All about Sunday and Prayers for Monday

We had a great, albeit hot, day getting to know the city of Colima and Hogar de Amor orphanage.  Today was our orientation and planning day and the real work begins tomorrow!  Here are a few highlights from the day:

Church at Grupo Amor was a highlight, although we may have missed some of the subtleties of the sermon :) Grupo Amor is the church that supports the Hogar de Amor orphanages of Colima. We especially enjoyed the music, although it was challenging to both sing in Spanish and clap on the 1 and 3 instead of our normal 2 and 4.  Never fear, we perservered!

The kids said they learned lots in Spanish Sunday School

It took us a few tries, but we finally perfected the water dispensers 

Then we toured the orphanage and made mental lists of the projects to do and the kids to love on (all of them!)

No kid should have to grow up in institutional care, but Hogar de Amor really is an amazing place for those who do have to live in a group home.  It's easy to feel grateful to work here.

We discover our new best friend when melting in the heat - the ice cream trolly guy!  3 pesos for a popsicle (about 20¢) is money well spent.

Some of us really liked the coconut water.  Others weren't fans.

We went shopping at WalMart for our next few meals.  The clowns and giant cow were an unexpected part of the shopping trip - we're told that they are not always in the Colima WalMart but we're not so sure - we suspect that every shopping trip in Mexico is a party!

And we prepared a veggie, bread, fruit, and cheese dinner on the patio.  The Oaxaca cheese and fresh mangos were hands down the winners, and it was all so delicious!

Tomorrow the real work begins. We are grateful for a day to get situated, but we're ready to get down to business!  Here are some specific requests for tomorrow to add to the list:

• The heat, sun, and humidity wilted us pretty powerfully today.  Please pray for either lower temperatures or strong, cool constitutions (or both!) so that we can be productive workers
• Pray that each of us are given jobs tomorrow that help the orphanage and are a great use of our hands and talents
• Pray that our activity times tomorrow (crafts, games, and sports) are each tons of fun for the kids and clearly communicate our love and God's love for them
• Pray for continued great health, lots of energy, flexible attitudes, and positive spirits - this is such an amazing, hardworking team!