I played with the toddlers again. We were able to take them outside since the weather was somewhat nice. The boys loved to swing and go down the slide. Also, playing in a pile of rocks was a favorite.
We stayed outside until it was lunch time. The kids gladly followed the lunch tray in and I was able to feed Juan Carlos. Soon after that the team headed to the Comedor for our own lunch. Father Costa had returned and we were very happy to see him.
In the afternoon, I went to play with the 3 - 5 year old girls. They were watching Peter Pan in the game room. I was watching the movie until I had three kids on my lap and the others moved their chairs around me. When one girl got up from my lap, another would take her place. This continued for a while and another movie, Cinderella III, was put in the DVD player. (I had no idea there was a Cinderella III movie complete with Spanish language and lyrics.) Around church time (4:15), I left to go get my head covering.
Since Mother Ivonne was rather sick, the vesper service was short and we took the kids outside to play. Father Costa showed them how to hit with a bat, pitch the baseball and yell “New York Yankees”.
While the rest of the kids played, Isabela, one of the 7 year olds, pulled me aside for some one on one attention. She started playing in the gravel and made me a “cake” complete with sticks for candles. Then she asked how old I was and sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish. At the end, she clapped out 39 times for my 39 years. We then picked out twigs with berries and I decorated her hair with them. At this point Ruth joined us and we all picked flowers which we put in our hair. When Ruth had me alone, she gave me a plastic diamond ring with a big smile on her face. I thought it was so generous of a girl with few possessions to give me a gift!
Then...the surprise of the night happened! The mission team arranged a pizza party for the kids. Since we did not have enough time to take everyone on an outing, we asked Mother Ivonne about a pizza party. She readily accepted the offer and we ordered 30 some pizzas to be delivered around 6:00pm. Three Pizza Hut delivery motorcycles arrived at the gate and drove through the property to the Comedor. The kids were so excited that they began to run after the motorcycles. Everyone cheered when the delivery guys stopped and started to unload the pizzas. The kids each took a pizza box, breadsticks or a soda bottle into the Comedor with a big smile on their faces. They were moving so quickly that it was hard to get a picture of them. It was a great feast from the children’s perspective. One of the boys bragged that he ate seven slices. It was a very exciting and happy night at the orphanage.
