CONIN isn't bad afterall

We had the opportunity to see new children come into CONIN for a variety of reasons. At one point a brother and sister were both brought to CONIN. Their parents were declared incapable by an agency to take care of them. We had the chance to see the little girl just after she arrived at CONIN. She was filthy. From head to toe. It looked like she had been playing in dirt for days. It was good for me to see it, because it reminded me that for most of the children at CONIN being there is a better option than being at their homes. While CONIN is not the ideal place to spend your childhood, it is a great orphanage. The kids truly are cared for, and it is by far a better place to be than their previous homes.

Marco, after being at CONIN for a few weeks--Looking MUCH better.

Cute little Marlene, all nice and clean :)

Jason

There was a little boy, Jason, who is so incredibly sweet. Sometimes a punk ( He hits and bites and spits), but he´s also very sweet. His mom sold him and his little brother for drugs, which is how they ended up in CONIN. He´s now 5 years old. And when you turn 5 you move to a different orphanage where you live until you turn 18, or until you´re adopted. Wednesday was his day to leave. As a going away present we gave him and his brother each a teddy bear and new outfit to wear. Literally, that´s all they had when they left. A teddy bear and the clothes on their back. When they brought Jason in to say bye to us he wouldn´t even lift up his head because he was so sad to leave. It had been his home since January. I was having a hard time holding back my tears. But then they told us that we could go with them to take the 2 boys to the other orphanage. In the car I held Jason. He was so sad. When we got there and got into the office he burst into tears. I then started crying, too. It seriously broke my heart. They finally got him into the back room… and not too much later they brought out a bag of his and his brothers clothes. They even brought back the underwear. These boys now had only the teddy bears we gave them. Of course this made me cry all over again. They had nothing. Not even the clothes on their back. It´s such a sad realization to me and I´ve been thinking about little Jason and his brother ever since. It´s such a hard life, I can´t even imagine.

Saying "bye" to Jason. We weren't really as happy as we look. In fact, I was in tears for about the next hour.

Saying "bye" to Damian, Jason's little brother

We were lucky enough to go back to Jason's new home to see how he was doing. I'm happy to say that he was doing extremely well. Playing with kids his age and having room to run around outside was better for him than his living situation at CONIN. While he still has nothing to his name besides his teddy bear, he continues to smile. He is an amazing little boy whom I can only hope grows into an amazing man by breaking out of the life he has been forced into. Good luck with everything, Jason. You are in my prayers!

Jason is the one on the top right


Jason's friends at his new home

Teddy Bears

Thank you Cedar Hills 1st ward for all of the time you put into making teddy bears for each child at CONIN. They were a huge hit. We decided to write each child's name on their very own teddy bear, making the teddy bears the only item that was truly their own. We even convinced the director of CONIN, Gloria, to allow the children to sleep with the teddy bears. They were truly loved by each and every child at CONIN. So, thank you :)

Francisco like the teddy bears so much that he took them from everyone!
Michael and Jose, loving their teddy bears.
Handing out the bears. They were all so excited to love and hug them!

Donations

We were astounded by the number of donations we received to take down to Chile with us this past September. Words cannot even describe how thankful we were for all of the time, energy, and money you all put in to helping us make our time in Chile not only memorable for us, but also for those whom benefited firsthand from your hard work. Thank you so much for everything you guys did. Here is a list of everything that we took down with us to the orphanage (as well as to a stake in Chillan, Chile). Enjoy!

• 25 Small Teddy Bears
• 15 Big Teddy Bears
• 13 Crinkle Blocks
• 1 Dressing Cube
• 8 I-Spy Bags
• 2 Board Games
• 15 Crinkle Squares
• 1 Dressing Pooh
• 8 Wands
• 3 Learning DVD's
• 31 Hair Flowers
• 13 Infant Beanies
• 7 Child Beanies
• 2 Large Beanies
• 24 Colorful Shapes
• 3 Tummy-Time Blankets
• 6 ABC Books
• 37 Little Girl Dresses
• 13 Older Boy Pants/Shorts
• 12 Older Boy Shirts
• 4 Little Boy Outfits
• 5 Boy Baby Sleepers
• 14 Generic Baby Sleepers
• 16 Girl Baby Sleepers
• 1 Baby Headband
• 2 Baby Tights
• 8 Generic Onesies
  
• 3 Undershirts
• 2 Bibs
• 5 Girl Onesies
• 17 Baby Girl Shirts
• 2 Baby Girl Pants
• 28 Baby Girl Outfits
• 1 One-Piece Coat
• 5 Nail Polishes
• 7 Super Hero Capes
• 5 Puzzles
• 3 Crayon Boxes
• Batteries
• 14 Jingle Braclets
  
• 10 Egg Shakers
• 10 Sets of Wooden Sand Blocks
• 18 File Folder Games
• 2 Burp Cloths
• 2 Large Spanish Books
• 10 Small Pillow Cases
• 140 Little Kid Spanish Books
• 8 Books On Tape
• 33 Canvas Rattles
• Burrito Babies
• Lacing Canvas'

Also, thank you for all of the money donations! We were able to buy the orphanage pillows, a bookcase, pacifiers, and so much more. We truly are grateful for all of your love and support in helping us make life a little bit better for the children at CONIN.

Going through one of the many bins we took down

Stamping the clothing so that the orphanage workers wouldn't steal them.
The director looking at the books that were donated
Orphanage workers astounded at the amount of items donated.