First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for three of the four boys in my casa. The photo is of Milton and Mauricio. Milton, the oldest boy in the casa, started 6th grade (again) and Mauricio started 5th grade. I will probably have a little more free time in the mornings now that they are not here for 5 hours each day, although I am going to miss spending time with them as I have been doing a lot lately. Especially Mauricio; he has turned out to be a really great kid and a wonderful addition to our house. I went to the casa of his grandmother with him and his brother Isaac on Saturday and met much of his family. He has 18 cousins and several uncles and aunts. He has one uncle who is younger than him, only 11 years old. It was a real return to reality here in Honduras as his family lives in very poor conditions as most of the people here do with lots of them jammed into very small casas. He is in a much better place here thanks to all the people who support Casa Corazón.



The Mother of Juan-Fernando finally came to visit him for the first time 5 months after dropping him off here. He was very timid and did not know who she was. It was very difficult for me because he wanted me to take him and sit with me but it was her time to visit with him so I wanted him to stay with her. He kept grabbing my hand and giving me looks like he wanted help. The ladies here told me that was going to happen since he thinks I am his daddy and he spends all his time with me. The girl in the photo is his oldest sister, Heidy, who is 16. Juan was very quiet the entire time they were here but returned to his playful manner right after they left.

Gustavo had a visit from his very large family last weekend also. The man is his grandfather who visits him almost every week. The older lady is his mother's sister and all of the girls are her daughters. The young boy is Gustavo's brother who also regularly visits with his grandfather. Gustavo was so excited to have all of them here at the same time and he cried when he had to go eat dinner and when they left later on.