Leaving Neverland: A Life Changing Adventure

First off... hello! It has been FOREVER I know! Wow the things I have been doing with my life the past 2 months!! I am back in provo going to school and working and swimming... aka no life... but you know what... its ok! I am broke and I need the money and my summer was already made!

So as many people know I went to Quito, Ecuador for a month. As the title says... it was a life changing experience for me! Before I went I was so excited to live in a different country and just see what it was like and yeah I would be volunteering at an orphanage which I was really stoked about but I honestly did not know what to expect.

So the people who haven't been to Quito when you first get there it is just so busy... people everywhere, crazy drivers and a city. It is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world well... to me at least! Green and hilly and colorful buildings all over the place! And the cheapest coolest stuff that you could never find anywhere else.

Ok enough about the city... driving to the orphanage for the first time was intriguing our driver Pablo is... lets just say a very VERY aggressive driver I was a little nervous if I was going to make it to the orphanage! Haha! But I did get used to it fast... was very different coming back to the US to calm drivers and people actually stopping at the stoplight.

When I first stepped into the orphanage I just hear all of these little voices. I walk into Sala 3 (one of the three rooms of the orphanage-- the room with the oldest ninos) and I just see all of them in their cribs with their pj's on and just smiling and so excited to see the volunteers. I then walk next door to Sala 2 (the crawlers) to say hi to them and then went to Sala 1 where my first shift was and I see all of these little babies ages 1 month to 10 months... from then on, all of those ninos had my heart! No question! When I was feeding one of the newborns named one of the volunteers was telling me how a lot of these kids where abandoned. Diego for example was found in storage unit, one of the other babies Micaela was found in an abandoned forest in a bush. When I was hearing these stories, I couldn't stop myself from crying. These kids are angels and it breaks my hear that they don't have a home! From that day on I made a promise that I would give all the love I had to those kids! And I did and it was so great!! It is crazy how attached you can get even if you are only there for a month!

One of the best memories that I had was when I would walk in and one of the little girls, Rosa would call me Mamma. She would always run up to me and yell mammaaaaa!! Did she mean it? I don't know but it made me realize how grateful I am to have a family and a Mom, it made me so sad to know that these kids don't have a family to go to, they don't have that one person to love them 24/7... yes there are the volunteers but the issue is... we come and go... we can't stay forever!! If I had the choice would I stay there forever? YEAH! I miss my little boy Chino's blank stare... if I show you a pic you would understand what I am talking about!

My life was forever changed! I could go on for pages and pages about how amazing it was! Those little ninos changed my life forever! They will always have my heart!! I miss walking into the salas in the morning and yelling "HOLA!" and seeing how happy that got! I miss just holding them if one of them is sad, I miss just playing with them, I miss their besos (kisses) and their hugs!! I miss the workers there! I miss taking the kids on walks and having their little hand wrapped around my finger, I miss how all of them walk and ask for agua with the sweetest voice! Something about them makes you so happy and right when you see them it puts the biggest smile on your face!!

Not only do I miss the orphanage I miss the house that I stayed with all of the wonderful friends I made. I miss the walks to get chocolate Pon or to Red Hot Chili Peppers or to the Artisian, or taking the Nino's on the field trip. I miss staying up till 2 in the morning being slap happy and watching movies! I miss the Amazon!! To sum it up... let's just say I miss everything!!

If someone asked me to go back there would I go?!....

IN A HEARTBEAT!!