Follow ETBU Softball in Costa Rica
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
McKayla Hendrix
Junior - Political Science Major
Tulsa, Oklahoma
I think I speak for the majority of our team when I say that we when got our schedule for this trip we were most looking forward to helping with the Casa de Pan (House of Bread). What we initially heard about this place was that this amazing woman has adopted over 40 children and is raising them all in one home. We had no idea why this woman began adopting all these children or how she and her husband were able to care for them all. So today, on the fifth day of our trip here in Costa Rica we finally got to go see this amazing place.
We pulled up and parked the bus and were all a little confused because all we could see is this beautiful gated area that was covered in flowers that, trust me, we took a lot of pictures of. We couldn't see over the gate and when it opened we were shocked. What I think most people would imagine when they hear about a house with over forty children is a really dirty place that's not very well kept and kids that get little to no attention. That is in no way the case for Casa de Pan. Right when you walk in you see this huge front yard with what looked like a brand new playground and even more beautiful flowers. The house itself was huge and we later found out that the entire property was donated to them. Once we got up to the house we finally got to meet the kids.
These kids were so energetic and so full of life. I got the chance to hang out with Britney, a seven year old who insisted Alexis Nixon and I hold her hand and swing her around for almost an hour straight. At one point she even had us hold her to where she was lying on her stomach and she took her hand out and yelled "SUPER GIRL!!" as we were running her through the yard. Other girls got to play catch with the kids while they tried our softball gloves out. One of the most amazing things to watch was the bond that was formed between Maci and a kid named Cesar. They instantly clicked, anytime you looked he would be smiling up at her or holding her hand showing her different things around his home. He has actually inspired Maci, who plans to become a teacher, to go into teaching students with special needs.
When it comes to the mom of all these children, Melba, we were all blown away. She spoke to us about how this all came about and how she devoted her life and her home to serving the Lord. She continued to talk to us about how the Lord provides citing the donated home as a prime example. This woman had so much composure and was so poised in such a hectic place, it was really inspiring and honestly just plain cool to be able to witness and be a very small part of. We were very blessed to be able to listen to this woman speak and to be able to hang out with these kids. This will not be something any of us will forget.
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