Dinner and More Time at Luz

Wow, it has been a long time since the last post thanks to school... Anyway that night, we went to dinner at a nice restaurant. The only downside was that some people got their food earlier than the others while the rest (including us) waited a long time to get our food. The next morning, we went to the same orphanages as the previous day. At Luz, we played with the children, made cookies, and before we left (because it was time for their nap), we gave them Christmas presents. First we gave them small bouncy balls. They were so happy to have the balls and immediately started kicking and throwing them around. Then, they sat in a line of chairs and awaited their other presents. Each one was called by name, and ran up to get them. Most of them didn't get the idea since they never received presents and didn't know to tear off the wrapping paper. Many of the girls got dolls and the boys got cars. They also received a play table and two scooters which they pushed with their legs. Gisella kept watching intently as one of the scooters was being put together and she was determined to ride it the minute it was completed. Martin got the other one and was so thrilled to have it. I remember seeing him fall off it once, but he bounced right back with a big smile on his face. One of the nurses informed us that as a child Martin was sexually abused and currently goes to a psychiatrist twice a week. By his personality, you would never guess that because he was so sweet and loving, but the nurse said that he was too trusting of strangers which is in some ways a problem. As we started leaving Luz for the last time, Martin sat down near the front entrance with his truck and just started crying. It was really sad to leave all of them and I'm sure they were sad as well. They never get anyone to play with them and those two days were a great experience for them. After being pried from Luz, we headed off to the other orphanage, Fundaninos, to join our other group and hand out Christmas presents to the older children who lived there.