moises & kristina's blog: Wrapping up...

Hello Readers,

We are back in the United States now, despite missing the orphans and LDO. It was a surreal experience for Moises and I. It being our first time our of the country, it was a great & extreme place to go.

The weather was different since we were closer to the equator, the sun is so much closer and it really did burn our skins quickly, even though it wasn't that hot. The nights are SOO cold. Respecting their culture, I wore long skirts and t-shirts, rather than shorts and tanktops. During the nights, we bundle up in sweats and blankets!

The children there are very wonderful & such sweethearts. They are very strong physically and good listeners (most of the time!). They are very well disciplined too, and we feel that is from them having to learn how to survive at a such young age. They do a lot of physical duties, and I can't even imagine children doing that here. We have 6 year olds who will carry a water jug (probably 4 gallons) down to the river, which is probably 1/2 a mile walk down a trail, fill up the water jugs, and carry it back up to LDO on their heads. They will do this a few times consecutively a day, sometimes two times a day - mornings and afternoons. Overall, the children there are very open emotionally and very loving. They will give you the "I love you" sign right at the first day!

We felt this month was a very productive one. We tilled a new garden, built 6 new benches, built a new cooking table/bench, bought a new water tank, installed faucets on both tanks, built new gutters on both buildings, and started a new rabbit coop. There are MANY things that LDO needs in order to improve the conditions and to meet requirements to satisfy Moraa, the woman who is in charge of inspecting/approving the orphanage. We were told that, among some of the many things, LDO need to relocate their bathrooms, install a front gate, build a more secure fence around the orphanage, and so forth. All these conditions will hopefully be met with more donations by wonderful people like you all. We hope to return next year with MORE money. LDO needs money not to only improve the conditions of the orphanage itself, but to help improve the lives of the orphans. They are in constant need of clothing, shoes, school supplies, and etcetera.

Chances are we will return to LDO again next year! :) Because we told the orphans we would see them again!

Here are much more pictures for you all to enjoy. We would like to take a moment and really thank all those who helped us financially for this successful mission trip and those who had us/ODO team in their thoughts and prayers. This would of have not been possible without your support!

God bless you all.