Day 4

Today made everything worth it, the time, the planning and the challenges. It was amazing in every manner of the word. Beginning with a delicious breakfast of poached eggs and beans by the pool, Nicolas (our bus driver) picked us up and took us to the Hogar. Driving up the kids were all waiting by the fence and ran out to greet us before we were even stopped. In our bus that holds 26 people we piled at least 40 + people inside, often times 1 or more of the kids on our laps. They are so precious. Each of them has attached themselves to certain people. Shelby has two of the little girls constantly competing for her attention. One of the girls hasn't left Britta's side as far as I can tell. The little boys still can't get enough of our boys. We are all finding that it is impossible to say no to their smiling faces. Anything they ask and all of our heads turn to answer. They call us "tia" y "tio" but we are getting names down slowly.

On the bus ride to el rio we had fun singing any songs we could think of, including a collection of Juanes, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull and even Taylor Swift. We also learned a new game the kids taught us where we call out eachothers names. It was crowded but extremely fun. Our bus pulled up to an extremely steep bank with the river below and we were informed thats where we were going. So we piled out, kids and all and set off down an extemely tight, narrow trail. Arriving at the bottom and the river we were excited until learning that this wasn't our stop, we were going into the forest, and had to cross the river first. So we put our packs above our heads and crossed through the waist high water, holding on to the kids to make sure they didn't get pulled down by the current. Stacey had the smallest one on her back all the way across and was a champ taking her the whole way.

The trail back up was just as steep. Literally a trek through the rain forest, and most of us were bare foot. I felt like a jungle girl. When we did finally get to our actual destination at the rio none of us were at all disappointed. In all the world I don't know if i could imagine a place with more pure, natural beauty. We were the only people there, our group of about 50 including kids and us. The river ran through the forest, and was more a series of waterfalls and pools. There were vines and trees up the bank of each side with the water running through. I could have sat on the rocks all day staring and still not come to the realization that the plaace was real and not a figment of my imagination. It was truly surreal. The water was a perfect temperature, and we slid and jumped off rocks into the pools. The kids had a blast, although i might venture to say our group enjoyed it even more because it was so new to us. As we were getting ready to leave I almost had a heart attack because Brian was coming down off a small cascade and slipped and slid down the cascade and landed a foot away from a rock. It was amazing and he was completely fine but too close a call for me!

After our trek back, we waited for half an hour for our bus (who was already 40 minutes late- Honduras time) and headed back. The kids were again so cute, and many fell asleep on us on the way back. Rachel was telling us how she thinks one of them peed on her but she couldn't even get angry because they are so adorable. Any time they want to be picked up all they do is look at us with their eyes and we melt like butter.

On the way back we stopped at a program called Grandma's kids in El Naranjo. It is an extemely poor community where many grandma's live that take care of up to 10 kids each. These kids are left in their care because often times their mothers are only 15 years old and unable to provide for them, or have died from aids or other things. It was heart wrenching. Their houses were shaks, and the children were so cute. We brought some supplies with us and passed them out, clothes among other things. They are so thin. The fires were going in the back, there is no electricity, the grandma's look so weary, so old, so experienced. Life has been so hard on them. Seeing the hogar kids with them was also amazing. In Honduras the kids at the Hogar are the lucky ones. They have a roof over their heads, good food every day, schooling etc. They were so quiet and reserved. One of the hogar kids had brought his marbles where were extremely precious to him. Earlier he had been afraid when he lost one of them. As we were at El Naranjo, he have one of the boys have of them. To give when you have nothing is amazing. It is just crazy to think that what side of the river you are born on makes all of the difference between what your life will be. They are just kids, but the ten year old girl standing next to her grandma is the one forced to grow up and look after her 6 younger brothers and sisters. Rachel asked one of the girls what was the one thing that she really need in life and she just said "jugar con un muneca". That was it, with her big eyes looking at us from one of the starkest backgrounds we have seen. It moved some of us to tears. For me seeing the effect this had on our group was what made our trip worth it. To experience what we are experiencing is why we are here, while trying to do what good we can.

Tomorrow should hold more experiences! We miss you all!