The little Casa with a Big Mission

I woke up this morning at 7:00 am! I was so eager for the day. I was nervous and excited. I was not sure what to expect. I left my room and quickly got to the courtyard of the casa. There were two boys. I was desperately trying have some sort of conversation. The night before I said to a little boy, "Hola" and he told Owen (a fluent spanish speaking american), "Nosotros hablamos hola solomente." "All they say is hola." I said back, "Si, pero entiendo mas." " yes but I understand a lot." He got a little embarrassed and hid behind Owen.
Today has been wonderful. I had no expectations but if I did they would have surpassed them. We met with Lupita first thing this morning and we learned so much about the Orphanage. For one thing, though they are clearly a nonprofit and it is very hard for them to provide for all the children in their care, they still are required to pay taxes. They usually are not able to make those payments. Another tid bit that makes my blood boil, is that even though their version of DSS refers many children to the Casa when the home is not safe for the children there is no public funding which helps cover the cost of the children. Lupita is in short a saint. She is the beautiful silver haired woman who has a presence that warms whom ever she encounters. She runs the Casa. She said something a few things today that gave me chills. First she said, "When injustices are happening to children your safety no longer matters. You do everything to help that child." We asked her what is the most important thing she needs to provide the children with. She told us, "A strong spiritual life. When people have strong spirits they can get through anything. Without a strong spirit you have nothing." I wish the children could just have a little slice of hers because then they would all soar through this life.
We took a look at our jobs today.T here is a lot of work but it is all doable. After we did this and pow-wowed, we had lunch with the children....And the adventure begins! It was fantastic! They are so funny. Matthew, Mellisa, Pete, and I sat with these two boys Manuel and Alexander. They demonstrated their fine moon walking skills for us. Then I made the terrible mistake of showing them my camera can take films. Well Alexander quickly decided that Steven Spielberg was purely an armature and he was going to show everyone how it is done. After 20 mins of him having my camera I asked for it back. He looked at me with his beautiful big brown eyes and asked, in perfect English, "Please just one more?" Of course I melted and then caved. An hour later and with the encouragement of Mellisa to stay strong I asked for it back and got it. These kids have a very persuasive way about them. I work with children and it is still very difficult for me to say no.
When we were out side a little girl named Breta came to me and started a conversation. She is just beautiful. Her hair up in a ponytail and her bangs pushed just off to the side. She asked me things to get to know about me. "Como te llamas?" "Cuantos años tiene?" etc. etc. Then she asked if I had "hijos" I eagerly said yes. Mistakenly thinking this meant, do I have siblings. I told her I had two one was thirty and one was thirty-four. I then told her I was thirty-three and asked her if she had any hijos. She giggled and said "No." I later learned that what she did ask was if I had any children. So I then laughed realizing I asked this little child if she had any children.
Berta has found a special place in my heart already. We played ball today and I helped her with pull ups to impress everybody. She went to class but when she got back We shared a book in Spanish. She read and I read. It was very special and I look forward to more the rest of the week. So much magic in just one day. I think Lupita will be happy to know that I am sure all the children I met today have the spirit she was mentioning.