Friday at Manuelito

Today we began building up the walls for the new building.  If we are understanding correctly, this will be office space and living quarters for when the work teams come.  The place in which the work teams are staying in now is very soon to become the new directors home.  We also began sorting and organizing the supplies in their new school house.  I found myself easily distracted  from the work that needed done and easily persuaded with a tug of my arm that translated to, “follow me”.  One particular young girl, Joanna, pulled me into their room to show me the Cinderella curtains she was so proud of.  I look around their room, bunk beds lining all the walls and a shelf which held their clothing and such.   Their bed seems to be the only space that is their own yet they seem to be so content and happy. This is so much more then what they had living on the streets! The power went out earlier in the day, so that meant that evening came rather quickly.  At six o'clock the kids had disappeared, I thought surely they had not went to bed already.  I was not going to miss my opportunity to tuck them in so I found my way to the younger girls room first.  I found them inside their room with their candle lit and nothing really to do.  What can they do when the sun is already down and the lights are out?  Joanna takes me by the hand and leads me to the window to show me once again their Cinderella curtains.  Then she asks me for candy.  So I quickly run back to our room to get some gum and I remembered the cards that someone had given us to bring…with Cinderella on them.  I grab them and quickly return to the little girls’ room.  I hold up the gum and almost immediately I have several hands fighting for the spot that is closest to mine.  Once we get the gum all dispersed I showed them the cards.  So my “tucking in” turned into a candle lit game of memory.  Then it evolved into a game of uno with the older girls, a wrestling match with the younger boys, a settling of a dispute over a ball with the older boys and then finally, two hours later, I get to do what I had entered their dorm rooms to do.  Since each room is tucking in and praying at the same time, I ended up in the little boys room tonight.  It was obvious that my presence was causing them to be more rowdy then settling down, so I didn’t get to sing to them or to rub my fingers through their hair as they dozed off, but I did get to be a part of their prayer, hold them close and say good night.   And I heard the words “thank you” with almost every hug I gave.