Today we were able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the children of Palo Blanco. We held ten parties throughout the day with over 200 kids attending. All of the kids had a blast making Valentine’s crafts, decorating cookies and rolling marshmallows in different colors of jello. Chris R did a Bible study lesson with the kids about how God looks at the heart and not your physical appearance. Let’s just say that Chris looks very good in a long blonde curly wig!
(Rose with one of the older classes showing off their art project. Neil, our resident art teacher gave them an art lesson.)
Needless to say after partying with over 200 kids our team was pretty wiped out!
When we left Palo Blanco yesterday it was sad to realize we weren’t returning. We didn’t know that the teachers and children of Palo Blanco had been working on a surprise for our team and all of the people in our church that sponser Palo kiddos.
(The kids of Palo Blanco and the sign they made for their sponsors. The handprints are each of the kids that our church sponsors and in the middle of the heart, in Spanish, the sign says “thank you for being a part of my life”. ) Yes, we brought the banner home so if you sponsor a kiddo from Palo Blanco you can find your kiddos handprint!
After leaving Palo Blanco we went back to the team house to get ready for a party with the Ark Orphanage kids. We got to go over to Jeff Vandermolen’s house (the director over Haiti, DR, Guatemala and Peru) and jump on the trampoline, play volleyball, eat pizza, decorate cookies, and give gifts. The kids from the Ark have stolen our hearts. I think it is safe to say that the majority of our team feels like we are more blessed to be a part of these kid’s lives than we could possibly be blessing them. We joke that it is a good thing there is a weight limit on our luggage or we may be packing a few stowaways to bring home!
(Coralma, sponsored by Chris and Rachel Russell, eating her Valentine’s cookie that she decorated.)
Friday morning we are going to have another busy day. We will spend our morning at Hipolito, the little community that last year’s team helped build in a home in. This community is one of the areas of extreme poverty and really opens your eyes to the daily life of many of the Dominican people. We will leave from there and spend time giving gifts to the kids at ANIJA and then hope to spend more time with the Ark kiddos. Please continue to pray for these beautiful children and the people that work with and love them everyday!
It was amazing to see your team so fired up for the Lord! Palo Blanco has long held a special place in our hearts. The missionaries, teachers, staff, and kids are very special. You are an inspiration to everyone who hears your story! Keep shining God's light! Kids Alive is a wonderful group to work with. We love being able to be with our sponsored kids, whom we've watched grow from babies on!
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