Uncle Cookie

Buenas Dias!

We are all here and have been challenged muchos since arrival! We´ve cut an entire swath through 3 acres of new property for the orphanage. We´ve absolutely perfected our espanol! :) We´ve fallen in love with about 20 little ninos that smile, cry, poop, and call our names when we come into the room! Jonathan wanted to share the gifts he´s been blessed with, so he made chocolate chip cookies for everyone in the orphanage. Five batches, actually! He is now known as Tio Galleta, or Uncle Cookie! Needless to say, the kiddos have a new favorite tio.

We really enojoyed our anniversary yesterday. Due to a few dramatic events, the entire staff was ¨let go¨from the orphanage, and the four of us were left to manage the kids´entire schedule by ourselves. That meant one on cleaning hands, one on changing diapers, one on meals, and one on entertainement. We did sneak away for some one on one time... boogie boarding!

Also, I was able to share the seeds with Papa Jones and the cook. We dug a compost pit, because there is no good area at their current property for a jardin. The idea is to use all of their kitchen scraps and to plant on top of the compost pit when it´s been filled and covered with topsoil.

Today we are on our way to go rafting! Our guide book says that the Rio Carnejal is one of the best in the world, so here we go! We´re going to take a taxi to Pico Bonito, a National Park and then take a 1/2 day on the river, stay the night, and then do some major hiking tomorrow. We then plan to go back to the orphanage for a final night, and to say goodbye to the kiddos. Then we have a special anniversary gift from the rents - a night´s stay at the Quinta Real, a beauitful resort right on the ocean. Saturday afternoon we hope to board a boat for Utilla, one of the three major islands off the coast.

God has blessed us so much! Thank you for your prayers and love! We miss you mom and dad!