A LETTER FROM HAYLEA

Dear Friends and Family,

I don't have all of ya'lls emails addresses so this is only going to a few...but I wanted to write ya'll a message and tell ya'll a little bit about what I do here. But first I would like to tell you how much I love you, and how grateful I am to have ya'll in my life. I want to thank each and every one of you for always sticking by my side, and always having me in your hearts and prayers. Being here in Ecuador has made me learn and grow more than I ever thought I would. My time is half way up and it is killing me, I cant believe how fast it has gone by. I am in love with the kids, the country, and everyone in it.
First off I live with 17 girls and some visitors stray in and out. The house I live in is actually connected with another where the project directors of OSSO live as well. They are all so wonderful, and it is definitely a family away from home. There are 5 MAIN sites we have the privilege to go to everyday, here we have to opportunity to play, teach, and take care of the kids. The first orphanage is named OSSO and that is where the kids with disabilities reside. We feed, change, do activities and therapies with these beautiful kids. Most of them are severely handicapped and cannot speak and spend most of their time in their wheelchairs, but they are perfect and so easy to fall in love with. I wish I had enough time to tell you about each and everyone of them but I am sure that you will hear enough about them when i get home ;) Yesterday we actually played baseball, basketball, and volleyball with them and had a blast! In OSSO there are 3 different sites, and 2-4 people work in each site every shift. They continue to teach me everyday, I can only pray that they learn as much from me as I do from them. The second orphanage is called Todeo Torres and all of the kids here are beyond amazing! There are two different sites in this orphanage called "Cunas" and "Casas". In Cunas there are 8 ninos ranging from 1-3 and 4 young babies ranging from 20 days-9 months. The Casa ninos are 3-8 and there are 8 of them as well. Most of these kids suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome and a few others have different problems that we are unaware of. These kids are full on energy and life and I am in love with everyone single one of them. During the day we feed, change, teach and do ALOT of playing with these kids. We also have about 2-4 girls working at theses sites everyday every shift depending on how many volunteers we have at a specific time. So now you are probably wondering what shift is. Well we have two shifts a day, morning shift from 7 am until 12 pm and afternoon shift is 2 pm until 6 pm. We leave the orphanage at 12 pm but it usually takes about 15 minuets to drive home, so about 12:15 to 2 we have a lunch break. We are blessed with an amazing cook for lunch, Catalina, and we get a delicious Ecuadorian meal every day (except Sundays). During the week we do get 3 shifts off, unless we have a field trip that week we only get 1 or 2 shifts off depending on the circumstances. We never have a full day off, unless for certain field trips, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Even going a shift without seeing these kids makes me miss them so much. If my body didn't need sleep, I would go without any offs! So besides the 5 main sites we go to everyday we also have 4 more that we go to once or twice a week. We have HML that everyone gets to go to on Monday and Thursday nights from right after shift until 7:30. This orphanage is full of girls that have been physically or sexually abused. There are about 30 girls, they come in and out. We do anything with the girls, we have dance parties, they love to do our hair, and sometimes we will bake cookies with them. I have connected so well with these girls, they are so humble and grateful, I even get to help them with their English homework. HML ladies is another one we attend once a week during an actual shift, so only a few girls get to go at a time. It is pretty much a nursing home, we paint their nails and feed them. These ladies are so much fun and always give us a good laugh. Another site is an orphanage we call Remar. We go once a week on Saturdays during an actually shift, so once again only a few girls get to go. I am actually "mom" of this site, so I have the honor to go every week, and it is TRULY an honor. Remar is run by a Christian group and there are 40-50 children who live together, but split up into multiple bedrooms. One of there missions in providing a drug and alcohol rehabilitation to poor people, so a lot of the kids here do have parents but they suffer from these addictions. Some of the kids don't stay for long, while others stay for years and a few of the older girls have babies of their own. The children here have stolen my heart. They don't have very good manners, and they cant sit for longer than 5 minuets...but I cant even explain how much I care for them. I wish I could go everyday! The final site is Trinidad and it is actually a day care for children of all ages. We go every Tuesday during our afternoon shift and today was actually my first time going, since once again not everyone has the opportunity to go every day. Today we read books to these sweet kids then we helped them make their own. After our activity was done we gave them bread and apples and they were in heaven. One little boy was crying because he wanted more bread and two of the older girls gave him their bread. These kids have nothing, but yet are so willing to give to others, I see it everyday...every single day. So there is just a little bit of what I am doing here in Cuenca, Ecuador. I really wish I could write all of my experiences here but trust me I would be writing for days..and it could possibly take you hours to read. I am sincerely grateful for this experience and for all of yall that helped me get here. Everyone in my life has prepared me for my time here. All of ya'll that helped me have this opportunity...I truly hope you know how many others you have blessed besides me. THANK YOU! I wish I could tell ya'll how happy I am here and how much I love these kids but there are not any words to describe my feelings. Those of you who have kids...I now understand your love for them. I can only imagine how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ loves each and every one of us.

Once again, THANK YOU!

Sincerely,Haylea M. Redfern