I had always wanted to visit an orphanage on christmas. This fall after much begging my parents finally said yes and agreed to pay for the trip as long as I collected the presents. The original goal was fifty presents but after achieving it it rose to one-hundred then one-hundred twenty then two hundred. Because of so many generous donations we were able to collect two-hundred seven presents. We were able to send the first one hundred through a friend but we had to take the rest ourselves.We flew in to San diego and were set to begin our trip but first we had to cross the Mexican border.
We were finally able to find a big enough taxi to fit all of our luggage so we
loaded all fifteen suitcases into the taxi and began our journey.
My parents told me to not be surprised if the officers took away a few of the presents and the taxi
driver began to tell us about all of the silly things they confiscated on a
whim, I didn’t want to think about how many presents they would take. It was a
worry that had not occurred to me previously, I had known that we would deliver
the presents and I didn’t really think much on everything that could go wrong. I
was slightly annoyed at the taxi driver who wouldn’t stop talking so negatively
but even more nervous about the presents. I prayed silently to myself in the
back of the taxi. And knowing that worrying wouldn’t help I tried thinking
about happy things. We approached the border and I braced myself for what I
thought was coming. To my surprise the officers saw us waved hello and moved us
along, there was no other cars and they had simply just let us pass without
checking our car, our passports, or a single bag. I couldn’t believe it.
We took a plane from Tijuana to Mexico city, then took a bus
to Hidalgo. We arrived and were finally able to meet with the leaders of the
orphanage face to face. I was so excited I couldn’t believe how smoothly things
had gone, but I thought too soon.
The orphanage leaders told us they had already received more
than enough donations and said our donations were more than welcome but they
suggested we deliver them to children who needed the presents more. I had
apparently not been the only one with the orphanage idea.
I was so mad and wanted to deliver the presents to that
orphanage so badly yet at the same time I felt that what I had been told was
true. We asked if there were any more rural orphanges they knew about, they
didn’t. I continued asking over the next
few days and still had absolutely no luck, it was getting closer to Christmas
and we still had no one to deliver the presents to. My uncle suggested a very
poor town two hours away from the city. The little town was called El Susto. I
was skeptical but desperate so I agreed to at least visit the town, however as
soon as we got there I knew this place could use our help. I agreed and we
asked a kind man my uncle knew to spread the news. We would be delivering the next
day I was worried not enough children would hear the message in time.
We loaded my aunt’s SUV the next day with all of the
presents the next day we made the long trip to the little village once again.
There were so many tiny faces waiting for us in the kiosk. I
don’t think I have ever been happier than I was in that moment. My aunt, uncle,
cousin, sisters and parents all helped me unload the presents and get the boys
and girls into two separate lines.
The children eagerly got into their respective lines, the
younger kids lined up in the front and the older ones in the back. They
whispered what box they wanted to the kids next to them and pointed to the
biggest looking boxes.
I have never seen so many happy faces all at once. I am so incredibly grateful for all of the support. It was truly an amazing experience! the whole story is better told through pictures.
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| the little boy in red was the giddiest |
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| waiting in line looked painful |
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| running in then asked if they had made it in time |
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| his face was my favorite |
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| this little boy was so excited about his recorder and later played for his friends |
I've always known giving feels good but giving on Christmas feels even better and giving is what Christmas is really all about. I was amazed at how willing to give people were. Seeing so much love really made this christmas the best one yet.
