By: Sara, Julia, and Seth
We all woke up at the usual time of 6:45 or 7:00 am for a
breakfast at 7:30 am. We had crepes that most of us put peanut butter or
nutella on, some eggs, toast, and bananas and papayas. The bus for Upendo left
last, after everyone went to their worksites of Uru/St. Louis or Agano. As soon
as we got to the Upendo Orphanage, all the kids looked really excited to see
all of us. They may have been wary with a couple of newcomers, but quickly
warmed up to everyone. We spent a little time in the first playroom, and then
started to go outside for a walk. A lot of us were carrying kids, but the staff
members recommended that we walk with them, so they can really learn to walk
because they are just starting out. Seth had a little kid, Mikeasha, who was
attached to him the whole time. Sara played around with two girls, Anita and
Glory. Julia was surrounded by kids - they loved her. After a couple hours of
playtime and walking around, we then fed them their milk, and they all lined up
against a wall perfectly for us. We tried playing with them again in the first
playroom, but they were tired and done for the day. We had to wake them up to
eat their porridge. The younger kids sat in high chairs to eat their porridge
and some of us helped feed it to them, and the older kids had a mix of potatoes
and spinach broth. After their meal, we helped clean up the mess, and they went
to take a nap. It was hard to leave the orphanage because we could see how hard
they have it, or how hard it could be for them, but all the kids are smiling
and happy, so it makes it better to see that. The Upendo kids were the first to
get back to the lodge and were waiting to see the other kids and hear about
their morning. At lunch the kids that went to Agano said that Noah used his
drone to entertain them, which they adored. Also, all the kids wanted to hold
your hand and spend time with you. And JJ Pfeiffer said that when they donated
new laptop computers, that Larry (AKA LarDog) had brought, and the Uru teachers
were so happy and excited to get the gift. We had to eat lunch quickly so we
could get to our manual labor site. We are helping the Women’s group re-plant
their crops. Today we were weeding their field, and getting it ready for
re-planting. The women put us to work right away. It was long and hot, but the
hard work the women were showing us gave most of us the energy to continue.
Many of us started a relay race of ‘Who could hoe the farthest the fastest’,
and that made the time go by faster. Before we knew it, the women said “Time’s
up!” and we were done for the day. They told us that we were able to accomplish
two days of work in a few hours. That made us feel great knowing that we are
helping them accomplish so much. Then we got back to the lodge and ready to
take a shower and some were ready to even take a nap. Everyone is doing great,
no one is sick, yet, ok maybe a few, but nothing to be concerned about. We are
all eating well, drinking plenty of well needed water, using our sunscreen, and
most of all having fun!
Hey, Mom, Dad, Maya, and Kira, I’m doing great! Everything’s
good – Seth
Hey, Chris, great job swimming this week! I’m proud. And
love to Mom, Dad, Becca, Mary and Ella. I’m good! - Sara
Hey, Mom, Dad, Bryce and Natalie and other family and
friends, miss you and don’t worry, I’m having fun! - Julia
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