Familiar faces... And Banana Peels

Waking up on Monday, February 21, 2011. Walking. Talking. Living. Sleeping. Repeat. Behold the routine that so many people lived today and everyday. People get so engulfed in their day to day routine of life that they become blind to the real world. The girls at Casitas have nothing but to do than live for the hope that one day they will be free.

Today at Casitas was our first real workday at the cite after yesterday. The girls flung themselves over the team in such love.
We were dividing into our groups when a girl nursing a baby walked by. It blew my mind how those girls could become used to the lifestyle of being a mother at 13 years of age. I looked around and not one girl looked the least bit distracted. It was almost as if indifference describes all of their emotions.
We continued the day with crafts, games, and jump rope. Those girls are the QUEEN of jump roping, let me tell you. Noon came and we had to continue through the day. We stopped at a local mall for some good ol' fashion pb and j.
Our hunger was put an end to and we got into the mammoth of a bus we travel in and went to a heart wrenching trip by the river.
The river is the area of San Pedro where the slums are. The average kitchen in Wexford is the average size of a cardboard house that a family of 15 would live in... Now put that though on hold.

Monday, February 21, 2011 was also the day we plunged into our 3 day adventure into a local community center that is located right by the river. It provides a safe haven for tue kids to come learn, be fed, and be carefree for a portion of their day. We pulled up by the center and literally heard a low steady rumble from within the Gate. Before we knew it the door burst open with about 75 children hurtling towards us. Then in a daze our duffle bag filled with supplies was taken by about 30 kids into the center as they were chanting "The toys! The toys!" it was hilarious. We moved onto worship. We sang their favorite, Super Fuerte, about 3 or 4 times then had our story. The kids actually got to participate in the story of David and Goliath and had a blast doing so. The rest of he day was a haze of bubbles, nametags and banana peel fights along with the guys being human jungle gyms... Literally. We distributed pizza to all the kids as they were leaving. Seeing their little faces filled with joy made our day... Well atleast mine that is...