Update on the girls who ran away... we now know they are all ok. None are coming back, though. One girl is with her mom, another is with an older sister, and we are not sure where the third ended up, but she has sent word that she is alright. Still sad. 

But on to better news!  We had a meeting (HALLELUJAH!) this week and hashed through the entire child sponsorship program, clarifying what needs to be done, who needs to do it, and what the deadlines are.  

I was so happy! At some point during the  (9 am) meeting, someone showed up with this and started pouring for all of us...

Too bad it turned out to just be juice :)  It was good though!  

Later that day, we delivered letters from sponsors, and helped translate the replies back. That was fun! The kids are so excited to get mail! 

Monday was Estefania's birthday.  One other volunteer wanted to take her out to dinner and invited us, so we went to a nice restaurant and movie to celebrate her 17th.  Then, yesterday, a different sponsor came down and she and I put together a party for all the girls at Soler. We tie-dyed shirts and did a photo shoot of the girls all dressed up.

Then we decorated the cafeteria and had a yummy dinner (the sponsor brought it from a restaurant for all the kids here at Soler) and had cake!  

It was great!  But then we found out a boy here had a birthday the day before, and no one had done anything! We didn't even know it was his birthday! So we are working on how to form a "Birthday Club" to make sure all kids are celebrated on their birthdays!  You can read his post about that HERE.

Now, we are headed to the States for a few days...I am attending a Mom Heart Conference and we will be celebrating two birthdays of our family (Liam and Aliya) this weekend!