Playing in the Park

~Sara

This journal is the last of my stories from visiting my Compassion children in Ecuador.  I had over 400 photos to choose from, so warning, it is long :)

After visiting with my Compassion sponsored boys in Quito, I went back to my friend’s house, got a good night sleep and woke early for a visit with two of my girls. The plan was basically the same, meet at the office, go to the park to play, then go out to eat.

I managed to catch the right bus that dropped me right in front of the Compassion office. I got there about 45 minutes early, and so I sat and waited for my children to arrive.

Both girls got there at the same time. It was sooo good to see them again! It was a happy reunion with the girls, their parents, and their project workers. Pamela’s cousin, Angelica had also come along for the trip. We had all played together at their house last year, and she did not want to be left behind.

   

Pamela                    Angelica                     Angela

I had brought a stuffed animal for each of my girls, and I rearranged some of the gifts so that Angelica would have something as well. After the greetings were out of the way, the three girls and I hopped in a taxi and along with the adults we headed to the park.

We spent the morning playing in the park, and chasing each other all over the place. The girls were amazed by all of the different play equipment and kept running from one play structure to another, I think they wanted to try everything out.

		Playground!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Their favorite part was playing on the old airplane that had been converted into a playground. When they first saw the plane it seemed to be closed, but as soon as they saw other kids climb through the fence they were running toward the plane and dragging me as fast as they could. “Hurry Madrina! We need to get there before it closes again!!” 

The girls climbed out the window of the plane and posed on the wing… Can you tell this is not in the USA…

The airplane had been painted and on the left side was the huge slide.

The girls were a little nervous…

but their smiles said it was not too scary.

All of us in front of the plane.

Saying hi to the adults

Posing on the wing

The inside of the plane was all empty except for the benches at the back

The girls had a lot of fun… and I did too :)

Afterward we found a vendor who was selling snow cones…

When we were all worn out from playing we went back to the pavilion where the adults were resting. We posed for a ton of photos, then played jump rope.

Angela, Angelica, Pamela and I with their teddy bears

The whole group (Pamela’s project worker and great aunt “mom.” Angela, her mom, Angelica, Pamela, and Angela’s tutor)

Pamela’s Family

Angela and her mom (also named Angela)

    

Pamela and Angelica are actually niece and aunt, but since they are the same age, their family calls them their twins.

Jumping doubles with Angela

And with Pamela

Pamela tried to turn the rope….

..but she couldn’t quite figure it out

Angela knew exactly what to do

Watching the expert

Then we headed out of the park for lunch. Because it had taken so long the day before to order in the food court, my guide and I decided to go to a local Burger King instead. When we took the order, we had to explain to the girls what a hamburger was. We asked each person if they wanted a roll with beef, or a roll with chicken. All three girls wanted burgers. 

While we were waiting for our food, we got to open the “surprises” that we had been teasing the girls about all morning. I had to do some creative shuffling because I had not counted on having Angelica with us, but in the end each girl looked happy with her gifts.

Angela and Pamela got new binders to hold the letters that I send to them and all three girls got clothing, school supplies, toys, candy, and headbands that I had made for them

Then the food arrived and we all dug in…..

After they finished their burgers the girls begged me to go with them to the playland. They had so much fun running in the tunnels, but they were sad that I was too tall to go in with them.

Pamela and Angela had to bring their bears with them

I don’t know how Angelica did it in her skirt, but she was one of the fastest up the playground.

After playing for a while we realized that they were supposed to have taken their shoes off

Pamela said something and Angela thought it was the funniest thing! (no, I don’t remember what it was)

The netting made it hard to take photos, but this is Angela and Angelica in the playland

Pamela :)

When they were all worn out again, we all had ice cream as a special treat…

Then the girls saw the vendor who had set up in front of the restaurant…

First you get in ….. Then they close up the opening most of the way

Then the leaf blower fills it up………. Till it is full!

The girls had a hard time getting their balance and spent most of the time either laying down, or crawling

But they did manage to get up on their feet a few times…

They seemed to have a lot of fun

 

All too soon it was time to say goodbye so that the families could make it back home. First we dropped Pamela, Angelica, and their family off at the trolley station. It was so hard to say goodbye.

Then we took Angela and her mom back to the hotel to pick up their bags, and we had a few more minutes together before their taxi came to pick them up. We were both out of words by then and so we just sat and smiled at each other. She sat on my lap and I reminded her that I would write her many many letters, and that I was always thinking about her and I loved her very much.

When the taxi came we took one last photo, then said goodbye.

Out of all the visits that I had with my Compassion children, that was the hardest one to see end. I love those little girls so much and it had been such a joyful time to see their smiles, hear their laughter, and feel their little hands swallowed in mine.

Every time I think of that visit I thank God that he gave me the opportunity to be a part of the lives of those two precious girls and by extension, their entire families.