I watched the girls settle into their new environment, as we faced many changes and adaptation in all of our lives. As an orphanage, the kids needed to be monitored, and freedom didn’t mean they could come and go as they pleased. Schedules, rules, and activities needed to be changed from what we had before. Joanne and I felt like we rode a daily merry-go-round to keep up with issues that needed to be taken care of “right now.”

The nearest supermarket was three hours away, so providing for this hungry family required a twenty-minute drive to the next town over. The small grocery store had many of the basics, even though it looked like a “mom and pop” store with five aisles. It sure beat shopping at the tiendas in Monjas, where one went to a counter and bought items Little House on the Prairie style. The street-market vendors met the need for fruit and vegetables.

With the starting of our private school, I needed to find places close by for purchasing underwear, shoes, and socks. These don’t exist in a tienda. Surprisingly, I found shoes for women available in several places in Monjas. Finding shoes wasn’t the problem, but each place carried only one or two of the same size in the same style. That meant going to every place possible, including the nearby towns, to get school and tennis shoes for everyone.

The girls wore uniforms to school, and we found a seamstress who made them for minimal the cost. The only pattern she used needed to be adjusted according to each girl’s measurement. I needed to bring all twenty-one to her for that accomplishment amazed at how she used her eyes and measurements for a completed uniform. Finding the material took longer, but we found a green plaid that would be the signature pattern for Christian Liberty School. I breathed a deep sigh of relief after all of the completed details. I knew the next school years had just been mapped out for the uniforms.

Yes, there were many areas of change and adaptation. Many times I felt like a wheel inventor. I longed for a manual that gave point-by-point how-to instructions. I’m sure the Lord heard me say at least ten times a day, “Please give me wisdom.” I faced the fact that my life would be like this for a long time, with continual decision-making, because we continued to grow as a Project. I cried out to the Lord that I didn’t have the ability to do what my position required. Then I would remember what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (NIV). I could trust the Lord to give me what I needed. Didn’t He call me to do this? His promises filled my mind and heart. I looked back over the testimonies of starting the orphanage, the miracle of purchasing the land, and now residing in a place I dearly loved. The changes made for a better life for these children, and God was helping us adapt by giving us all we needed in the process.