This afternoon was one of those times that you live for ... We picked up a bus load of orphans and headed for the capital. We brought them to the only arena in the country. They came in and saw a skating rink for the first time... They all knew about hockey and skating, but many never dreamed that they would ever get to go themselves. They were so excited that they were shaking... Even all our friends that came to help us with this event were excited .... in fact the one that I think was the most excited was the bus driver...lol...
We rented the ice for an hour... once they were all laced up, we opened the door and they began to file out onto the ice... it was like watching baby birds leave the nest for the first time... slowly they would start to move away from the boards, but before you know it they were all over the place.. but I must say that some never did get it figured out, but they ALL had fun... he had 32 people in all.
As I watched , I saw how great it is to have our friends there with their own families as well... It made the day change some how from an Orphanage outing to a family outing... it worked out that we had an average of 2 kids each which was great for an event like this.
After skating we went to a local hot spot restaurant.. It is likely the most popular and favorite restaurant for the locals, and judging by the cars in the parking lot, they are all considerably more affluent then I am ..But when we showed up with the kids, the waitress recognised me from a previous visit with kids, and right away cleared room for us together in the dinning room... Dave asked if I had reserved to get such a great spot... I said no... Just rearranged...
It was then that the most amazing thing happened ... The waitresses started helping with the kids.. they treated them with the greatest respect.. the even poured drinks and helped cut food... they were the best I have seen... i even noticed one child drop a fork and before she could pick it up, a waitress had moved in and replaced it with a new one..... now this may not seem strange to you, but you have to remember where we are... They had to have rearranged the orders in the kitchen as well because by the time they took the order for the last table , the food was ready for the first.....
When we were don, I paid the bill, and Dave gave the tip... I am not sure which was bigger... but I know that there were three waitresses that were almost crying, and were not able to hide their excitement... We told them how wonderful they were and thanked them for such fantastic service, but more importantly for the respect they showed the kids... there response was interesting... They said that they recognised us from a previous visit and they saw what we were doing , and wanted to be a part of making the day special for the kids, then thanked us not for the tip, but for caring for their kids.... I really think we are making a difference....
Here is a video of the night.....
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