Full day number 2

Last night with my roomies Sarah and Beth =( Prepping for our 8 hour drive to Isabela in the morning! Today was another crazy day!! We had to meet in the lobby this morning at 0745 to meet the group! We traveled for what seems like hours on the bus again to have breakfast and see our families we donated for!! The village was in Pampanga! I uploaded pictures below of what it looks like! As soon as we arrived we were blessed respectfully by the children (filipino tradition where someone would grab your hand and touch their forehead)!! There were probably a hundred children all over! They surprised us with entertainment at the beginning, which consisted of the people in the village performing dances and singing! I really wanted to bring the kids home! THEY WERE ADORABLE!!! One especially reminded me of myself when I was a kid! After, they made an AMAZING FILIPINo FEAST FOR US!!!! I felt like I was royalty with the way they were treating us! It really shows how grateful they are for us being there!!!!After dinner we played with the kids and started to prepare with our medical care for our 2 families we were assigned to! I was really nervous, especially being filipino american!! I was grateful I had a translator there with me the whole time!My first family experience was really overwhelming. I had so many thoughts racing through my head! I wanted to make sure I was culturally competent, but at the same time performing medical care proficiently! Make sure you always take off your shoes when entering their homes, unless they say not to! I almost forgot!! Both of my families' husbands were not home, they were working and would not be back for weeks because they were working at another providence! Both of my families also had 4 children so I definitely had to be speedy with my head to toe assessments! I would have to say the most challenging of my day was patient teaching and the wound care for the children! I had villages spying on me when the children were hysterically crying! They probably thought I was torturing them!! After assessments and teaching, I gave them my donations of clothing, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toys, and medicines. The whole family kept hugging and kissing me and thanking me. It took me a lot to hold back my tears!! I felt that "spark" again! The reason why I wanted to become a nurse! Something so simple... I didn't build them a new home, I didn't cure their illnesses, and I did not give them any money. But, it certainly felt like I did. That feeling I never want to lose no matter how bad my life may get or how hard/stressful work is. I have a purpose in this world and I shouldn't think so negatively on things that do not matter. Well, I talked a lot. Time for bed now. Good night. I dont know when I can write on this again because we will be driving for 8 hours to Isabela for our next medical mission! However, I will try and keep in touch! Danielle

Dont make fun of me but I added this last picture because I LOVE SKY LANTERNS WHEN I GET BACK HOME IM DETERMINED TO MAKE ONE!!!!!! I am so happy I finally saw one live and up close! Very unsafe,but so pretty! I need to make sure no houses or people are around when I construct and test mine!