Day Five - Child Visit Day

Sorry I have not blogged sooner. We have not had much down time and when we do, I use it to get a sleep, since I missed a lot earlier in the week. My visit with my now two sponsored children and their parents was so wonderful. I have heard that sometimes it can be awkward because of language and cultural differences, so I expected things to be difficult and they were not, so it was better than I expected. Elias (pronounced el-lee-ah-s) was exactly how I thought he would be from his letters. He was quiet at first, but he was so curious about me and the park and really everything. His dad came and I could tell he was really curious to meet me too. It seemed we both had lots of questions we wanted wanted to ask each other and so there was not much quiet time. He brought me a rug that they had gotten specially woven with Elias' name in it and some local candy that is a special treat in his part of Peru. I also got to meet the mother of a little girl I met and Sponsored at the project on Wednesday. I was at first concerned about how the interaction would go, since I have a long relationship with Elias and I have only just met Xiomara (loosely pronounced ci-o-ma-dra,if you are familiar with the Spanish language & you know how to roll you tongue on the rr's.  Her first name is Brenda, but she goes by her middle name.)  But her mother, who was there with her three month old baby was there just radiating with joy and I think it brought her comfort to see the relationship that me and Elias had formed. Xiomarra is a very loving child and just wanted to be hugging, holding hands,and sitting near me all the time. In one of Elias' letters he had mentioned never having marshmallows before after I had mentioned them in a letter about having a campfire. So I brought a bag of marshmallows with me. They were a big hit. None of them had ever had them before and it wasn't long before the bag was half empty. As we sat and talked, Elias was getting antsy to ride the rides. So off we went, with Elias in the lead. He is quite an adventurer and the more rides we rode the more animated he became with me. He has a slight dimple in his cheeks when he smiles big and I saw it a lot while on the rides. Xiomara was more tentative about about the rides, but I was able to coax her onto a few and then she was more comfortable. In the US none of us would think these rides were spectacular, but they all kept saying how nice they were. There was a pool there, but neither children brought suits, but Xiomara's mother asked if they could go see it, because they had never seen one before. When we got over there, the park actually had suits to borrow-something we wouldn't do in America, but the kids didn't mind one bit. So both kids got in the water. Elias had been in a pool, but it had been 4ft deep everywhere, so he never got to play in one. This pool was very shallow and had things that sprayed water and slides, etc. They were so happy. Then we got out and had lunch and talked more. It was so much fun for all of us and Elias was again getting anxious to go see the monkeys (they had a miniature zoo there too. So we went over for him to look. He forgot that I didn't know Spanish and started talking to me excitedly. Ahhh, I wish I knew Spanish. Thankfully, one of our group who does came by and I asked her to translate. Then we gave our gifts. I had thought long and hard about the gifts I wanted to give to Elias and his family and had only just picked up Xiomara's gift the night before at the market. But it didn't matter, they were both thrilled. Xiomara looked at each thing, hugged the doll tight and asked to have it put back in it's box and then she quickly put everything back in the backpack I got her. I asked her mom of she likes having everything organized and together and she emphatically agreed. Xiomara really does remind me of myself at her age! When I was at the market Wednesday, I had made a quick decision to get a soccer ball for Elias, even tough I knew he had gotten one with birthday money I had sent him once. When he saw the ball, he immediately started playing with it. His dad told me that the ball he had gotten before had been popped by a neighborhood dog. It reassuring to see how God provides for these childen beyond my knowledge or
ability. It reminds me again that I am not the provider of these blessings, just the conduit. Our goodbye was bittersweet. We must have hugged, kissed, said thank you to each other and told each other how great the day was over a dozen times. Elias and his family had to take a a 6 hour bus ride back to their home that night and Xiomara about 3. She had thrown up on the way down-the roads are rough and windy-so I hope she made it back better. I know it will be a day that will be in all of our memories for a long time, if not forever.