Cement, Children & Chinese food

Today is day two of working once again on Cenalda's new house. Most of us woke up ready to finish what we started yesterday at Cenalda's home.  I (Miguel) woke up a little late,  tired from all the cement mixing and work from the previous day. But when Father Ted finally woke me up after calling me multiple times I got ready to go for another day of brick laying and cement mixing. While working at the site the head of the house Cenalda was always attentive to all our needs. When she saw that we were working a lot she would have water ready to quench our thirst. Lunch time finally arrived.   We sat in the shade and ate an authentic Mexican meal: tortillas, rice, beans and beef with an all natural and organic drink made from hibiscus flowers. After lunch we then had to mix the cement we needed to pour into the now 12 feet walls. This proved to be the most difficult part of the day but we got it done.
We then headed back to the Posada,  we cleaned up quickly and went to visit an all girls' orphanage run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. When arriving we met all the sisters who run the orphanage and also some volunteers. The girls were shy at first but it did not take long until they were all pulling us in all directions and hugging us.   Then a game of soccer broke out with the teen girls at the orphanage and ourselves. Some of the younger girls were also playing while others were getting face painted by Christie. After about an hour of playtime is was time for the girls to do homework so we said our goodbyes and gave them all hugs.
After a day of hard work and hard play with the children it was time for another good meal. The always attentive Esperanza staff Eduardo, aware of our Chinese team member Terry, "Chino"Chang, brought us to a beautiful Chinese Buffet. All you can eat sounded perfect after a day like this. At the buffet we talked and laughed and enjoyed finally relaxing in one another's company. Now with a heart full of memories and a stomach full of food it was time to come back to the Posada to get some rest and prepare for tommorrow.
In conclusion, being that its my second year coming to visit this orphanage I was more aware of what to expect, and so it was very obvious to me this time how much the girls need love and affection. As much as the sisters take very good care of the girls you can still see something is missing. It breaks my heart to see such young girls have to grow up living at an orphanage but i noticed how much these girls love and care for each other.
On a personal note I would like to thank Father Ted, all who bought bricks from me and helped support what we are doing here in Tijuana. I especially want to thank Michelle and Ken Szpara-Denisco for buying my plane ticket to come here and do what I am doing. If it had not been for them I would have not been able to afford to come to Tijuana.