Jesus loves the little children

It has been a productive week at Joy Filled Homes. I had the oppertunity to spend some one on one time with Andres on Wednesday. He is 4 years old and has only been diagnosed with developemental delays, though he has other complications as well. Andres is such a happy little boy who smiles a lot and loves to be talked to. He captured our hearts right away!
While I was working with Andres, I noticed that he doesn't use his hands together; when he is trying to pick up a toy, he only uses one hand at a time. Also, he pokes at toys rather than grasping them with his fingers. Playing with some of the sensory toys that we brought, I got him using both hands to grab a big, soft nubby ball. It was easy for him to grip, and when I got his right hand working together with his left, he really started to respond to the game. Jalen helped me massage the palms of his hands with different textures and he seemed to make a better connection with his hands! I was able to determine a few areas where Andres can further develope his skills and abilities. Please continue to pray my discernment as I spend time with each of the children.
Maureen will translate for me when we meet with the Nannies to further develope the IEPs for each of the kids. I am looking forward to spending more time with each child.
Thursday morning I dropped Steve off at the orphanage to build a stand for one of the bathroom sinks that was leaking and getting pulled out of the wall by some of the kids pulling themselves up on it. He worked on the project with a couple of guys from the neighborhood who occasionally help out around the Home. At 9:30 he called me at our house to see how soon I could get there. One of the teachers at their school had gone home sick and they were wondering if I could fill in. Laine and I quickly got the kids out the door and we all went to school! I was teaching the older class with 4 students. Daniel is the oldest boy and the only one who has developed language. He does understand a bit of English as well. Gabby doesn't speak much, but she does understand Spanish. Lila has Autistic tendancies and speaks a little and understands Spanish. Nancy has severe dissabilities and doesn't speak at all. Jalen and Zeke also joined us for a very interesting class. Not able to speak a lot of Spanish and having no idea what they are currently working on, I decided to improvise completely. There aren't many educational resources in the classroom either, so I pulled out my special bag. We did some coloring pages with stickers, which was a BIG hit with all the kids. Fernanda, one of the Nannies, came to help out, and Laine was there as well. We had to help the kids peel the stickers off the sheet, but we encouraged interaction as they picked wich sticker they wanted each time and decided where to put it on the page.
Nancy sat in one spot the whole time and made various noises. Aware that she couldn't participate in our activities, but not wanting her to miss out entirely, I pulled out some squishy toys for her to hold. I could not have expected how she would react to them. First of all, her face lit up like a thousand candles and she squealed with excitement. She played with various squishy toys the whole time, shaking them, stretching them out and rubbing them on her face. She was blissfully happy.
I tried out the weighted vest with a couple of the more fidgetty kids, and they all loved it! The vest has pockets holding bean bags, thanks to Sarah, and weighs about 7 pounds. It makes them feel calm and helps kids focus better; Cole used this same vest for years until he outgrew it.
Autumn joined Candy, Helen, Rosemary and Andrea in the other classroom. I could here her repeating letter sounds after the teacher, in Spanish of course. She got right in there, helping the other girls with their coloring and other excercises.
After the coloring pages, Jalen and Zeke helped the kids learn how to play Memory. Of course we gave them lots of hints, and they were so thrilled every time they found a pair. Gabby won; I think it made her day. We made letters out of playdough and colored another picture before it was time for the kids to get ready for lunch.
Just enough time for Steve to finish the sinks and for us to grab a bite to eat before driving out to Paramos for another game of soccer. Inspite of our busy morning at school, Laine and I played soccer as well. Several of the littlest boys were telling Autumn that Steve is their dad and I am their mom. Autumn disagreed at first, but I told her to share. Kinda heartbreaking, but if we can love them while we are here, then that is what we will do!
We were going to head to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables, but we just got an oppertunity to go visit another orphanage with 80+ kids, the biggest one we have seen so far. So I must leave you now so I can make sure that my cup is full so that it can overflow with the everlasting love of God!