FInding Joy in Simple Things

Happy New Year to you all!!!
It’s been a very long time since I’ve written, so I will do my best to not forget anything.
I was in the States in November and came back home to Argentina the second week of December, just in time for our annual evangelistic outreach event to the indigenous people of “el campo” (the country side/desert). We had about 600 people here for 5 days; during this week I was able to work with kids 1-3 years old. I was known as “Mama Carissa”, I had the privilege of taking care of one little girl almost all day every day. There were five kids on my list, but being of such a young age they were very attached to their moms. Guadalupe was a one-year-old girl who was uncomfortable with almost anyone but her mom and I; I felt so honored to have the trust of this precious girl. There were, however, other days where I took care of five or six kids. One day in particular, we were able to go to the aquarium and the zoo! I was in charge of 5 kids ages 5-9, it was wonderful time where I saw so much joy in these kids who had never been to the big city nor the aquarium or zoo. It was a wonderful experience and I hope and pray that these kids will never forget the love and care that was shown to them by so many people willing to serve them with the love of God!
The last night we had a Christmas Dinner for all of them! I really enjoyed being able to bless these people, one thing that I was able to do was give new clothes to many of the children! There was one little girl, Maria that I had been taking care of during the week, she had worn the same clothes the 5 days and looked as thought she had not taken a bath in many week, her hair was matted and she probably had lice. I found a cute dress and some coordinating shoes for her, I took her in the bathroom to get her ready for the special dinner! I wanted so badly to bathe her, but the water on the base had completely been shut off and nobody could find a way to fix it, the only thing we could do was wait, but seeing that the dinner was already being prepared and we had no idea when the water would come back, we did what we could. I took Maria into the bathroom changed her clothes and fix her hair into a simple braid, trying to make the most of the situation and lack of water. As we went out of the bathroom to find her mom, I noticed the huge smile on her face as she gently touch her new clothes! As I walked toward her mom with a smile on my face, I saw the look on her moms face…pure shock. Maria ran up to her mom and hugged her, her mom began to touch her daughter and ask herself “is it really you, Maria? This is my daughter? Are you sure?” I was filled with pure joy! This woman was filled with an inexpressible joy after I had felt bad for not being able to bathe her daughter. God is so faithful! I was blown away by the way that God moved and touched this woman’s life.

Well...this is pretty long, so i'll write more when i can.