Yesterday was our very last ministry day AND our last full day as an entire team, as some people had to leave this afternoon. Yesterday morning, we left for the orphanage. It took about an hour and a half, and it was a bumpy ride. Somehow, I got stuck sitting in the back with most of the guys from my team plus one of the guy translators, so it wasn't a very quiet ride either. Still, we had lots of fun (we always do!).
We drove into a little town, unaware that it was the town with the orphanage. It was very small and kind of reminded me of something you would find in an old story about the wild west; run-down buildings and dust flying all over the place because of the wind. Then we arrived at the orphanage. Inside, it was small but surprisingly nice. There were around 18 kids there, from ages 5 to 11 or 12.
We split into two groups; one of the groups played with the kids and the other helped with whatever they could get their hands on (after a while, we switched). My group took a bunch of kids to a park closeby and played games. I played soccer with a few of the kids, and it was TIRING. Then we went back and I helped build bunk beds. Last night was the talent show, and, as always, it was lots of fun.
Today was very bittersweet. We got up, had breakfast, then left for a day of touring and shopping. Our translators took us on a tour of Quito, and it was cool to see all of the historic parts of the city. Then we went shopping at the market. We only had a short amount of time, but I still managed to get lots of interesting things.
When we got back to the hotel, we had a team party. It was one of our teammates' birthdays, so we had cake, ice cream, and a pinata. Our team leaders spoke for a bit, and then we said our teary-eyed goodbyes to everyone who had to leave. We waved them off, and as I was walking to my room, I completely lost it and burst into tears. If it was that hard to say goodbye to only a small amount of the team, I can't imagine how hard tomorrow and monday are going to be.
To get our minds off of the goodbyes, I went to the market again with a leader, one of my teammates and his sister (who is on another team). Then most of my team went to Burger King for dinner. It was so good to have soda and french fries after two weeks of hotel food and pb&j. Tonight at FUAGNEM was entirely worship and testimonies, and then a bunch of us went accross the street to Crepes and Waffles for ice cream one last time. After that, we departed with the last one of our beloved translators, which, once again, was very hard to do.
My flight was changed, so my lobby time isn't until tomorrow afternoon. A group is leaving bright and early tomorrow morning at 2AM, and I'll be in the lobby to say goodbye to them all. As much as I am looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone, I really don't want to have to say goodbye to the rest of my team.
Through it all, God is good. Love you all.
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