Continuation of the Fun...

Over the past few days we have been very busy... We have been biking, hiking and swimming. On Monday we took some of the boys out riding through a mountains, next to the river, all of them did wonderful listening to us, avoiding traffic, and never giving up; it was incredible to see the endurance that these children have. Later that afternoon we took out 8 beginning riders, of which only 3 knew how to ride; by the end of the time 7 kids could ride on their own with out someone holding onto the back, again seeing the growth and the children's excitement of learning a new task just added to our own. In the evening we got the opportunity to help celebrate a 17th birthday and eat a delicious Filipino meal.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a very long, but fun day. We took 25 kids to the other side of the island, which was about two and a half hours away, to the city of Moalboal; there we climbed through the lush Jungle to a waterfall (it was quite a hike, even for us! but all of the kids did great and didn't complain).. when we got to the waterfall we received the chance to cool off and play with the kids, which was a blessing for us all. We proceeded down the mountain to a great meal on the beach. After lunch we got onto two boats that carried us out to an island where we all got the opportunity to get off and snorkel around a bit. The kids loved this, and although they are all from the Philippines, it was for some of them, their first time in the ocean.

When we arrived back at the shelter we got to experience a send off since three of the kids are being taken to their new home by their parents. It was incredible to see the light in the eyes of the two sisters and brother as well as their new parents.

This morning we took five of the intermediate girls biking along the river where they all did wonderfully. And now we are off to go see a movie with the special needs kids, then later we will be going to dinner and bowling with teen home kids.

It is time to get going soon but look for more updates soon, and thank you again for the continued support and prayers, they are greatly appreciated!! :-)

1st Annual Cherry Hills Games

Our first afternoon with the kids was awesome! The work team organized the first annual CHCC Games and the kids were divided into 4 teams: Red, Blue, Green and Maroon. We started off with the human knot game where the kids had to grab hands and work together as a group to untwist themselves. The work team split off and had a member working with each team of kids and the teams competed against each other to see who could get untangled first. Then we had relay races with water balloons and air filled balloons. The grand finale was a free-for-all water balloon fight, followed by a sneak attack on Kelly (instigated by Kirk). The very last game was a contest to see which team could pick up the most balloon pieces--clean up has never been easier for the adults!
The work team had the pleasure of joining the kids for dinner at the picnic area and we had our first taste of authentic Filipino cuisine of the trip. Then the winning teams were announced and candy was awarded as prizes.
All in all it was an awesome day and we can truly say that we were the ones who were blessed!