Ninos!

This week I was working at a day care for underpriviledged children outside of San Jose. There are about ten kids ranging from six months to seven years of age, and they are FULL of energy. Here I am with some of them outside the house...yep, and bars are on EVERYTHING here. We just finished playing tons of futbol, and I think they were exhausted. And I don't think they see cameras very much becasue they were fascinated by mine but never really understood the concept of smiling for the camera. But they did smile a lot, I swear.
Here is Kimberly and Sander, and yes, that is the street they play in everyday. And yes, those are bags and bags of trash. We have to dodge the piles of poop on the street when we play from all the stray dogs. And whenever we play soccer, they ball always rolls down the hill and I have to chase after it, so I am sure the neighbors get amused whenever the gringa comes running franctically down the hill after the ball. And cars zoom by quite often so the kids have learned to run out of the way, fast.
Sunday we went to an amazing church service, of which I understood maybe 50%. But I loved the worship, and praising God in another language makes me realize how huge He truly is. And everyone was so welcoming. They definitely obey the verse, "greet each other with a holy kiss." I always forget which cheek to go to and it makes for awkward situations. But, after church Argelis bought us ice cream from this man on the pushcart. And the picture is blurry, but you get the idea. It only cost $1 for a cone! good thing it could fit through the bars.
Here are some more girls from the home I worked at. They LOVE to brincar, or jump rope with this old huge rope. All the children have been such a blessing in my life and truly helped me realize how much I am blessed. And they are easier to test out my spanish skills on, because I can smile and make hand motions and they totally understand.
So one afternoon Brittany and I had the urge to bake, so we set off in search of a funfetti box cake and frosting. Three grocery stores and a very wet walk in the pouring rain later, we put on our pj's and baked a cake. And our family loved it! It even ha sprinkles.
Here we are in the home with the kids again. Dona Marta, the lady on the left, has been running this free daycare for over seventeen years, six days a week for up to 13 hours a day. Ten kids! All by herself. I think she is a saint. Dana and I were exhausted after five hours.
This is Sander, and I think he might be my favorite, if I had to choose. They sometimes call him Gordito because he is so chubby. But I love playing with him and holding him. He tends to cry a lot and has lots of small bug bites that bother him, but when he smiles, it is so worth it. As they say here, Gracias a Dios por esta experiencia!