September 17

I now have a deeper understanding and respect for the saying “it’s raining cats and dogs.” Before I continue on with my story, I have to tell you that I cannot and will not accept that Honduras rain can ever be in the same category as California rain. This rain was made to kill. This rain was made to start disaster. This rain was made to soak Tarynn and I because we eat too much. ;)

Right before taking the bus, we saw Txus (pronounced choos.. she’s from Spain), one of the ladies in charge, at the center of Santa Barbara. She was loading like 20 of our kids into a van. They were all smashed in the van and it we were very surprised to see them. She asked if we wanted to ride with them, but we looked at each other with a little concern. We had just bought a slice of cake for each of us and we were pretty sure we could not bring it into the van without a riot of some sort. So instead letting heads fly, we decided to take the bus instead. There wasn’t much room anyways. Tarynn and I got on the bus and enjoyed our cake (mine was pineapple and hers was chocolate). On the way back, we saw the van fly by us because the bus had to make a lot of stops. We were already regretting that we hadn’t taken it. Next thing that happened was the mutant rain. It started while we were riding on the bus and by then we had completely regretted taking the bus. The bus stop isn’t right next to the Hogar. We have to walk quite a ways before we get to the Hogar. We could’ve made the journey quicker by running, but we were soaking wet anyway. We accepted our fate and we walked in the rain, laughing the whole way. When we got there, there was a group of kids there to laugh at us. One of the girls, Cindi, even came out into the rain to give us hugs. We greeted the rest of them with our wet hugs and we decided that this all happened because of our deep desire for carbs.

Today at the Infa, Nelson showed up and he talked to us for a bit. What he said really touched my heart and made want to do some much more at the Infa. He talked about some of the backgrounds of the kids. One of the girls, Anaely, is a sad case. Nelson said that people were sponsoring her because she was so sickly and she was going to die for sure if she did not get food and care. Nelson said that somehow they got money to give Anaely’s mother and they gave her food everyday. After a while, she had not gotten better. She had only gotten worse. Finally, they took her into the Infa during the day and fed her there. She started to improve and now she’s running and laughing and although she is very very very very skinny, she has food and she isn’t in danger of death. Nelson went to his mother and asked her what she had been doing with all of Anely’s food, but her mother told her that she didn’t know. She wouldn’t talk to Nelson. He said that later he found out that she had Leukemia and she died from it. Anaely now lives with her grandmother and Nelson is trying to get her to go to stay at the Hogar because she still needs help and her grandmother cannot give her all the help she needs, but the grandmother won’t let her leave. I thought it was so sad that even though Nelson wants to help Anaely, he can’t do much because her family won’t let her have the opportunity that she could have. Knowing her background, I just wanted to love her more. She always jumps on us and hugs us when she see’s us. She’s such a happy girl and I really hope her grandmother will change her mind. He said that he’d arrange a time for us to see the different families at the Infa. He wants us to understand what these kids have to go through and I want to know. It makes me want to do so much more and be more involved with these kids. He said that if we have an idea of things to do with these kids, we should just do it. The ladies in charge are not going to tell us to do stuff. We have to take things in our own hands. If we want to paint a room or start an English class or whatever else, we have to just jump right into it. There’s so much we want to do for the kids and Tarynn and I quickly told Nelson that we have been talking to people back home to help send stuff for the kids. He then told us that it’s a great thing that we’re looking to give them stuff, but he wanted to make sure we knew that first and foremost, these kids need love. He told us a story of a kid who used to work in the Center of Santa Barbara and he would shine shoes for his job. He did this while his brothers would play around at the Center. He acted super tough and even though he was young, he had a lot of muscles. Nelson brought them to him and whenever he would see them, he would play with the younger kids and hug them, but he didn’t hug the older boy. He would just talk to him because he figured that he didn’t want any hugs because he was too cool for that kind of thing. One day, Nelson was driving into the Hogar and the boy was sitting by the entrance with his head down. Nelson tried to find out what happened, but the boy wouldn’t tell him. When Nelson started to leave, the boy called his name. He asked him why he wouldn’t hug him like he hugged the other boys. He asked him why he wouldn’t love him like the other boys. All these kids want is love because no one loved them before. Nelson emphasized that whatever we do, we need to hug these kids and love these kids and let them know that they are important. He said that even if it seems like they aren’t thankful for it now, they will remember it for the rest of their lives. Nelson just got a call from one of the older boys at the Hogar and he said that he was sorry for not being more thankful for all that was done for him. He now realizes how great he had it and he called to thank him. Things like that really touch my heart. Nelson is really making a difference in these children’s lives and I’m excited to do the same. Today, when playing with the kids, I can’t really explain it, but I felt very energized and I felt different. I had always known that I wanted to love these kids because they didn’t have anyone to love them, but now somehow I feel it too.

Also, to anyone reading this, if you’re wondering if there are any ways to help… I have a few ways. You can always send any necessities… toothpaste, shampoo, toothbrushes, toys, clothes, etc. Or you can send me money to buy stuff for them. Either way would be wonderful. I will post the address soon. I can’t remember it for the life of me. Thanks everyone for all your prayers and for your help. It really means a lot!