A Day at Casa with Fernando

Every time there is a group here my favorite days are the days we get to visit Children's Homes. I have now been to a few of them a good many times and have fallen in love with some of the kids there. When a group comes and visits Casa I look forward to spending time with Fernando while we are there.

During this group's visit I was able to be part of a very special day for Fernando! We arrived at Casa early so that we could attend church with the kids. We sat and waited for the kids to walk in and they all strolled in dressed to impress. Fernando saw me and made a b-line in my direction and sat next to me and Caity, who was ecstatic to sit next to SiSi all morning. The service was enjoyed by all but not understood by all, being that it was entirely in Spanish. After church we headed towards the orphanage to take a look around and give the newcomers a tour of the grounds. As we approached I saw Fernando excitedly running back and forth from one house to another always with a handful of his clothes and a HUGE smile on his face. After we got a tour from Terri we were able to spend a little time with the kids before lunch. Fernando was extremely excited to show me and tell me his good news, he has a new room! He moved to the other room for a couple of different reasons and the result seems to be all positive for everyone involved. As the kids settled down for lunch we headed to Cafe El Gringo to enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by Byron and his workers. Yet again I ate way too much food but loved it all!

After lunch it was back to Casa for an afternoon of playing leading up to a hamburger cookout for us and the kids. Most of my afternoon was filled with soccer which of course I loved!

Then of course being as it is now rainy season our afternoon of fun got interrupted. The rain started coming down and we all headed inside to the main house. The group did a great job of improvising on this turn of events by dancing and singing with the kids. I kept looking around wondering where Fernando went when he showed up at the door wet and out of breath. Of course he was at the house with his room in it! He showed up to ask me to come play with him and the kids at the other house who were at the moment gringoless. We ran over in the rain and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out his new room and playing catch in the living room there! The night concluded with some delicious hamburgers that the kids and gringos both enjoyed!