Day 3

“The team goal for this morning was to be ready to leave Village of Hope at 10:15 am to go visit some friends of VOH who live nearby and deliver some food supplies.  That left a precious 90 minutes, or so, to make some more progress on clothes sorting in one of the casas and mural painting in the playground area.

Debbie L’s amazing vision for the mural continued to take shape.  The soccer field found itself with the beginnings of the silhouette of a player kicking the ball (that’s pretty much all you’re allowed to do with the ball in soccer) from one end of the pitch (that’s what soccer people call a field) to the other.  The dark-, medium-, and light-green arrangement has turned out really well, giving some feel of depth, although we thought our oil-base paint would have done a little more drying overnight than it did.  Debbie L. worked on the player.  Linda, Alle, Debbie C., and the male team member of the team did touch-up work from Monday.

Even if you live by yourself or you have a small family, you have to clean out and organize clothing from time to time.  Now is that time for Casa 2 at Village of Hope, so some of our team’s most accomplished clothing sorters rose to the task.  The male team member of the team is not among that elite group (see mural painting, above), so he’s hoping someone else has posted something about the experience.  We want you, our valued blog reader, to be fully briefed on it.

Ninety minutes flew by like a soccer game tied at 0, so, according to plan, we assembled for our home visits.  The families we were to visit have become friends of the VOH, and of the Blocks in particular.  Todd and Julio drove us about 10 minutes to the small community where these families live.  Most are extremely poor, living in small, dirt-floor quarters without plumbing or standard electricity.  We knew what to expect, but for some of us, this was the first time we had seen people living in such conditions.  We made deliveries of food that had been arranged ahead of time by VOH.  We talked and laughed and prayed with these families through Julio’s translation services.  Many of them gave thanks to God that VOH and people associated with VOH (like us!) care about them and make the effort to come see them.  We thanked God for giving us this opportunity." -Jim

We returned to VOH, and after lunch we continued some of the projects from the morning.  Three-thirty PM was Easter egg decorating time.  The children of VOH did an amazing job of decorating eggs, which will be the subject of some egg hunting on Thursday.  After the decorating, Debbie C. led a group in some knitting.  Several children showed promise as good knitters.

Debbie L. and a few others continued work on the mural.  The male member of the team, with a lot of Ronald’s help, continued installation of some sensor lights on one of the VOH residences.  This will be  the residence of the Block’s daughter, Addisyn, whose ministry goal is to house terminally ill infants in her home.  We installed a switch and ran wires from a junction box to the top of a gate where the lights will be installed, probably Thursday.

The plan for after dinner was movie night with VOH children.  “The Croods” was our featured presentation.  All went well until the 48th minute (continuing the soccer theme here) when the DVD froze up and wouldn’t re-start.  Even Ronald’s technical support skills were no match for this stubborn DVD player.  We weren’t about to forfeit  our remaining time with the kids, so playing a game was the unanimous decision.  Debbie C. wisely suggested it be a quiet, calm game, suitable for leading up to bed time.  The game selected involves counting numbers, ascending through the integers starting at “one” until such time as two players utter the same integer at the same time, in which case the game starts over.  Words fail to describe the fun and enjoyment this game brings, certainly more than would have been supplied by the last 36 minutes of “The Croods,” and at least as much as a soccer match tied at 0.

Ronald led us in praying for the children, and specifically for house parents for the two Casas, neither of which has any right now.  We felt God’s presence in our activities today.  We’re thankful to Him for leading us to this special place this week.  We’re thankful to you for reading our blog posts and praying for us.”

“Today was another great day at VOH. We worked on the mural a lot and have made huge progress. It looks amazing and Mr. Block told us that the kids are really excited about it. Before lunch we went and delivered food in a local village. Despite the dirty and harsh surroundings, the people we visited were all smiling and thanking us for coming. Their joy in contrast with their surroundings is something that strikes me every time I participate in food delivery. 

This evening after our movie time was up, Ronnie suggested that we all pray for more house parents to come to VOH. It was so cool to hear one of the girls pray for more house parents. And I absolutely love hearing people pray in other languages, so it was a really cool time.” - Alle

Thank you for your prayers, emails and comments on the blog! ~C