Wow…today was a very long and emotional day…but also very rewarding. I hardly know where to begin…I guess the beginning is always the best place! The orphanage that we went to today was 1 ½ hours from our hotel and it houses about 28 girls between the ages of 12-18. It is in a very poor area. When we arrived we spotted a little girl – about 3 years old standing at a make shift fence looking at us. Shirley decided to give her the bag of cookies that she had. The little girl was so excited. We noticed that she had a little brother – probably 2 years old. After we cooked the hot dogs for the girls we brought the left- overs to this family. When we walked over there – we saw 3 little children…the baby was 1. It was a very sad situation. This home really had no enclosure – it was just in the trees…there was a little covered area in the back and the ground was dirt. The little children had very little clothing and were filthy. They ran over to the fence to get the food. They were so excited. This was one of the most difficult things to see. We gave them hot dogs, chips, cookies, juice boxes and most importantly a bible. We had Luis translate to them why we were there and that the most important thing we gave them was the bible and that they needed to know Jesus. The dad said that he would read it. When we left at the end of the day we saw the mother and another child…probably about 5-7. Please pray for this family…they have nothing except each other. Now to the orphanage…Ronnie and I have both been drawn to a girl there named Rosa. Last year before we left she told Ronnie that she wouldn’t be here when we came back this year because she was going to be 18 years old. She said that she had some family but didn’t know if she was going to be able to live with them. We were both very sad about the fact that she was not going to be there. When we arrived the guys started unloading the bus as the females began talking with the girls as they came in. I was totally caught off guard when Rosa walked in. I went over and hugged her and told her hello…and then I burst into tears. I couldn’t even stay in the same room. I went and got Ronnie – who was very concerned with why I was crying – I could barely tell him why I was crying. Needless to say…he was very excited to see her also. We were very worried about visiting this orphanage because every team has always loved it. They nuns that ran it were so sweet – but they were not longer there. There used to be 50-55 girls and we couldn’t figure out where they were going. Apparently El Salvador is locating parents and taking them to court and making them care for their children. Several of our team members have bonded with specific girls. It was difficult to watch and see if they were there. Some were and some were not. We did find out that one of them will be at the orphanage we are visiting tomorrow. She has a sister at this orphanage…they haven’t seen each other in a month and a half. She was able to write her sister a note for us to deliver tomorrow. We sang songs, painted nails, ate hot dogs, decorated drawstring bags, played lots of basketball, soccer and volleyed around a playground ball. We then had them break a piñata. It was then time to say our good-byes. Some of the girls wanted to dance for us – they do this every year. They also gave us a beautiful card that they made for us thanking us for our visit. They also sang us a song…which was in Spanish so we didn’t know what they were singing. At our team meeting Luis told us that the song was about how people are sometimes depressed and others come and share with them and give them hope. It was very sweet of them and confirmed to us that it does make such a difference to them. The girls also sang Happy Birthday to Kim – and then they had a little surprise for her…they threw her up in the air once for each year of her age….it was so funny! We came back a different way so that we could see the ocean. It was a beautiful ride…the road winds down the mountain and you can see the mountains all along the coast. We got out and put our feet in the ocean for a few moments – the sand was black and the waves were big. We then found a restaurant to eat – we were seated outside overlooking the ocean…but it started to rain so we had to go inside. The food was good! We were all so ready to get back to the hotel to get showered. It was a long day - it is very hot at this orphanage – the cafeteria – where we stay for the day is very muggy and we were all feeling filthy and drained plus the bus ride was a little longer since we went along the ocean. We had a short meeting because it was a very long day. Please continue to pray for the health of the team. Monica – one of the translators has not been feeling well at all and a few others are having some stomach issues. The team is excited about tomorrow but sad that it is the last day! I hope that there are no errors in this email - but it is very late and I am not going to have time to proof read it!