Picnics, kids, and being tired :)

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. . . As always the past few days have been very full. 4 year old Dani is sitting on my lap right now helping me type- I think i spoke of him and his family earlier- they are a wonderful family- Dani is here with his 3 siblings- Karina, Aracely and Yen. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbvvvvvvvvvvvvv
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Dani thought he would help for a minute- I think that means "hola" :) Their family is from the jungle in Peru. Their mom had a series of abusive boyfriends and she eventually escaped with the kids. They met a woman on their way here that helped them make it to Trujillo and find Hogar de Esperanza. Their mom visits about twice a month and now has a new boyfriend and a new baby. Please pray that this man is kinder than the other men she has dated. The kids are all so sweet and have the cutest smiles you could ever imagine. I know I talked about them in another post but they are worth mentioning again because they are just so cute! :) Another little boy, Samir, is also helping me type- he is 8 years old. I don't know Samir as well as I know the other kids, but he is quickly becoming a favorite- he is very loving and very rambucious. Right now, he is hanging off of Hugo, a man that works here. :)
Now, I have Junior on my lap. He is 7 years old. I had alot of trouble with him when I first got here, because I didn't understand him and I didn't know how to best interact with him or help him. But now, I know him so much better and I realize that when he is inappropriate or violent, I just have to remove him from the situation or walk away. He craves love and affection and is always ready for a hug and a kiss. :)
On Saturday, Emily and I, along with David miller and Alex and his family went to a picnic for the church I have been attending- the church is called Centro Biblico. It was founded by Bert and Colleen Elliott- they are originally from Oregon but have been missionaries in Peru for 57 years. Bert's brother was Jim Elliott- the man that was a missionary in the jungles of Ecuador. His story is pretty famous so it is crazy for me to know his brother and hear the account first hand. OKay, back to the picnic. It was very similar to church picnics in the US- food, music and lots of laughter. The differences though were pretty outstanding- instead of hamburgers and hotdogs we had- what else- rice and beans, and instead of a park or a church basement, the picnic was held by Inca ruins. :) It was in the small village of Mocho- which is halfway between Trujillo and Salaverry (the small town where the orphanage is actually located). It was really neat because there were small, man-made canals that ran along both sides of the road in town. The water was right in front of all of the little houses and there were just boards to get from the house to the street. It was actually really pretty. Yesterday we went to Church and then had lunch with the Elliotts. They are a very nice couple and obviously have alot of interesting stories- Bert told a story about a Boa Constrictor they encountered one day while working in the jungle- Anyone who knows me well knows that i am terrified of snakes so please don't count on me retelling the story- safe to say that I will never set foot near the jungle! :)
After Church I came back to the Albergue and planned on having a relaxing evening, but no such luck. The kids were coming to my door every 5 minutes with questions or requests and they did not want to listen to the answer unless it was what they wanted. :) When you live here, as I do, the kids will find you at all costs at all times of the day. The kids were behaving no different then normal, but for some reason by last night I was close to tears. I think it is because I am so tired. I realized I have not been away from the Albergue for more than a few hours since I got here (not counting the time I spent in the hospital :) ). Everyone else leaves for 2 days every week, but since I don't live here, I don't have anywhere to go. I woke up this morning not feeling any better. I was tired, weary, lonely, and then tired some more. I went downstairs for the devotional with the staff and started crying!!! I felt so bad because all of the workers got pretty worried- I explained to them in broken spanish why I was so upset. It was wonderful because then they prayed for me and offered me advice. Their first suggestion? Get out more! :) Emily has a friend here who lets her stay with her in Trujillo on weekends and Emily said that i could start going with her. I won't be able to this weekend, because I am all booked up, but the next weekend, i'm outta here! :) Emily and I talked alot after the devotional and we realized we both kind of feel the same. At home, when we get overwhelmed or drained, we can retreat somewhere to get refueled. Whether it is our room or a park or our car or a coffee shop, we can always find somewhere to be alone and to spend time with the Lord. But here, the kids know you are in your room so they will come find you, you better believe I won't be driving anywhere in crazy peruvian traffic, and it is dangerous to go anywhere by yourself so sometimes it feels like you are stuck. That is why i am really excited for next weekend- a whole 2 days away where the kids can't find me! Please don't misunderstand- I love the kids dearly and they are why I am here, but it certainly drains a person! I think between the language barrier, emotional issues and kids just being kids, I require an extra 2-3 hours of sleep than normal! :) But it was wonderful today because the kids were all just a little bit more loving than normal and my little one Yen has learned something new. He learned how to make me smile- I picked him up to hug him and he gave me a kiss on my cheek. He noticed that it made me smile so then he kissed my other cheek, my forehead, my nose, my chin, both ears, my eyebrows and then my eyes (don't worry I closed them!). With every little 2 year old kiss, I smiled a little more and he was so proud of himself that he did it 2 other times today!! What a blessing kids are!! Just when I was so tired and thinking "i can't do this", Yen came along and without knowing it, made me feel loved and cherished. He may just be 2 years old, but he is already making a difference!
Well that is all for now, I need to go work on Manualidates (crafts) with Emily.
I love you all!
janie