1 Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in Vain.
Here is what a normal day/week look like at Casa Matriz (ages 6-12):
Monday-Friday:
Each day the staff/volunteers meet at 7:30am to pray for the ninos/ninas.
They wake the kids shortly after that about 7:35-7:40. They all meet in the common area/TV room where they start the day with worship songs. The kids are led by Pappa Joel, Mamma Cecy (Sey See), or one of the other staff. It's a powerful way to start the day with worship and being thankful for all God provides.
Once that's over around 8:00am the kids go about their chores for the next hour, where they help cook breakfast, clean the rooms, sweep the tile floors, mop, the bathrooms, sweep the courtyard, and pick up garbage. The schedule is set and everyone knows their own job; what and when it needs to be finished. Once that is completed breakfast is served.
9:00-10:00am is free play. They all play outside (once chores are completed), soccer, basketball, riding bikes (few work as most are broken) or scooters, playground, with their toys or other games. Many stick to their friends or siblings and some are more social and want a larger group setting to play in. It’s fun to see the kids all play, they have a ton of fun and love when we got involved in this with them. They don't play video games or have phones or on any devices. They play freely and it’s a joy to watch the simplicity of it.
After free play from 10:00-12:00 is homework time, either upstairs or in the courtyard. There are volunteers, older kids who help, and some staff who assist with this. For grades 1 & 2 they have 2 hired teachers who teach- in Grade 1 where Erin is helping each day they have 9 full energy 6/7 year olds and they need all the help they can get! School is taken very seriously - also children in the home come with many variety of needs and physical & mental limitations so most times they need extra attention and help. With their homework time & school; they are learning 7 hours a day.
Next, they start the process of getting ready for school. They shower, do their hair ( girls take the full hour as they take much care to do their hair) and put on their uniforms. They all look really nice for school each day. Once they are all ready lunch is served. 12:00-2:00 is the most chaotic and hands-on time- but amongst the chaos, there is such organization. Every child & Staff has a position to make it run smoothly; so all 31 kids are dressed, hair done, fed lunch, lunch cleaned up, snack & water packed for school, and teeth brushed.
*The orphanage owns the school called ADONAI ( we will do a post on Adonai) started it about 11-12 years ago and it is a private Christian school. The kids who pay for school go during the day from 7:30-2:00 every day. This is a great way to generate income for the orphanage and the kids are getting an excellent private Christian education. They have an awesome preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school. They have large outdoor basketball and volleyball courts, which also serves as the Church space where they meet on Sunday led by Pastor Nahune (director of H'ogar De Amor) and his son Pablo.
The kids get picked up at 7:30pm and arrive back around 7:50pm. They get all ready for bed with their pajamas on and then they are served dinner. Once dinner is finished everyone helps out with nighttime chores they have devotions and worship time from 8:15-8:45pm (which is super cool). They start and end the day in worship. Once that's done they brush their teeth and head to bed.
They have full long days- the first week we were in awe of their stamina and perseverance but most of all their work ethic. Every day we are reminded of it- by staff & children; they are continuously contributing to the team to make everything run as smoothly as possible.
Meals:
Rice, beans and tortillas make up most meals. They really only get what is donated to them by local companies and food suppliers so it may be a mystery. They do buy meat a few times a week, and use whatever food they have. Staff who are on for meals have to be creative as to what fruit & veggies have been donated - from that they can make meals for 50 people.
Saturday: A day to play and enjoy- they still have their chores at meal times and such but outside of that it's time to play! We play a lot of basketball, and football ( Canada vs Mexico - Mexico wins every time because they are amazing soccer players), we have brought lots of card games & spot-it games so we play lots of those!
Sunday: They have to get up at 6:45, get dressed quickly ( hair is done the night before for girls so they don't have to do 20 girl's hair Sunday morning for church!) and be on the bus by 7:15. Church starts at 8:00 - 9:30. They do the worship time together after worship is done kids are off to Sunday School during the sermon. They are back at the orphanage at 10:00; they then make breakfast for everyone.
The rest of the day is free to play; on weekends the other Casa's ( there are 5 homes in this area) come to the main home Casa Matriz to hang out, play sports and sometimes eat together.
