We woke up around 7:00 this morning so that we could all get on the road by 8:00. The drive from our hotel to the border is short, but that didn’t stop us from getting donuts and coffee for the ride.

We were greeted with unusually long lines at the Santa Teresa border, and after 2 and a half hours we finally got through. Usually the line is much shorter, but today there were lots of travelers coming across the border.

We have a tradition on these trips to stop at our favorite quesadilla stand about an hour from the border. We ordered a stack of fresh asadero cheese quesadillas and a plate full of chapulines (grasshoppers).

After a delicious lunch, we got back on the
road to head to out first exciting stop at the
orphanage in La Junta. We knew we were
running a bit late due to the hold up at the
border, so we tried to get there as fast as
possible. After hours of naps, trivia games, a
few bathroom/snack breaks and karaoke we
finally arrived around 7:00 pm.

We ate a quick dinner with all the kids consisting of pizza, spaghetti and lots of soda before starting to get all the presents ready. While we carefully checked to make sure each kid had their present, the other half of the group entertained the kids with bubbles, balloon animals, glow sticks and candy.

Finally the moment arrived, and one by one we handed each kid their gift! They had to wait until everyone had their present before opening them.

Excitement filled the room as all the kids
opened their presents! All of us were rushing
around helping everyone get toys out of boxes,
and explaining how some toys worked. It was
a lot of fun and a lot of work! Kids were
playing with dolls, remote control cars,
scooters, sports balls, crafts, nerf guns and so
much more! You could see so much happiness
on each kids face as they opened up their gifts,
and played with their new toys! Soon enough
all the kids retreated off to go play with all
their new things, and we started cleaning up
the giant pile of wrapping paper, plastic and
boxes. It was an extremely fun and eventful
night for sure!

After hours of fun, it was finally time to turn in for the night. We all got to have sleepovers with the kids, and got invited to stay in their dormitories.

We had yet another extremely successful Christmas here at La Junta. Thank you so much to everyone who donated and bought presents for these kids. Stay tuned for more Christmas fun tomorrow when we head over to the orphanage in Creel!