Ventanilla

Ventanilla.

I spent five days in Ventanilla with a group from a church in Texas. Every day I would leave my house at around six to get to the hotel at seven. We’d get back to the hotel at around six and I’d get home a little after 7:30. It’s hot in Ventanilla and the orphanage was sandy. I’d come home every day very dirty and very tired.

But it was all worth it.

I was put in a group with two girls and a different medical student every day. We’d start with the three to six year old boys, spend an hour with them and then spend an hour with the three to six year old girls. We definitely got more done with the girls. Those little boys were all wild and there were sixty of them. I ended the week with a deep respect for the house mom who has to spend all her time with them. The first two days it was a relief to finish with the boys and go to the quiet, obedient girls. But on Wednesday and Thursday, I spent the afternoon time with those boys, just playing with them. There were six or seven of them who would spend the whole two hours with me and some who would come and go. The rest all played by themselves, with someone else, or with Hannah, the other girl who went with me in the afternoons. They didn’t all flock to me and listen to me, but that was ok. I loved being with those boys. They would sit with me when I got tired and fight over my lap. When I proposed a game they would jump in whole-heartedly. I got there one afternoon to find that the makers Hannah had taken were all over the place. Most of them didn’t care, but the boys who were with me did their best to find all the markers when I asked them too.

I took lots of pictures that week, but very few of them are of the boys. I was too busy playing with them.

On Friday we had a big celebration at in the Chapel. As we were leaving, I felt like crying. Those boys made me yell to get their attention, run after them when they ran away, and go home every day ready for bed. But I love them. It breaks my heart to think that some of those sweet little boys are unwanted by their parents. And it made me sad that some of them had to be far away from their families because their parents need to work.

God did amazing things that week. So many kids from different age groups gave their lives to Christ. Every day that we went, there were just enough people to do everything that needed to be done. The team left Texas with less people than they wanted to and some of the translators went sporadically but every day God brought in people to fill for the ones who weren’t there.

Being the translator, I had to speak the loudest. Thursday night my throat was sore and Friday morning I couldn’t talk. I made a declaration that it was not from God, that the devil was trying to take away what I needed to reach those kids. By the time we got to the orphanage, my throat and my voice were fine.

I will never forget this week in Ventanilla. It was further confirmation from God that I should study Secondary Education instead of Elementary Education, but it was still amazing and I will carry those boys with me in my heart forever. I can't wait until I get a chance to go back.