Shoes, hearts, and parties!

Hello everyone!!
Sorry that it has been over a week since I wrote- the internet has not been working right and the days fly by here and before I know the week is already gone! This week brought another family here to adopt- The Hubbard family is from Washington DC and are here to adopt Elias, Christian and Patricia- 3 of the cutest kids you have ever seen!!! :) This is the only other family that I know of that is definitely adopting any of the kids while I am here- but I love going to pick up the families at the airport. It is amazing how God connects parents and families with their kids- They are always the perfect match. :)
I would try to give you an everyday, play by play, but there is just too much to cover!!! I have been here 4 weeks today and I have experienced so much!! I have eaten fish and beans (which I never thought I would do), I have gone to a Peruvian baby shower (which is just like American ones except it is 4 hours long!), I have gone to a Birthday party for a little girl- which was held in a hut with a thatched roof, slept in a hut with a tin roof (that also had a barking dog hanging out on the roof), hugged 40 kids at least twice a day, yenni es bonita- sorry one of the girls thought she would help, yenni is how they spell my name. Anyway, I have ridden a micro/combi bus several times without problems, seen a full rainbow that stretched over all of the sand, cried alot, laughed a lot and generally have been having a life changing, mind altering, spirit growing kind of time. I am still amazed that I, little Janie Helm from Missouri am here experiencing this all. It shows that God will use anyone, no matter if you feel like you are equipped for something or not. Almost every morning I think- God, why I am here? I am not strong enough or smart enough or talented enough to make any sort of difference- but then I am reminded that it is in my weakness that God can shine through- that He has equipped me for this experience and He will be glorified through it.
On Saturday, Liz, Elias, and i took 22 kids shoe shopping!!! I received many donations to help with my trip and I have so much more than I would ever need, so I am able to put that to things here at the orphanage. So I asked Liz what the most needed item was right now and she said shoes. It was such a wonderful time. Most of these kids never had a new pair of shoes before arriving at the Albergue- The child that touched and blessed my heart the most during the shoe buying trip was Abraham- He is the newest child here. He was the first one in the store- He kept asking me if I was serious- was he really getting a brand new pair of shoes?? Then he took 20 minutes to find the perfect pair. Once we got back to the Albergue he had to run around and show everyone his new shoes- he kept coming up to me and asking if he got to keep them. I mean, I love shoes, but it never hit me what a blessing they can be!! Also, we went shopping on Monday for more supplies for crafts- I teach crafts twice a week and our new volunteer, Emily (who by the way is wonderful!) also does crafts twice a week. The kids make bracelets, necklaces, ankle bracelets and they also do embroidery work on shirts and bags. We then sell the items to visitors and the money is split between the orphanage and the child who made it. We used more of the money that people donated to buy some craft supplies- the girls and boys were really excited. Also, yesterday, we bought a new baby walker for Hose David because his broke and he fell over and bopped his head!! The poor little guy! Then last night, we had a going away party for the two families that are adopting- We played games, sang songs, and ate pizza and cake and drank soda. It was such a treat for all of the kids and the staff really enjoyed it as well. Thank you to everyone who donated- you are truly making many children happy with all of the things you are providing. I don't know what else we are going to get using the money, but I will be sure to let you know. I told the children that my family and friends had supplied the shoes and they wanted to tell you Gracias!! and one little boy came to give me a hug and said “Para tu familia!” -for your family- So know that if you were here, you would have 80 arms thrown around you and 40 kisses at least!!!
I love you all!!!
janie