A little behind in the postings - so here's some catch up from May.
We celebrated Mother's Day together at the orphanage on the Saturday before. We realized Mother's Day is not just a Hallmark holiday. Even though many of the children do not have good relationships with their biological mothers, we celebrated the amazing gift of the madre tutoras that live and care for the children day in and day out, as well as the other women who work at the albergue. The children made cards, sang songs, memorized poetry and did a skit about the importance of motherhood. It was a great reminder of the work the mother tutoras do day in and day out and the way their love effects the children in their care.
Madre Tutoras: Melva, Veronica, Sylvia and Sarita
Nancy (Director of Project's wife) and Mirian (Social Worker)
Hand made cards for each mother
Drama presented about the importance of giving life and being a mother
After church on Sunday, Joel and I helped Lurdes and her brothers celebrate their mother. I helped cooked the chicken, mashed potatoes and rice, while Joel entertained us with some music.
Joel, Mirian, Juan, Alicia, Elmer, Joy, Lurdes and Robyn
And, before the day was done, we called our own mothers. We are thankful for the blessing of both of our mothers and the love and support they have offered us over the years and especially during our time in Peru. FELIZ DIA DE LA MADRE!
Men and women from the USS MCINERNEY FFG-8 COMREL TEAM came to our port of Salaverry and blessed us by volunteering with us for a day. They purchased a ton of supplies and did 4 projects during the 8 hours they were with us! What an amazing work crew! They repainted the outside of the children's casitas, fixed our main doors, restored our outside gate and found a underground pipe that was buried under a hill of sand. Along with all of their work, they brought a ton of hugs, candy and military boots for the kids! They also had a few push-up competitions in memory of Haley! 
