SAN ANTONIO PALOPO

I have looked forward to today since I left Guatemala in October!! The day I get to return to the San Antonio Palopo pre-school/feeding program!! I simply couldn't wait to get my hands on those sweet kiddos again and to see their smiling faces!! As always I got the warmest welcome when I walked in the door!! Before I knew it I was surrounded by smiling kids speaking to me all at the same time. They couldn't wait to see what I had in store for them today!! Little did they know it was going to be a GREAT surprise!! After all the greetings and hugs were given I sat on the floor and handed out pictures to the children from the October trip! They were so excited to get those photos and kept looking at them and showing them to each other. I was glad I thought about bringing them!! With all photos now given it was time to move on to bigger better things!!

Can you imagine the smiles on those little one's faces as a brightly dressed clown came bouncing into the room??? The sight of the excitement on their faces was simply priceless!! It's the kinds of smiles that can light up a dark room and brighten up your day!! It wasn't very long before the room was filled with laughter as the clown told jokes and played games with the kids!! But what's this?? The clown had an even bigger surprise for the kids!!! He has brought along his dear friend Santa!! That's right Santa has arrived early bearing gifts for all the wonderful children!! They hurried to line up and take a turn sitting in Santa's lap to receive a gift! Each child stopping momentarily to give me a HUGE smile for their photo before running off to play with their new toy! I simply can't even begin to describe what those smiles do to your heart!! Being there seeing them and experiencing their joy and laughter is absolutely amazing!! Days like today make it worth every snag in the road to making this project happen!!

We also provided the kids with cake, punch, and candy canes for their enjoyment!! The even bigger and more beneficial gift was the food baskets provided for each child through the generous donors!! Those of you who have followed along with my work in Guatemala are aware of the great need in the village of San Antonio Palopo. They experienced much damage during Tropical Storm Agatha with many lives lost and dreams destroyed!! Still today they are struggling to build the lives they once knew. Lack of money, little resources and the scarcity of land makes this very hard to accomplish!! So today was just a very small drop in an ocean of endless needs, but I am so grateful to have been able to be there again loving those kids and giving them a much needed blessing!! Thanks to all of you who have sponsored a food basket, sent in a toy or helped with the shipping of the items. Without your generosity this would have never been possible!!










The kids loved getting their photos!! They were so excited!!
































Me and Santa


Candy is not so shy with me now!!
















Heading back to Panajachel!!