You just never know

You just never know. Something can look one way and be completly opposite. This morning we walked into a school and saw 200 children that were dressed neatly in school uniforms, clean and had nicely groomed hair. At first glance you would think we were walking into a middle/upperclass private school. But this is far from the truth. We visited another school run by Mrs. Arzu (the former first lady of Guatemala). The children arrive every day and are cleaned and changed into nice clean uniforms. These children ARE the least of these. The pictures do not show this but their stories do. Below are pictures of the children and the school. I love how Mrs. Arzu has spared no expense to give these children that have nothing in this world an amazing education. Their facility is beautiful and full of exceptional learning tools.

Here are our self-portraits for the day. Sometimes you just got be a little silly.

This afternoon we met back up with the children from the orphanage we were at yesterday. The children were surprised with a lunch at Pollo Campero and a day at the Children's Museum. To truly realize what this means you have to remember that these chilren are lucky to receive more than one meal a day, they wear clothing and shoes that are very worn, they do not go on "field trips" at all. Their sweet little lives are full of survival and not fun. Lunch was fried chicken, fries and soda. To us a simple, no big deal meal. To these children it was like going to the finest steak house. Most of them have NEVER been out to eat. Pollo Campero is a very popular restaurant in Guatemala and they were so excited just to see it as they pulled up on their bus. How sweet it was to see their faces when they realized that not only do they get to see it but they also get to eat there. After lunch we went to the Children's Museum. This was built by Mrs. Arzu. The cost to get in is $4.50 per child. For the poverty-stricken of Guatemala this can be a full week's salary. It is an impossibility to any but the wealthy. We spent four hours walking through the musuem and watching the eyes of these precious children as they experienced the amazing museum. It was priceless! The museum was full of school field trips and it was astonishing to see the difference in the private school children there on the field trip and our children bused in from the orphanage. It was a really good day. Emily spent most of her day with a young girl named Dorcus. She is also 11. Between Emily's limited Spanish and Dorcus's limited English they were able to communicate and had a blast together. I've posted a picture of them below. Emily wants to adopt Dorcus as her twin sister, the only problem is she has 4 other sisters and a brother. I'm sure we could have snuck one more girl into the house with out Jamie noticing but I'm sure he'd notice the boy. :)

Every child got a COKE. I was a bit nervous taking 50 kids into the musuem after caffine :)

So excited for the day!

Huge ball room

Every 5 minutes the balls fall onto all the children.

All the 11 and 12 year olds

Outside play area

Emily and Dorcus - sweet friends

Emily looking fabulous after a long day.

Our week has been very fast paced. Emily is doing great handling the pace but is feeling a bit tired. We are getting to bed a little earlier tonight so we can keep going strong tomorrow. God has been so good to us providing us with all our needs, keeping us healthy and blessing us beyond what we could have asked for. This trip has been a dream! I love being on the mission field with Emily and we have had a great time. She wants to see the rest of her family but is not ready to go home in a couple of days. I hope to someday be on the field again with her! Thanks for your support and prayers! Love - Emily and Renae