to be done, but we were able to accomplish what we set out to do with our time here in Guatemala. After Lunch with the children we did VBS and had lots of free time with the kids which was such a blessing. I got to spend most of my day with Julisa reading books, doing puzzles and just walking around laughing smiling and barley even talking. After VBS we had a big game of volleyball, which everyone played and had a blast being a part of. Around 6:30pm we left but before that we had to say goodbye. There were many tears involved and it was so tough to kiss and hug them goodbye wondering if it was your last time to see them or if you could say "see you next year." After at least 30 minutes of goodbyes we went to the hotel and had dinner and then ice cream at an ice cream shoppe next to our hotel. It was so good!
Earlier I mentioned I got to spend a lot of time with Julisa today. I barely know any spanish and she only knows about 3 words of english, so she and I don't' do a lot of talking. Just laughing and pointing, but what I realized is that when you are with someone you love, you don't always have to talk. Just being in their presence is enough. I know sometimes, depending on who it is, you can talk and talk and talk and talk and never get tiered or run out of things to say to the person you love, but also within that silence is good. When you are with the person you love being around, silence isn't awkward; for me, being around Julisa and not talking, actually makes me happy, and joyful. My heart is content just sitting with her, holding her hand and kissing her on the forehead. Saying goodbye to Julisa wasn't easy, and I knew it wasn't going to be, but I knew I had to until next year. Loving someone like her makes me want to try even harder to make it back each year because I know that the 3 short days of seeing her, holding her, kissing her is totally worth it!
I never expected to feel like a mom, to love someone so deeply that it hurts to drive away, and know you won't see them for 365 days. I never expected that sitting in someones presence would bring so much joy.
I'm so thankful God has shown me how deep you can love someone and relate it to how much he loves me. God doesn't always ask us to talk to him, he calls us to sit in his presence which is something I've learned just by being with Julisa.
All I can say is Expect The Unexpected
Here are some pictures from today-
Julisa and I
Love that little smile
What most of today consisted of.
Everyone from "The Little House Of Refuge" plus our team.
Sarah and I's Ice cream
My name is Lisa Faith-Gregg. My family lives in Lubbock Texas. We recently learned about Little House thru our church and wrote letters to the children at Little House. My husband is an eye surgeon and I was once a surgical tech, now a counselor to children and a mommy.
ReplyDeleteJalisa's picture is ONLY one of the notes we were able to read and write back. I want you to know that I am so proud of you and for heart for listening to God. He will take care of Jalisa and the other children at LHR.
We are currently working on getting eye exams for the children and helping Jalisa, specifically, see better. So hopefully in 36FOUR more days she can see your beautiful face more clearly. Feel free to find me on facebook and again....thank you for your service and open heart :)