A new video from Luis, the youngest boy in Puerto Alegria.
Love this.
More videos are posted on my Vimeo page.
Girasoles
A Letter to the Boys
As part of my despedida (goodbye) from Puerto Alegria, I was asked by one of the caregivers to leave a letter to be read a part of their morning devotionals the day after I left. I recently talked with somebody from the site and heard how the caregiver used the letter as basis for the morning devotional, and expounded on what I wrote. I have translated a portion of my message into English.
My dear Girasoles,
I was asked by Willy to share a little of my thoughts and wanted to use this to say goodbye to you all one last time. The only thing I can say is thank you for everything. Thank you for the conversations, the smiles, for the hugs, and for a wonderful time with you in Puerto Alegria.
Each one of you is a son of God. You should know that He has a big plan and purpose for your lives – from Jesús, the oldest, down to little Luis. With the help of God and all those that are here supporting the Girasoles Program, you all will be excellent men of valor. Pay attention to those that are here working with you, helping you, loving you – they are excellent examples of the Christian men you can become. Keep following the example they set and listening to what they are teaching here, and you will be wonderful, men of God to your families and in your community.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you and I always keep you in my prayers” (Philippians 1:3). Keep following God’s direction because with him, everything is possible.
With a big hug and lots of love,
Kate
PS. To the caregivers, love my little boys Luis and Oriel. Take care of them, hug them, play with them, but most importantly, teach them to be men of God like you are yourself. They are your sons and are looking to you for direction. I know you are an excellent example for them.
Mansur, the dancing machine
Here’s another video of a few of the boys from Puerto Alegria dancing to a mix of songs by DC Reto.
One of the boys in this group has quite an interesting story. The boy in the yellow hoodie is Mansur. A few years ago, while he was living in Puerto Alegria, he was climbing in a tree and fell out of it. He broke his leg, arm and damaged his spine in the fall and Gene, the house father, rushed him to a hospital. Since Puerto Alegria isn’t in the city of Iquitos, it took a while to make it to the city and then to the hospital. When he reached the hospital, the doctors would not operate on him, claiming they didn’t have proper equipment. After hearing this, Gene took Mansur to another hospital, where he was met by a capable doctor. The doctor said that because of the delay and lots of movement since the accident, Mansur might never walk again. Throughout the night, the doctor operated on Mansur and set his broken bones. While the doctor was working on Mansur, Gene was out in the waiting room praying for his recovery.
Thankfully, Mansur made a wonderful recovery and can be seen dancing as part of the younger boys choreography. I did not know Mansur before his accident, but can say now that he is a boy that truly enjoys life and loves playing around. I frequently saw him running around the house, dancing, playing soccer and lots of smiling.
Pa’ los Niños
An adorable video of Luis, the youngest boy at Puerto Alegria, singing and dancing to the DC Reto song, Pa’ los Niños (For the Children). The lyrics of the song tell the children to bark like a dog, meow like a cat, move forward, move backwards, and jump up and down. He meows, barks and at the end of the video, says “para los niños” (for the children).
The actual song Pa’ los Niños, can be downloaded here as part of the file “Songs from the Casa Girasoles Puerto Alegria”
A Message from Ica
A message from the boys of the Casa Girasoles Ica to the team from Dearborn.
“Te extrañamos” – We miss you!