Each time I’ve talked to the girls about our Mother’s Day activity, and I asked them what they liked the best, invariably, their answers have been the same... “Everything.”

Everything was a big secret...  Suspense grew when we closed off our big room and the girls couldn’t see what was going on...  One of them said about a week ahead, “I’m counting down the hours!"

We called our activity “A Bit of Paradise”... we wanted the girls to feel special, loved... a reminder of God’s love and care... that in His eyes there is no one who is “ugly” or “unlovable.”  The girls had tickets for every area... arranged in different orders so every half hour there would be a movement of people, and the areas would be full...

Restaurant “El Maná” – a candle-lit, elegant Restaurant... (full capacity – 9).  I think I told you about this the other day...  They started off with bread sticks...  then a pretty little salad... a choice of quesadillas with green onions, tortillas with cheese and ham... or burritos – (tortillas with cheese and chicken)... then it was topped off with a delicious chocolate mousse.  I wish you could have seen our servers... they were so professional...  A 5 star hotel couldn’t have done better...

I had to laugh... I overheard Paola/Lidia talking...  She had told her mom that she had gone to a “LUXURY” restaurant (a lot of emphasis on the Luxury)... and explained how she had been served... (like a queen) and how good the food was...  “The bad thing is...“ Lidia continued explaining, “at Luxury restaurants, they don’t serve very much!!!”  Her mom (who usually is the first to remind Lidia that she is worthless because she has been on the streets, on drugs etc) must have been pretty proud that her daughter had gone to a “luxury” restaurant... because the neighbor lady came over later... to find out where this luxury restaurant was and why Lidia hadn’t taken her too!  Lidia told her, “No... this was only for US!"

How many of our girls at one time may have eaten restaurant scraps?  How many might have even looked in the garbage for something to eat?  How many may have been chased away from restaurants when they were begging... selling something... or looking on?  This time, they were ushered in... treated royally... and given a choice of what to eat...  Like María Luisa said, “I  couldn’t even breathe.”

Photo Studio “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”... Heidi had her little corner... with a backdrop... and a tree off to the side...  the girls each got to “pose” and get their portrait taken...  Each one beautiful... not because of the atmosphere or their new sweaters... rather because each one, without exception, has God’s handprint on her...  each one “fearfully and wonderfully made”...  God’s special creation...  (Just sometimes we don’t take the time or  effort to appreciate it!)

“Eden” Reading Room...   We had three or four living room sets... lit with pretty lamps... pretzels and banana chips to “snack on”...  Servers came around serving punch in goblets... and fruit shish kabobs...  This is where the girls waited for their turns to get into the other areas... I bought a couple dozen of the popular craft magazines the girls are always wishing for... chick tracts... and other booklets for while they waited... 

Beauty Salon “Beautiful Queen”... Our salon was named after Esther... the gorgeous queen in the Bible who started off as a little orphan with no future... and became a queen, an instrument God used to save the Jewish people...  In our salon, the “treatment” only lasted a half an hour... but they still were treated royally...  They had to choose whether to get a manicure or a hair cut...  Of the four manicurists, one started having contractions the night before; she prayed that they’d go away so that she could come to El Jordán... God heard her... and her little baby girl was born just over 24 hours later...  Quite a few of our stylists  backed out... one got sick... and in the end we only had two working on the girls’ hair...  We should’ve had before and after pictures!  I’m sure Mery never had sat in a beauty salon before...  She looked so good afterwards...

Sandra Collareno was our special guest all the way from Cochabamba...  She had her corner to give the girls facial treatments...  starting off with a hot towel... creams... a touch of makeup... and a few tips...  She added a special touch (and class)  to our afternoon... Thanks Sandra!

“Canaan Café”  ...the land flowing with milk and honey... and coffee...  The girls sat on their bar stools, doing word puzzles while they sipped on their iced cappuccino... or regular cappuccino... or a variety of milkshakes...  They munched on special little cookies... and enjoyed being served by three young ladies...

Someone who has never been to El Jordan but has a little bakeshop, made and donated all of the special treats for the café... unfortunately the taxi driver who she sent everything with got lost and wandered around for over an hour... but better late than never!  They were delicious... and we still enjoyed them! 

“Boutique – God’s Blessing”   We’re coming into our cold season... its not freezing cold like North America... but it is a damp cold that goes right to your bones... and you feel like you can’t get warm...  Our “reasoning” was that since we weren’t spending much money on the rest of the activity, that we would buy a bale of sweaters...   (we more used things we had on hand... plus SO many people who helped).  To make sure we had a variety, we bought two bales – sweaters... and mixed winter.   I kind of flinched at the price and wondered how it was all going to work out... When the people found out that the clothes were to give away at a center, they said, “Oh dear!  You should’ve bought the 2nd quality.” No... It wasn’t a mistake choosing the high quality... even if it was almost double the price...  Do the girls deserve less because of their past?  Certainly not!

We called our boutique “Bendición de Dios” – God’s Blessing. Why?  Well...  I was worried about where the money was going to come from to pay for the bales...  “But our Father... who knows even when a small bird falls to the ground... knows what you need...”  The girls made beaded key chains for a Mother’s Day gift at Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa...  They paid us extra... that we decided to use towards the sweaters, benefiting all the girls...  An email arrived from Kansas at the same time...  an unclaimed hundred dollar bill was found under a table at a tea shop...  they decided to send it to our girls...  Yet another email arrived from my aunt...  she wanted to send money to help with our girls’ day...  Coincidences?  No... they are God’s blessings...  

We have 40 mothers at El Jordán – 30 students and 10 volunteers...  Quite a few of them are chubby... and as we ironed the sweaters we found that they were mostly on the small size...  We have some sweaters in our clothes closet... but not enough to give the “plus” sizes a nice selection...   So... we bought our third bale... In the end, we set up an amazing little store... Each of the mothers were able to choose 3 sweaters each...  At the end of the day, we let all the volunteers choose 2 or 3 sweaters as well...  God’s blessings...

The day before our event, Paola/Lidia shared with me about some problems she’s been having... Just the week before, she sold a jacket and a pair of sandals, in order to cover some expenses at home...  She had no idea that the sweaters were already being ironed and folded... for her to pick out three!!!  This week, a cold front came through... and Lidia looked  so good in her new sweaters!

Hm...  Isn’t God good?

Another lady and her daughter ended the afternoon with a talk about “How to be beautiful from the inside out”... and gave each of the girls a little gift with 1 Peter 3:3-4 written on it...  All around... it was a beautiful day...  Several of our volunteers who are moms said they’d only be able to come for a bit because they had other commitments... In the end, I think they forgot all about the other places they were supposed to go... and just thoroughly enjoyed “A Bit of Paradise”.  

Commenting on the day, our student Monica said, “I’ve seen places like that for rich people... but I thought I’d never be able to see what it was like.”   Tears came to her eyes.  “It was beautiful.  They treated us like rich people.  They treated us like queens!  Thank you.”

God’s blessings.

Thanks for taking the time to listen...  and care...

Have a wonderful day...

Love, Corina (for Marco too...)

P.S.  Marco wanted his picture taken...  He was the clean up boy... the camera man... the gopher... the chauffer... and also helped keep the older kids entertained...