We did our devotional last night so that we could get an extra hour of sleep this morning. It was MUCH needed, and when everyone came down at 9 a.m., we were all refreshed and ready to go. We had breakfast out this morning at Roti Hut, a Guyana favorite.
We then decided that we could wait no longer to go to Joshua House so Mr. Butler agreed to let us stop by for about an hour to see the children. We were greeted with many hellos, smiles, and HUGE hugs. Some of the hugs were so big that we had to hold on to other team members so that we did not end up on the ground : ) It was so great seeing so many of the children that we have watched grow up over the years. They remembered every single one of our names and quickly learned the names of our new team members. Clement commented when we were back in the van that Joshua House was "full of nothing but love" and that while there, he couldn't help but fall in love with the children that he met. We brought a basketball to play with and also enjoyed playing frisbee with the children and playing on the swingset that was built for them a few years back. The children also love with Miles "heists" (throws) them into the air and when I turned around I noticed a line of kids ready for their turn. Michael came down from upstairs in the orphanage to tell us that the boys had decided they wanted to wrestle him : ) He was a bit outnumbered! We are anxiously awaiting our return to Joshua House on Monday!!
After leaving Joshua House, we went to Phoenix which is an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. We went to bring them flip flops and other collected donations and to hear many of their stories. We were moved by what many of them had to say. Over and over again we heard tales of how much they all had and how now they were starting over because they had lost all of it because of their addictions. Derrick, a member of our team that was born in Guyana, shared his personal story. He spent many years living as a "junkie" on the street and through the help of Phoenix has now been clean for over 13 years and is living an exciting and productive life with his wife in the United States. Many members of Phoenix were definitely moved while listening to what Derrick had to say. We also got a special treat at Phoenix! A few of the members were taking care of two tiny puppies and a kitten that at been born there, and they allowed us to pass them around : )
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Popeye's in the city and then spent the next few hours shopping at various stores and the open air market. We will leave later to head out to a location near the beach to celebrate Josh (Derrick's grandson)'s 10th birthday party. We are very exciting and so is he!!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts, prayers, and comments!! They mean so much to us : ) Pictures are below from the day:
 |
| Miles getting loved by the children! |
 |
| Swinging! |
 |
| Some more Joshua House kids! |
 |
| One of the Phoenix puppies (I can't get these to rotate... sorry :) ) |
 |
| Katy and the Phoenix kitten! |
No comments:
Post a Comment