Day 6 Community Cares # 2

This morning began with much uncertainty. Two team members were definitely down with a nasty stomach bug and several others were not feeling 100%. Emilio was well and so he headed off to the Staff Retreat – the second day for the second half of the Brazos staff. Our Community Program team today was small – only two people on that team were fully healthy. However our group is awesome and other group members pitched in and helped the morning program run smoothly! In the afternoon session our makeshift team ran our program again – we are so grateful to have such a flexible and talented team!

We felt well cared for by the Brazos staff through our health problems. Isabel the amazing Brazos cook prepared us a delicious pot of chicken soup for lunch because she knew we were battling stomach issues. This broth was very soothing to many of our team members! Ewner, the Executive Director of Brazos, picked us up Sprite on his way to work this morning. And Sergio, the Community Program Director found us saltines in his stash of snacks.

Emilio came back from the staff retreat with a good report! The second group of Brazos staff had a great experience being trained on how to work better together. Ana Luz, the presenter, did a great job mixing presentations and hands-on exercises to emphasize how all parts of Brazos can work together better. The staff left feeling energized and excited to have an opportunity to rest and learn at a beautiful Nicaraguan meeting center near a lake.

Our team was touched to be invited to a birthday party this evening for a resident in Casa 2. It was a delightful celebration with balloons, a cake, Coca-Cola and a pinata. We were happy to participate his special day!

Another highlight this afternoon was the Brazo’s guard dog Natcha giving birth. Natcha has been a constant companion to our team these past 5 days. However, sadly we don’t play with her because she is trained as guard dog.

This evening’s team meeting was much happier than last evening! We joyfully discussed how our growing relationships with the resident kids made our devotion time much more interactive and fruitful. Also feeling blessed that our team seems to be on the road to recovery for the numerous health issues! We are thankful God has been faithful answering our prayers for building relationships with the kids as well as our health needs.

Tomorrow we will have a team day away from the Brazos campus to rest. We will be visiting a local craft faire as well as swimming in a volcano caldera!