Lola's Visit!

I am not sure how much I have written about my friend Maria Dolores (Lola) here on the blog. Lola is an Ecuadorian woman who works at the Hospital Baca Ortiz in Quito, where Flor spent a lot of time when she was itty-bitty. During my first trip to Ecuador, when I met Flor, Lola became an immediate friend to me (though we had a language barrier). She has always taken special care of the OSSO volunteers who spend time at the hospital with the little ones from the orphanage. Lola has a huge heart and is extremely generous with her time and money. When I was at the hospital with Flor when she was a baby, Lola would often bring me food or just come keep me company when she had down time. This meant a lot, because it was such a new and different experience for me and it felt so good to have someone who went out of her way to care for me. 

When I went to visit Flor for the last time that trip, she had just been transferred to a new orphanage clear on the other side of Quito. While I was on a jungle trip with the girls from my group, Lola and my friend Ashley arranged for me to be able to go see Flor at her new home the afternoon we got home from the jungle, which was the day before I flew out to return to the U.S. This was so meaningful to me. 

I returned to Ecuador a few months later with my friend Kylee for a two week visit and that was the last time I saw Flor until we returned to adopt her. During that visit, Lola again took good care of me and Kylee. She had us over to her house for meals a few times and took us on trips to different locations in the city, including again to see Flor. 

When we went back this last time to adopt Flor, Lola was again there for us, having us over for dinner, letting us tour Baca Ortiz (where Flor spent so much time), and just checking in with us often to make sure that we were okay. During that trip, she told me that she has always wanted to come to the United States, but that she had never been granted a visa- she thought because she was deemed too poor and the government officials thought that she would not return to Ecuador if she were to leave. I am not sure how she got a visa this year, but she did! Lola came this past week and spent some time in Las Vegas with another OSSO volunteer, then in Sun Valley area with my same friend Ashley, mentioned above. Ashley adopted one of Flor's friends from her first home, Manuel, a few years ago. Ashley drove Lola down on Friday of last week and she stayed with us until Sunday. Ashley also stayed in the area with another friend, and it was awesome to see her and Manuel (plus her two other kids!) as well. I haven't seen Ashley since my wedding-- craziness! And I haven't of course seen Manuel since he was a little boy. Have I mentioned how great it was to see them all? Well, it was great, in case you missed it. :) 

Saturday we packed the day full with activities. First, it was Hallie's birthday party (another post on that coming soon) and then we took the train to Salt Lake to take Lola to Temple Square. We had a great time there, though Lola did say at the end that maybe next time we should try to go without any kids. haha! It was a bit distracting with Ashley's three kids and my three kids, but what can we say?  By the time Lola left, I will also add that my head felt like it was going to explode, for the sole purpose that she does not speak English (or won't is more like it-- I think she actually knows quite a bit more than she lets on), so I had to use my completely rusty Spanish the whole time. Lola was a good sport and helped correct all of my mistakes, which were many. It was good to practice, but let me tell you, speaking in another language when you just aren't that good at it really stretches your brain. :) 

Lola said that she plans to come back in 2 years and spend more time in Utah this time and I really hope she does. It was really amazing to have her here. 

At Hallie's birthday party. She was a big help, even though the kids were confused about her Spanish. :) 

On the train. On the way there, Lola asked if we could see a big hospital so that she could take pictures of it. Luckily, one of the train stops is at IMC Murray Hospital, which is the biggest hospital in the area. She was fascinated by how big and how nice it is. She was satisfied just to take pictures from the train of it. 

Manuel and Flor- reunited! Manuel is such a handsome and sweet kid. I was so impressed with him! He had some health problems as a baby but has overcome them all and seems to be a happy and adjusted ten year old. It was so great to see him. I posted this picture on Instagram and said that I have a mental image (because we weren't allowed to take actual pictures) of Manuel and Flor in the hallway of their orphanage and Manuel had his arm around Flor. He was very protective of her and so sweet with her when she was a baby. 

Just thought I would throw this in for fun. This is probably the one picture I have with Manuel in it when he was little. This is my volunteer group with the sala tres kids at the time (who would all be like 10 years old now-- so weird!) Manuel is on the top row with the orange striped shirt and the hat on. So cute.

And while I am in the mood to walk down memory lane, here is the one with Flor in it. You have all seen this one a million times, but maybe not the whole picture? This is what we got when we left there- one picture with our whole group with all the babies from that sala.

Anyway, on with the rest of the trip this time and on U.S. soil, how about? 

The kids were able to get some energy out on the roof of the Conference Center, which was just great. 

We bribed them all with money that they could throw in the fountain if they all smiled for a group picture-- you'll see below how well we did with that....

Jace and Ashley's Johnny (in the red shirt) are about the same age and boy did they have some rowdy fun together. :) Boys.

The group shot. So lovely.  You know Flor, me, Hallie, and Jace, but the rest are Johnny (in the red again), Manuel (behind hals), Lola of course, Ashley and her daughter Emery in front of Lola, and then Ashley's brother Rex, her sister Lisa and her son, and then Ashley's friend (another volunteer after my time) Amber. 

Florinda on the train ride home. Just had to throw this one in there. It was way past her bedtime and she thought that looking at herself in the window was quite possibly the most hilarious thing ever.



I really do hope Lola comes again in two years. We had a fantastic time!