One of the first awesome things I got to do while I was at Casa Bernabe was go down the road to watch the boys' futbol team play. While there, I got to sit with my new friend. This girl was the first friend I made at CB and she has been a joy the whole time I've been here. I met her while sitting upstairs during an ice cream party...surrounded by 160 kids eating cups full of ice cream, chocolate and sprinkles. From that moment on she would always greet me and give me hugs. She made it easy to love on her because she was so loving right away. It amazes me how open and friendly a child can be after they have gone through the types of terrible circumstances that cause them to end up at Casa Bernabe. When I started hanging out with the girls in Casa Promesa (the oldest girls' dorm here at CB), I discovered that she lived there. Tonight, as I left Casa Bernabe she gave me the longest hug of the night and teared up as she said goodbye. I'm not gone yet and I already want to come back.
This girl has almost exactly the same name as my first amiga (I'm not mentioning any names for the safety and security of the girls), which is very appropriate because she quickly became one of mi amigas mejor (best friends). She lives in Promesa as well and spent most of the beginning of our relationship making fun of me in Spanish at the dinner table. I never would have guessed that a week before I left she would be asking when I'm leaving and at that moment I never would have thought that I would be broken-hearted to be saying goodbye not knowing when I'm coming back.
One day after an impromptu dance party the girls in Promesa moved all the furniture out of the living room and starting doing a dance routine...after a little Spanish translation, I found out that they were practicing for the Despadida that night (a Despadida is a program put on for mission groups that are leaving CB all the kids participate in them). The two girls in the front did flips off the stage at the very beginning and put on an awesome show. The girl on the left is quiet and shy with me, but obviously knows how to let loose when she wants to. The girl on the right is extremely funny. She speaks pretty good English and will help translate things. Tonight at my going away she gave the most hilarious send-off in Spanglish complete with an "amen," fits of laughter, and handed my card to me with a "This is for you, babe."
This little lady is the biggest handful out of all the girls in Promesa. Our relationship started at a ping pong table in Edgar's house (their "houseparent" and the sub-director of the orphanage). Little did I know what I was getting myself into after our ping pong game as I chased her around a parked SUV to tickle her. From that point on she constantly asked for "cosquillos" (tickle in Spanish). This girl is a wild child...asking for cosquillos, playing with our hair, demanding to paint our fingernails, jumping on top of us and sometimes getting a little too rough.
It's in some of these moments that our patience was tested and we were challenged to discipline with love, but it's also in these moments that some of the best memories were made. It's surprising how little things we are often unaware of sometimes show the most love, or the lack thereof. A tone of voice or a little pat can help tell these kids they are loved, when a lack thereof would tell them they are not. They notice even if the other person doesn't. Love and patience leads to tickle fights like this one...some of the best times with these girls. :-)
These are some of the kids from CB on a ride at Mundo Petapa. The whole orphanage was sponsored to go to a very nice amusement park. For almost all of the kids it was their first time ever. I love when groups come and sponsor an outing. But it also reminds me that these kids don't have a family to go to an amusement park with. Their memories won't be of a family outing with mom and dad, but with 159 other kids who are in the same situation as them.
These kids are the children of the Casa Bernabe sub-director and his wife. Jami and I got to baby sit them one afternoon. They are adorable...and bilingual! So impressive. The boy on the right is all that and a bag of chips. The oldest boys' house, Nuevo Pacto, is full of a lot of pre-teen and teenage boys that are so much fun! But they also need a lot of guidance. That's one area where Casa needs more help. They are always in need of house parents, especially for the older children. One of the most encouraging things was to watch some of the incredible people God has brought to Casa. One social worker from Canada has commitment years to this place. He is a younger man who is an incredible example to the boys in Nuevo Pacto. He loves them, has fun with them, but always draws the line when they go too far and say something inappropriate. They see him do devos, lead worship in church, and generally love people like Jesus. This is what the Christian life looks like. It's beautiful.
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