The world's best hope

What a fantastic day! We spent the day in Santiago - a city inland, south, and west of Sosua - with children. We got ready this morning and packed up a suitcase full of books and toys, then piled everyone in the car and drove. Just before we arrived at Puerta Plato, we saw a sign that pointed towards Santiago and said 46 km. That's a lot shorter, so we decided to go that way.

The first thing we found was that the road was very rough - large sections had been washed out by runoff from the mountains. We stopped and asked if the road was bad all the way - the man we asked said it was only bad where we were and that it was much better than trying to drive through accidents in Puerta Plato. So much for the local wisdom. This road was washed down to dirt and rocks pretty regularly, and the road twisted and turned through the mountains. Still, the ride was beautiful.

We stopped at one point and bought some bananas - they were really small, like half-sized bananas. Here is the stand we bought from, and the bananas hanging in the car.

We arrived in Santiago and Greg asked me to call Angelita, the administrator at Conani. Conani is a parent organization that runs orphanages in a few cities in the DR. I tried to explain who I was, but she kept yelling, "Who are you?!?" at me. As I tried, in vain, to explain that we had toys and books to donate, she hung up on me. Greg explained that this is common, because the only people that have your cell phone number here are people you know well, so she wanted to know who I was and how I got her number.

Greg called back and was able to explain to her who he was, and she immediately was more pleasant. She gave us directions to the Hogar de Angeles (Home of Angels). This is an orphanage for children with disabilities. We spent about 1 1/2 hours there. We gave away toys for these children. One of them, named Francis, kept coming over to get more. He was so funny. He wouldn't give up anything to get the next toy. There was a girl that got a teddy bear; as you can see, she loved it.

This is Shanlee sitting next to Francis:

There were also a bunch of young children in beds. They couldn't get out of the beds, so we spent time talking to them, saying hello, holding their hands, and letting them know that we loved them. Their faces said everything - big smiles and they would shake they were so happy. One boy would clap his hands every time we walked up to him. Here is Megan with one of the children:

We also had two wonderful blankets made by the Josephson's in our ward. These went to two of the workers at the Hogar de Angeles. They are both expecting, and I thought it was so appropriate for these amazing women, who care so much for these disabled children day in and day out, to have something to wrap their new babies in.

There was an upper level with all girls. I went up there because I thought Shanlee had gone up, and found myself surrounded. Each one wanted a hug and to hold my hand. One little girl put her arms around my neck and tried to give me a kiss...on the lips! I kept turning my head and said, 'On the cheek, on the cheek.' We gave away toys - balls, yo-yos, small toys, paddles with balls, dolls, necklaces, and a bunch of others. These children were so excited to have just one toy.

When we were leaving, one of the boys - his name is Gregorio - kept trying to get into our car. He was looking for something to eat. Gregorio has downs syndrome, and is a big boy. I kept trying to pull him out of the car - he was trying to get into the seat Rachel was sitting on - and I couldn't move him. First, he was big. Second, he was strong. Third, he was sweaty. Every time I got a hold on him, he would slip his arm out of my grip. It finally took a few of the workers to get him away so we could leave. Even at that, he followed us right next to the car until we were out of the parking lot. Here is Gregorio:

Editor's note: at this point, we ran out of batteries for the camera. We'll be getting pictures from Rachel, but I have no additional pictures from today at this time. You can flog me when I get back on Friday.

We then went to the Hogar de Pasos (House of Steps). This is an orphanage for children in one of three situations: their parents abandoned them; they are having issues with their families; or they are having issues with the law. There are 24 children from ages 4 - 14 living here. We spent over two hours here visiting with them.

We donated the books we had packed to the orphanage. They brought them out and the boys snatched them up. Each one wanted a book to read. As soon as they got the books, each of us had two, three, or even four boys pulling on our arms asking us to help them read. One of the books had dinosaurs in it - it would explain something about a dinosaur, give the name, then say how many of that dinosaur was in the drawing, then they would find them all. I made the boys say the name of each dinosaur before I would tell them how many to find. This went on for over 30 minutes.

With all of the need here, we were so blessed this afternoon by the people at the Hogar de Pasos. They made dinner for us. They gave us frozen yogurt and a dish they called Arroz de Negritos (rice of the little blacks). What incredible people - we came to give them a donation, and they shared what they had with us.

We played baseball with them a little, they showed us how far they can walk on their hands, they ran around and jumped for us, they showed us how to play marbles - it was no wonder that we didn't leave until after 5 p.m. As we were preparing to leave, two boys came up to me and asked if I was coming back. If that doesn't tear your heart out, I don't know what will. Fortunately, the Dennings will be going back to that orphanage with more books and just to visit. I don't know when I'll be back in the Dominican Republic.

We drove home through Puerta Plato, arriving after 7 p.m. Rachel made a home-made tomato soup with flat bread. Very tasty. She still hasn't managed to provide a meal we have disliked. The only thing that came close was the meal at the orphanage today - Shanlee and Megan didn't like it much. Shanlee has made a yellow cake that we will be eating shortly (it just came out of the oven).

As for the title of this post, it comes from a quote from John F. Kennedy. He said, "Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." Having been with the children at these orphanages today, I have to agree.