Today was our last day with the kids.
We spent the morning and afternoon wrapping up our projects around the home. The concrete floor in the outdoor kitchen was as good as it could get, but we still had a little work to do on the home. We finished installing wood paneling on the inside of the kids' bedrooms.
Installing wood paneling doesn't sound like hard work, but take a second and imagine how you would accomplish it in a house that doesn't have electricity and none of the walls are straight. It was hard work! Tom measured and installed the paneling while the rest of us took turns measuring and cutting the panels, which were laid across two crates and cut with a handsaw. We did this for 3 rooms.
Even though the work was hard, we were so thankful to have the opportunity to help the kids and the house mom. The wood paneling will help keep the home warmer at night and keep out the wind and rain during rainy season.
Carl and Courtney also patched holes in the roof above the boys' room. When all the paneling was done and the roof repaired we painted the paneling blue. Coincidentally, when the children arrived home from school and we asked them what their favorite colors were, most of them said blue!
We spent the rest of the day playing with the children. They sang songs for us and then giggled as they watched the videos we made of them singing. We played soccer with them. We twirled the little ones in circles, we danced and played games.
And then it was time to say goodbye.
It was hard. And heartbreaking. We left them in a situation that is better than when we arrived, but still not great. The elephants had drained their water source for the last two nights in a row and money is very tight. And even though we all want to, we don't know if we'll ever get to see the kids again.
As we left the kids were waving, saying goodbye with big smiles on their faces and we were in the van choking back tears.
If you feel a desire to help but don't want to wait until next year's trip, there are still kids who need sponsors. There are several different sponsor levels: parent, grandparent and sibling. A monthly donation from us can literally mean the difference between life and death for these kids.
You can learn more about all the kids that need to be sponsored and sign up to sponsor a child HERE.
