My Morning at the Orphanage

The 120 minutes I spent at Mi Tambo Orphanage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz6lRhjsv28 were some of the best and hardest during my misison trip.  Mi Tambo is a local orphanage in Ambato and has the direct translation of "my shelter".  I had done Internet research and was happy when the Ambato Rotary driver suggested going to Mi Tambo.  The drive was very rough and we needed to stop and pull back a gait which gets locked at night.  All the windows were bared and grounds seemed barren.  A basket ball court sat dilapidated and when asked they had no basketballs to use.  Luckily I was able to purchase (3) basketballs the next day with funds donated from friends back home.  The driver agreed to take them back the next day for me.

There were a small group of children there at the time, maybe less than 15, but  numbers flucuate and it was explained that the police drive around the city at night and round up homeless kids on the street and bring them to the orphanage.  As we drove up I could understand the young voices asking in Spanish if there was going to be an adoption.  I teared up before I even got out of the car.  We then were taken by the caretaker of the children to a empty room.  There I unloaded the 2 full backpacks of toys, school supplies and books in Spanish.  Wilma, my translator, helped read the letters that my daughters 7th grade Spanish class wrote and sent with gifts. There were also some handicap children and mentally challenged who stayed there, having no where else to go.  My heart broke as we handed out gifts. They were so appreciative and I just know that we made their day/lives a little brighter just to know people care.

Google translate  http://translate.google.com/#  was a great asset on my trip since I was able to type in English the information I wanted to give to the driver who only spoke Spanish.  I didn't have  a printer but was able to just write it out.  I also used it to give a waiter at the hotel a home exercise program in Spanish since the  Hotel Florida http://www.hotelflorida.com.ec/ had Internet access in the rooms via an Ethernet connection.