Thursday June 25th

Today it is John and Patricia blogging. Hi all---and Jeanie do we have a baby yet? Now onto our day, just had to get that out, much love and hugs to you all back home but especially to little Jeanie!!. We started the day with three of us going 661 steps up the mountain to the lighthouse. We met up as a team together in the schoolyard arriving at about 730 a.m. and played with the kids basketball to kick ball to football, jump rope, duck, duck goose.
After, back at La Cueva, we did devotions and the subject was coming out of your comfort zone. Breakfast was wonderful, fresh juice, tasteful cheese pastries. We are fed well but of course we work hard.
In two trucks, some of us inside, some of us in the back we rode up the mountain to do our work. We now have professional brick layers-Diana and Donna erected a mother/daughter wall!! John and Nick worked on cement mixing. They had a rough time carrying 120#bags up the stairs by themselves. The mixing is done on the ground with shovels as the small mixer is broke. Juanita, the house mom of #1, brought wonderful tasty desserts as a treat to us. It was cooler today, cloudy and we sweated less. Diana still put on sunscreen though, wanting no more burn.
After we broke down wooden pallets, saving all even nails for recycling, we used the boards to build a fence around the perimeter of the orphanage. Ecuadorian ingenuity and engineering!
While the team was working, I Patricia, had the opportunity to meet with two student interns, Nelly Cotera and Rocio Perez from the University here. They told me in all of Manta, there are only four psychologists. The students come once a week to work with the children, individually or in sibling groups. I shared materials I had brought including the donated screener in Espanol. They were excited. They do not speak/read much English. What info I brought in English will be translated by Raquel. Raquel is here teaching English thru September. They asked me to help during two sessions. One session was with a 15 month old toddler and one was with a four year old. Pearl translated for us. We all wished we could speak a common language cause there was so much to share.
We stopped for lunch. House one’s was homemade soup with slices of corn on the cob, lima beans, cucumbers, carrots-delicious! Main course was chicken, noodles and plaintains.
At the end of the workday, most of us were exhausted but some (Becky, Stephanie, Tonia, Diana played volleyball with the three local workmen). The girls held their own and did us proud.
Someone donated money and after much shopping and thought, a new Nissan X-trail was purchased for the orphanage. We suggested next time it should be a GM, Ford or Chrysler product.
After a full day of hard work, Teresa, Joey and Ann climbed those 661 steps up to the lighthouse. The rest of us washed up and got ready for Jorge and Valida’s tasty recipes.
John then Diana and Donna gave their life tokens. Diana’s will be left here in Ecuador. John will bury his in the sands on the beach of La Cueva.
We finished the day by practicing our Spanish songs that we will sing when we visit the dumpsite. We have added movements to one of songs. You will have to ask us to share that with you when we come home, especially Kelly and Nicole etc version!!
That’s all, take care, Love John and Patricia
PS Jeanie, Anita, Patti, Amy, Mike, Rich, Robert—love ya Angela-next year???? Cassie maybe you too???