When lunch arrived, we brought the kids back inside. They were happy to eat, but very sad to see us go. We had to put all the babies back in their cribs and keep the toddlers in their play area. Of course, the toddlers had other ideas. Every time I would put them in the play area and close the gate, they would squeeze through a small opening in the gate and go shrieking with delight down the hallway. After three tries, the kids finally stayed, but cried to see us go. We said a tearful good bye.
At 12:15, the mission team made our presentations to the school age kids. Each team member got up and gave a short presentation about who they were, their family and their interests. We passed around pictures of ourselves, spouses and kids. Some of us gave our presentations in Spanish and others received a translation from Ray Vazquez. The kids listened nicely and asked questions.
At 1:00, we all ate lunch and returned back to our room. Since Father Costa had not celebrated Liturgy with the kids, service was scheduled to begin at 4:15pm. In the meantime, the team started to pack in preparation for our departure the next morning. After packing, I headed back outside to find some kids and play. Most of the kids were in their classrooms so I headed back over to the babies/toddlers for one last play session. The care givers were busy changing the kids into their church clothes, so I ran around with Edgar and Luis. Juan Carlos needed some hugging and I carried him around as well.
When it got close to church time, I headed back over to our room and hung around with some of the kids waiting around. Sarai and Andrea were writing on Magna Doodles and we drew lots of pictures. Since I did not know how to say most things in Spanish, Sarai learned a few new English words. We discovered that it was Andrea’s birthday and she would be recognized in church. For a child’s birthday, Sister Ivonne calls the child to the front of the church, after service, and the kids all sing Happy Birthday in Spanish. The child receives a present which includes a new outfit and a small toy. Andrea was very happy and excited about it.
Church started promptly at 4:15 with a brief reader service and then continued into the Divine Liturgy. As usual, the kids had their jobs and performed them with out fail. Since this was Father Costa’s first time performing service, the altar boys showed him what to do and when to do it. Father did perform some of the service in Spanish. We received communion along with all the other children. When the service ended, the mission team and the altar boys went to the babies/toddlers and the infirmary to give communion.
We had our last dinner in the Comedor with the kids. Of course, beans were on the menu and we all had a helping, just for laughs. The one thing we were going to miss was the fresh bread and the cookies. Every day at meals, there would be a bag of cookies on the table and they were delicious. We hoped to buy some from the orphanage to take home, but the orphanage did not sell them.
That same day, a two day old baby girl was brought to the orphanage since her mother had abandoned her at the hospital. The baby girl was put into the Infirmary and Father Costa was asked to bless the child after dinner. Upon hearing this news, we all became very sad that a mother would abandon her child right after birth. We knew that unless the baby was adopted, she would spend the rest of her life in the orphanage. Even though the orphanage is a wonderful place for a child without parents, every child needs a mother and father. Father Costa and a few of the other team members went to see the baby. Each took turns holding her. When Father Costa asked if the baby had a name, the care giver replied that she did not have one. Father Costa jokingly said that Constantina was a wonderful name. The child was welcomed into the orphanage with his blessing.
Back in the room, we packed up and had our last team meeting. Everyone was in a tearful mood and we discussed how we would miss the children. The main purpose of our meeting was to determine how to give Mother Ivonne our gift of $5000. We wanted to sponsor a child for a year which involves $4200 dollars. The rest would be given to the orphanage to be used at their discretion. We picked Christian, a twelve year old boy who helped out in the altar and in church on a regular basis. He was a quiet, but loving child who helped the younger boys out many times while we were there.
