Over the last 2 weeks, we have been visiting families in remote villages. We have spent countless hours each day meeting new families, praying for their needs, and providing help when required. Our other purpose was to invite them to our kid's event on Sunday. For any family with kids we would give them invitations for all their kids ages 3-12.
We handed out about 200 invitations over a 2-week period. We visited countless homes and got a very good sense of the village, and its very tough living conditions.
We were welcomed almost always with open arms. Everyone stopped what they were doing, chatted with us was welcoming, and many we prayed to understand their needs.
Lots of preparation went into the event, getting food ready for the kids (12 giant watermelons - the largest you have ever seen) 200 frozen jello packs, and preparing a drama of the good Samaritan, craft for 100+ kids, slip and slide, and all the things that go into planning an event. In tandem with our favourite Guatemalan Sonia!
On the day of the event over 100 kids came plus their families! Here is a video of the event.
We are reminded each day by the faith of the people here: the staff, the volunteers and the kids. They live differently, simply and with joy and determination in their hearts, and a love that we don't see everyday at home..
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.
Upstairs classroom with Lena (from NYC)
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.
(Kids cleaning up the kitchen)
The bus leaves at 2:00pm (Jay is the official bus driver), and School starts at 2:30pm daily.
(35-45 people on the bus) Drop off 2:25 Pickup is 7:30pm
*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.
Lining up to go in to eat, they must stand still until they are picked to go in
Preparing to enter Casa Matriz after school (they just got off the bus)
The Kitchen
Amara leading a game of SPOT IT
Outside free time
Mama Ceci
Morning Worship - signing songs together (7:45am-8am)
Casa Matriz is an Orphanage home for children ( boys & girls) ages 6-12, this home has 30 children currently. It is the main home and largest housing property along with a field, court and play yard.
This is where we spend most of our time with the kids!
Quite a few of the kids started in Casa Cuna and then graduated to Casa Matriz.
Joel & Cecy have been directors of Casa Matriz for 29 years- They are faithful, loyal, loving " Mami & Papi" to all 30 children in Casa Matriz. There are 7 full-time staff but at least 5 more volunteers that are full-time also. I can honestly say these people are saints- They are up at sunrise and done at 10:00 pm. They serve with love and never quit. I am humbled by their work ethic and never-ending service.
A handful of kids have siblings which is wonderful for them to have each other through this time, and lean on each other when needed but these kids are all like brothers & sisters. Some of the children have high needs and a few have special needs. Many have witnessed trauma that resulted in them being placed in the orphanage.
Many of these kids have parents, but because the government provides no support or aid to those in need, parents must be faced with these massive decisions to send their kids away for a better life where they can be fed every day and have the opportunity to get an education (although some kids parents are in jail on drugs or dead). Once a month if the children have parents/family they get to go back and see their families.
It takes such organization and effort from everyone to make a day function at Casa Matriz. It is a constant teamwork effort to do anything with such a mass of children. Everyone has a job no matter the age- Every meal time - 3 times a day - Children are helping with preparing meals, dishing out food, dishes after meal, sweeping & mopping the floors ( floors have to be cleaned multiple times a day to keep critters & bugs away) wiping tables, cleaning bathrooms, etc. At times I find myself watching the chaotic rhythm that makes it all happen and function- it's incredible. The children's work ethic is also impressive and something we as parents of children the exact same age are in awe of what they do in a day. They are preparing for a life of work and are taught discipline from an early age.
We have been in Mexico for over 10 days now and at the orphanage for over a week.
Hogar De Amor (the orphanage) was started by Dennis & Diane Unrau who reside in West Kelowna. They started it over 30 years ago, and it's incredible to see what it has become today and the amount of children they now serve.
Below is an overview of the main complex. (the orphanage owns a few other buildings with older kids and group homes along with the school - Adonai)
The pictures below are from Casa Cuna
Upstairs Kitchen
Upstairs common area
One of the kids rooms downstairs
organizing shoes for the kids
The top building (on the google map image) located on the north part of the property, is called Casa Cuna which is where our family is staying. It is a 2-floor building that is probably around 10,000-12,000 sq feet.
In Casa Cuna, the main floor is for the kids 0-4. There are currently 18 kids staying here from 3 months old to 4 years old, some with special needs and other issues. The main floor has a large commercial kitchen, and bathrooms for both girls/boys, 5 bedrooms for the kids with bunkbeds and cribs ( Ninos & Ninas separated), along with 2 rooms for some of the workers to stay. They have a common area, play area and TV room. It's a beautiful space for the children. The outside area really is fantastic (will share a video) with a large open courtyard that has a playground, a little trampoline, toddler bikes, and a variety of outside toys.
The upstairs of Casa Cuna is where we stay, along with other volunteers or when teams stay. There is also a room for the caretakers and their family, and 3 of the workers as well. The workers in Casa Cuna are with the kids all day from 7-8:30 providing meals, laundry plus caring for those crying ones at night...they are long days for these workers.
Our room has 3 bunk beds so we all have our own single bed with a common area bathroom which we are the only ones who use (all the other rooms have their own bathroom). There is a good-sized kitchen with a refrigerator/freezer and stovetop, so we can cook our meals here. There is also a family room area with couches to hang out with as well.
It feels like home so far. The days are long, they go by so fast, but we are surrounded by some amazing people.
In our next blog post, we can share some of the things we are doing and what a normal day looks like, and a tour of some of the other buildings.
