Homes of Love

Little boy!

2012-01-30T10:05:00.006-04:00

Introducing the new little fellow D....who thinks he's big!

Seven years old, to be exact. And I guess 20 when he slams his little fist on the table and demands "GIVE ME A BEER!"

(He's 4!)

Yep, he came in all pink.

No, I do not know why, other than to say, "It's Bolivia".

Meeting the tias and children!
J (blind) meeting little D by touch!

This is our child number #120 and the first to ever arrive with money! The neighbor caring for him sent him off with 4 Bolivianos (equivalent to about 60 cents) and 4 small peaches.

We had a horrible scare on one of little D's first trips to the bathroom. This is probably not the place to go into details, but what I can say is he has an extreme infestation of parasites and worms that was causing something we had never thought of. We ran him to the ER but they sent us home with parasite meds and instructions on how to deal with this "side effect" when it happened again.

What we know so far of this little guy is that his father died when D was only a few months old(due to an overdose?) and now his mother is dying of terminal cancer in a hospital...we don't even know which.

According to him, he has an older sister. We don't know where she is.

D has relatives but they have migrated to Spain.

Now that we know his real age, something we were clueless on when he arrived, we realize he probably needs to live at Casa de Amor II to attend pre-kindergarten starting next month.

But since lots of investigation remains to be done, we still need to see...

Pray for D's adjustment to Casa de Amor and peace in his little heart, as he occasionally speaks of his mother to the tias.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T11:30:00.003-04:00

Three Years

2012-01-23T19:44:00.004-04:00

Today is the three year mark of being forced to let go our baby twin Gabriela. We will never forget her, and it's precious to know that other friends of Casa de Amor never will, either!

Multiple-trip volunteer "kiwi Katrina" sent me a beautiful album today that she took over the weekend at Oakura Beach (North Island, NZ).

Thank you, Katrina!

And....It's a Boy!

2012-01-20T16:53:00.004-04:00

Thanks to recent adoptions (see here and here), we have the joy of being able to say YES to some of the many calls we always receive about more children!

Yesterday we said yes to a 4 year old boy (still waiting for him).

Then we said wait about a special needs 5 year old, until some more children are adopted from CDA II.

Then today we got another call about a 2 month old...who turns out to be younger.

Turns out he was discovered alone in a motel room on New Year's Eve. The lady renting the room said she was going to run out for breakfast, but by 3pm had not returned and the daughter of the owner was alerted by the baby's lusty cries.

Baby A appears to be nearing one month old, same as our other new baby M. (So, both Christmas week babies?!)

Pictures of the welcoming crew...

Tia Rosi LOVES loves babies...

...and was actually the first of us to get her hands on him!

Here's a cool fact: Baby A actually arrived right on the heels of our newest volunteer, Genevieve! I had no sooner started down the stairs from the third floor office to meet her when the doorbell rang and the baby was here! Here she is helping give a bottle.

And here's our other new volunteer, just arrived yesterday - Iris from Holland!

Checking out the two newest babies side-by-side, Baby M (arrived 2 weeks ago today) and Baby A

Fun times! :)

another sweet adoption...

2012-01-19T13:12:00.006-04:00

Our year has gotten off to a teriffic start with adoptions!!

On Sunday, a Dutch couple arrived to Bolivia, coming to the Baby Home on Wednesday morning after their first hearing to meet our dear siblings B (4 1/2 years old) & C (3)

First picture together!

B's first enthusiastic words, directed to his dad: "When are we going to go on the airplane?!"

C's first reaction was to be shy and not get too close, but she very quickly recovered as she observed her very outgoing brother interact with the couple

The new happy family, the adoption agency representative, and Tia Carmen, CDA's psychologist

Gifts!

Photographer for the special event: Elena!

Tour of the house! (Yes, the dad is somewhat of a giant for Bolivian houses!)

B showing his dad his bed...

Room delivery! Playing outside in the afternoon.

Although everything is going very well and it's wonderful to watch the new family interact, we need to keep all four in our prayers as they get to know one another and look forward to a new life all together!

sweet adoption

2012-01-17T09:48:00.004-04:00

Court Day, January 11, 2012...

What a delight and joy it is to watch this couple with their new SON!!!

Oops!

A quick pose with me for the cameras....

...but he prefers being with his parents now :)

highchair malfunction ;)

2012-01-11T09:42:00.001-04:00

Cute baby A!

Quietly hanging in a precarious situation...

...don't worry!...

...she was rescued immediately after these photos were taken! :)

Italian Lunch

2012-01-09T11:07:00.008-04:00

This Sunday, the kids and staff at Casa de Amor II had a special lunch after church.

JG's new parents made a spaghetti FEAST!

Yum, yum.

The new family was so excited when anyone requested seconds (and just about everyone did), saying "Bravo, bravo!"

I think I'll have to find an excuse to visit tomorrow...right around lunchtime...

(PIZZA is on the menu!!)

Gabriel also visited us, Tia Luz's adopted son from the Baby Home!

First new baby of the year!

2012-01-06T20:35:00.001-04:00

On the very first workday of the year, Tuesday, January 3, I was heading home but had stopped at a fruit stand around the corner first. As I reached for a cantaloupe, I saw with a bit of surprise that I had a call from SEDEGES. This being the authority that sends us kids, my heart lept a bit (because we also are currently in a "receiving" mode!), and sure enough...

I was asked if we had space for a newborn!

I said yes, then was told the details.

The baby, now abandoned, was born with cleft lip/palate and was being fed via feeding tube.

I thought about that for a second: we know some about cleft lip (thanks to twin K), and also about feeding tubes (thanks to the triplets), and are about to have lots of volunteers (to help with surgeries and extra care), and our favorite volunteer nurse Savannah is currently here!

He was supposed to be brought within an hour, but by day's end there was no new arrival. SEDEGES called back and said the "hand over" had been postponed until Friday morning.

But now curious and knowing I had another baby, just in the hospital, I asked for details and went the very next day to visit him. The social worker got me past the security guard, and then while I met the baby and chatted with the doctors and nurses caring for him (what great people!), the same security guard came to announce that a lady had brought a donation of clothes for the baby who was "sick". Apparently, the day before two local news channels had come to interview the hospital staff and learn about the abandoned special needs baby, thus the flow of donations.

I felt much better after visiting, that we were going to be able to handle the baby. First of all, since the night before he was already drinking his milk fine with bottles, no tubes needed. Secondly, they were having a special plaque made for his upper mouth to also help him suction better. Thirdy, he wasn't really tiny or malnourished, as our K had been. He already weighed well over 8 pounds, pretty good in a country where most babies weigh only 5-6 pounds at birth.

Since the baby was born on December 23 (making him 2 weeks old today), hospital staff had played around with different ideas for his name. In the end, SEDEGES won out with the name they chose for his memo. It begins with a M... I like it, and it's always nice when it's not a current (or past) duplicate! :)

This morning I spent a couple hours picking him up with all the proper documentation and instructions. As soon as I got to the neonatalogy room, I scooped him up because he was hollering.....and he immediately settled down and fell asleep. That is, until I had to leave him again to go sign papers with the hospital director! I thought well, there's nothing unusual about this baby...he already prefers to be held! :)

As long as he continues to take milk well, the biggest challenge I can see is the twice daily cleaning of his little plaque, and then returning it to its proper position with some special "glue". When the baby weighs 5 kilos (11 pounds) he will undergo his first surgery.

All we know of the mother is that she just turned 19, is from the countryside, and showed signs of rejection even before he was born. The birth was difficult and when the baby emerged, the cord was around his neck and he needed oxygen and incubation for 6 days. He also had a systemic infection requiring antibiotics. When the mother first saw him, her reactions were even stronger and she refused to hear anything about him, even when staff tried to explain that his condition is operable. On December 26 she left the hospital and didn't return. (We will carry out all necessary investigations.)

Passing him off to the tias this morning! When we got to the house, the very first child to greet us was actually Twin K, visiting from Casa de Amor III for the weekly speech therapy classes. Looking at her, doing so well now after two surgeries, made me think of the long road ahead for baby M, but how worth it it will be!

From there we sat down with the tias in the playroom to introduce the baby to the older children in particular, who were already making faces and all sorts of shocked comments about the new baby's mouth and nose. I explained that baby M was born this way, just as our little girl J was born with different eyes. It will take some getting used to, but we recalled how very quickly they adapted to J's special needs!

(Little boy B only now met the new baby because he had a play day at Casa de Amor II. Once again highlighting how unique every child is, he dashed over to meet the new baby, pointed and declared with his ever present smile "LOOK, the baby has a BEAK!" and dashed off to another room...!)

Open your eyes, baby... :)

About HALF of the mountain of gifts we were sent off with this morning at the hospital! More clothes than any one newborn could use, a heap of soft blankets, socks, diapers, baby wash, 3 brands of formula, two diaper bags, and more. What a blessed little baby already!

Addendum: ironically, the mother went to the hospital today looking for the baby, about an hour after I had brought him home. However, it seems her intentions were anything but good, so the hospital was relieved that he was already legally here with us!

First adoption of the year!

2012-01-06T15:48:00.007-04:00

Our first adoption of 2012 couldn't be off to a better start!

After a really difficult adoption that didn't go through at the end of 2011, it's been a special delight to watch this older, first-time-parents-Italian-couple, literally race after our dear JG (age 5) as he introduces them to his home and life up till now!

Leaving the old, passing to the new...

Their first meeting was yesterday, December 5. Since beginning paperwork, this couple has waited over 5 years for their child!

Just a few minutes into the first meeting, JG had a rough moment as he worried if his new parents were already going to leave him, and also realizing that he wasn't leaving to go with them that very day.

Looking through his picture album while Tio David films with the couple's camera.

Pray for our dear JG's continual adaptation to his new family, and the accompanying changes in language, culture, and eventually environment when they travel to Italy together sometime at the end of February, Lord willing!

Casa de Amor Christmas - the multiples!!

2011-12-31T09:30:00.001-04:00

We were blessed during our "Casa de Amor Christmas" to have 3 sets of multiples visit the Baby Home. The pictures made deserved a blog post of their own!

We were thrilled to see the triplet girls again, in their first visit back since going to their new home on Easter Sunday!

Alison & Nicole trying out the new "jumper" toys

Madrina (godmother) Nataly with her namesake...Nataly!

The twin boys who also lived with us 1 1/2 years before returning to their mother also came for a visit:

Luis and...Luis!

They haven't changed one bit, apart from growing much taller!!

And then Casa de Amor's current twins were also in attendance...

...the very lively, very different, K & A!

It's no easy task to get a picture of both, NOT in motion, looking up at the same time! :)

The triplets with Tia Silvia, the triplet's mother, and me (even harder to get a good picture of the three, now 1 year and 10 months old and bundles of energy!):

All seven of the multiples - together!

...even if not cooperating :)

(of all the pictures made, yep, these really are the best...)

Enjoying the cake snack (the triplet girls with their mom, the twin girls with their "house parents")...

A couple of the trips + the twins

Feliza has become such a good mom to her babies! Hard to believe after such a rough beginning, but she's truly fallen in love with all three.

Casa de Amor Christmas, Part II

2011-12-30T11:42:00.001-04:00

After our big morning, around 11:30pm, another set of gifts arrived...

...this time from our generous friends, the Veizaga family, owners of Cochabamba's bus terminal and various other businesses and construction projects in our city. (Famous around these parts for being the godparents of our triplets and now raising them in their own beautiful home, alongside their mother.)

Don Jaime with daughter Nataly (all 3 trips are visible in this picture...spot them?!)

More gift-giving (and receiving)!

Baby F taking it all in, with our newest volunteer Chelsey, from Canada

Our house was FULL with 34 children + the twin boys + the triplet girls + now-adopted-Esteban!

What a gorgeous Christmas Day for us here in Cochabamba!

Playing hard!

Sleeping hard, too...

Just what our little "gorda" needs - a huge baby bottle!!

And our friend Jaime always brings CAKE! This time, three cakes and lots of juice.

Little C working on her cake.

Cute F, surveying the scene.

LOTS of kids
LOTS of toys

LOTS of joy!

Next post: pictures of all our "multiples"!!

Casa de Amor Christmas, Part I

2011-12-29T10:35:00.010-04:00

Some pictures from our lovely Christmas celebration in the Baby Home on December 23. Looking at the pictures again, I'm ready for it to be Christmas again. :)

The prep before the pictures and gifts...

A few of the "santas" present on this day

Preparing the dining room...

Changing clothes!

Hair done!

Bottle time BEFORE pictures and gifts...a lesson learned from years past ;)

Baby A striking a pose

Ah-HA! Caught in the act. Little O loves stealing bottles.

The shuffle before one of the better pictures...

All part of the picture ~~torture~~ fun...!

Baby E went straight for the gifts!

Anxious anticipation... (the twin boys came back to join us for the special day, as well as Esteban, now Tia Maria's son)

With some of us tias

Gift time!! This is the 3rd year that we are so blessed at Casa de Amor by individual, local sponsors of our kids who really go above and beyond to make Christmas special for our kids. (Doctors, lawyers, pastors, friends from church, CDA adoptive parents, etc.) This year there were even lots of sweet notes attached to the wrapped packages.

Ready to go!

Baby G checking out his gifts

J. was very happy (and protective of) his army truck

M. N. on a new riding toy, yay!

Babies checking out all the new toys...

Frog attack?! Baby C's gift was an impressively large FROG...

!!!

Baby G enjoying his first Christmas! (also known as Baby Jesus/Santa Claus)

Little boy J. enjoying a "salta salta" (jumping toy) from a local church!

At this point, houses 2 & 3 descended upon us, as well as yet MORE gifts and special visitors... Another Christmas post soon!

Nativity Scene 2011

2011-12-27T09:43:00.005-04:00

Go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,

Present the offer of salvation,

the forgiveness of sins.

And these words shall be in your heart,

You shall teach them diligently to your children,

and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,

when you lie down, and when you rise up.

The child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God.

She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger

because there was no room in the hostel.

Unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given!

The shepherds left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.

Seeing was believing.

They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child.

The sheepherders let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen.

A band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East…to worship him.

They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place!

They had arrived at the right time!

They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother.

Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him.

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,

Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

For a child has been born—for us!

The gift of a son—for us!

His names will be Amazing Counselor.

Strong God.

Eternal Father.

Prince of Wholeness.

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear,

deep within herself.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!

Celebrating our Savior’s holy birth, life, death, and resurrection,

Staff & Children
Casa de Amor Children’s Homes
Cochabamba, Bolivia

Scriptures from the books of Matthew, Luke, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah
(New King James Version and The Message)

Participants in this year’s nativity scene, all part of the Baby Home:

Mary—C. (age 3)
Joseph—B. (age 4 ½)
Baby Jesus—G. (5 months)
Angel—O. (21 months)
Donkey—J. (age 5)
Sheep—J. (age 2)
Shepherds—B. (age 4), J. (age 3 ½), M. N. (15 months)

Many thanks to Cochabamba International Church for loaning us the manger!

Christmases Past

2011-12-26T11:09:00.007-04:00

Casa de Amor Baby Home Christmas Group Pictures, 2004-2011!

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2004

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-25T07:01:00.005-04:00

...from the Casa de Amor Baby Home!

A Staff Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T15:11:00.012-04:00

Our annual Casa de Amor Staff Christmas party!

All the Bolivian CDA I, II, & III staff, even our beloved speech therapist Mercy (oh, and me!)

Our administrator/social worker and accountant are missing, currently traveling to visit family...they were missed!!

Our current "gringas": Chelsey, Alexis, Katrina

Casa de Amor III staff: the Mitchell family, Tia Ana, and volunteer Katrina (aka Housemom when Mitchells traveled)

Buffet Lunch!

Sweet tias enjoy lunch while a slideshow of our nativity scene pictures and Christmas music play in the background

Even though we had to economize this year with our "canastones" - gift baskets (a Bolivian tradition) - I was pleased with how full (and heavy!) they turned out

Handing out the gift baskets with office staff Maria & Carmen

It's a special joy to get to bless these beautiful women (and Tio T.J.) who work so hard night and day giving their all to our children! Merry Christmas and many blessings!!

our two "May babies"

2011-12-22T13:07:00.000-04:00

I noticed that I have two cute pictures of babies C & F so thought I would post them.

These two are always linked in my mind. Both were born in May and both arrived to us the very next day around 24 hours "old".

Baby C, born May 11, not recognizable at all from her newborn pictures, now affectionally known as "la gorda" (she's a chunker!!)

Baby F, born May 23, arrived the morning of my birthday :) ...still as tiny and cute as she was newborn. In fact, Baby boy G who is a month younger has now passed her up in size.

The Boat...

2011-12-21T11:16:00.005-04:00

We currently have a grand handmade boat in our office....

A couple of my street friends in one of the jails have spent the past few weeks putting it together, as I've had time to bring them the craft sticks and glue and string... It was fun watching it take shape!

I love all the little details. It's just here with us until my friends (or I) find a buyer....at which point I'll recuperate my investment. :)

It's gotten a lot of admiration, from the coronel of the jail as I took it out, to definitely our kids here.

Ohhhh!!!

Our little gal O is 21 months old and the boat is larger than her. :)

(Is she not the cutest thing EVER?!)

new baby boy

2011-12-19T10:24:00.010-04:00

Last week on Thursday, I had a busy day out doing all sorts of errands including Christmas stuff, and came home to a surprise!

There was a new baby in our playroom...

Baby K is supposedly 6 months old.

I say "supposedly" because we suspect he might be a bit older, for his development and because he eats food so well.

Some of the babies...

Baby K hanging out by Baby G (having just finished playing Baby Jesus for our annual nativity scene)!

Baby K's mom is just 18 and has an unstable relationship with the father. When she found out she was pregnant, she pressed charges for rape, but then changed her mind, withdrawing charges and asking for child support instead. Last week the father pressed charges on the mother, asking for the baby to be taken away because she wasn't properly caring for him....never having given a cent of child support!

Anyway, we will soon start our investigations to see what the future might hold for this content, chubby baby.

Update: we just got his immunization card and Baby K (spelled with a C there, hmm...) IS almost 7 months old. His birthday is the day before mine and thus the same day as our little girl B AND baby F - May 23!

Hogar de Amor Annual Nativity Scene

2011-12-16T13:32:00.013-04:00

Manger scenes are one of the most beautiful things about Christmas. Does it get any better than a LIVE manger?!

Casa de Amor Manger Scenes throughout the years...

December 2008

December 2009

December 2010

December 16, 2011

And our sweet, sweet "Baby Jesus'"....

Baby Gabriel (a twin), 3 months, now adopted by Tia Luz

Baby Fabiana (yes, a girl!), 3 months, now adopted by a Bolivian family

Baby Santiago, 5 months, now adopted by a Bolivian family

Baby G, 5 months, still living with us in the Baby Home

Many more pictures to come! Just couldn't wait to give a sneak peek of this year's nativity... :)

Happy Birthday to my (not so little) sister!!

2011-12-14T19:01:00.009-04:00

Happy 13th Birthday, Emma!!!

I miss you sooooo much and wish I could be there at least today to share with you!

Sister Heather sent me this picture, of their special birthday breakfast together

You've grown so much the past few years!

May 2007, right after moving to Bolivia (age 8)

Also in May 2007, feeding her favorite baby (now a big boy who goes to school)

TE QUIERO MUCHO!!!!!!!!

Baby Home Caregiver Presentation, Part 3

2011-12-14T18:12:00.005-04:00

For Part 1, click here.
For Part 2, click here.

The final part of the presentation included some dancing!

LOVE this picture of C! (Check out the tiny high heel sandals, borrowed from Tia Consuelo's granddaughter)

The charming couple!!! (Brother B & Sister C)

...and more snacks, of course!

(Didn't get a picture of the saltenas and breads... Oh, and the fresh juices!)

A special Bolivian number by the tias.

Taking a peek: it's a real baby!! (Baby G., who was very happy to be a part of the dancing.)

There was another very unique part of the program this day.

First, I can't resist just showing this picture of dear Tia Maria and asking WHAT you think is going on here...!

The tias who are in charge of J's special education thought it would be good for us as office staff (and apparently Tia Eli as our visitor) to do the same "exercise" as they once did at her special school for blind children. We were blindfolded - very elegantly, I might say! - outside the house and then were told to head to the dining room for breakfast.

Um, sure, yeah... I've lived in this house for over 6 years, so it wasn't too big of a deal to find the dining room. But once there, the furniture was rearranged due to the special presentation coming up (pictures above) and it was HORRIBLE to try to find anything or do anything...and forget about proper manners! I did the same as Tia Eli here at one point, licking fingers that I'd accidentally stuck in something (what??) as I searched the table for the breakfast items.

It was so simple: pour a cup of juice, slice the bread, choose butter, jam, or dulce de leche, put it on your plate, and sit down. I poured myself something but tasted it, and it was not the juice I had wanted. I realized I should have poured very little and tasted first. But at least I didn't fill it to overflowing and make a mess! I finally found the bread feeling around (which for some reason, made me feel dumb), but gave up on finding anything to put on it.

The best moment came when Tia Consuelo verbally guided me to the bench where we were supposed to sit. I didn't step on too many feet on the way! After the disconcerting experience at the breakfast table, I understood what a blessing (and necessity) a constant guide must be to the blind.

If the atmosphere hadn't been one of fun comaraderie, it would have been the most singularly frustrating and challenging task of my day. And inside my heart was breaking, imagining the round-the-clock difficulties of our little J. The tias asked afterwards how we felt, and I wanted to say that quite honestly, I felt like crying. It made me think of the times that Jesus healed blind people when He walked the earth, and what a hugely wonderful, glorious thing that was! And I wished for the 100th time that there was some hope for J to be able to see, this side of heaven.

(By the way, both of the above pictures were taken while I was still blindfolded, just to be able to see what we looked like afterwards!)

A couple more pictures of some adorable kiddos before closing...

Siblings B & C chatting (so proud of the sandals earlier, they started to hurt C's feet :))

Listening to the instructions of a tia

And which group of tias won the presentation? There was simply no way to choose. Tia Eli from CDA II agreed with us office staff: EVERYONE was a winner!! The prize is lunch out together.

And the house IS now decorated for Christmas... Our beautiful, beautiful Baby Home!

Baby Home Caregiver Presentation, Part 2

2011-12-13T14:57:00.006-04:00

(Continued from the first post)

Next, we toured the rooms that the second team of caregivers had prepared: Tias Rosi, Teresa, Roxana, & Tomaza!

Dormitorio: bedroom
(hand drawn logo!)

This mid-sized baby room was also full of cute mobiles!

One of the tia's husbands actually put up the steel rod "arms", wow!

The cute M. N. observing the flood of people to her room.

Putting all those donated plush toys to good use!!

Another note-worthy ceiling!

Sun, rain, it's all here....

And a drum roll please, for the final room!

The Baby Home playroom:

A star-strewn ceiling awaited us!

More snacks!

The tias shared about the different educative corners of the room.

Some of the famous faces of our beautiful children!

A special corner.

(So sorry for the crazy spacing, and that I can't center or italicize anything... I've had problems with blogspot ever since changing to Windows 2007! The pictures are the point anyway, right?!)

Baby Home Caregiver Presentation, Part 1

2011-12-12T18:07:00.017-04:00

alternately titled "why our house is not yet decorated for Christmas"... :)

The creativity and energy of our caregiving staff at Casa de Amor (affectionally called "tias", aunt in Spanish) never ceases to amaze me. Last month the childcare supervisor programmed an end-of-the-year evaluation/presentation time for the two shifts of childcare workers at the Baby Home, eight tias in total.

From that day on, every naptime and evening after bedtime, the tias were working like busy little bees.

Here is the result, presented in three posts!

The toddler room at the Baby Home, decorated by Tias Adelaida, Consuelo, Lucy, and Elizabeth:

In English: GOD IS OUR STRENGTH, the guiding logo of this group of tias

PAZ Y AMOR means "peace and love".

The beautiful ceiling was the highlight in this room:

As Tia Adelaida pointed out, one generally finds a garden on the ground, just not in this case. :)

The crowning glory was this large rooster which became a joke between me and the tias. They had asked to leave some bags in my room but hid them so well I didn't realize they had done it...till one night and also the day of the presentation they joked that I had been "sleeping with a special visitor" and didn't even know it. :)

Next, the entrance to the baby room:

Bienvenidos: welcome!

This room has always been my favorite I think, even before it was the triplet room. It's been made even cuter in recent months by the addition of bookshelves, and now shelves with speakers (all thanks to our resident adminstrative-assistant-and-handy-man, Tio David!)

And it's now full of.....crib mobiles!!

So pretty...

Fun to see aquatic animals in a country with no ocean access.

(Side note: This framed picture hung above my bed in Texas throughout my childhood years.)

The tias even had snacks prepared for us!

And...we discovered the wife to Mr. Rooster of the next-door room garden. :)

More pictures to come!!

Casa de Amor Christmas Catalog, Edition 2011

2011-12-01T14:11:00.007-04:00

Presenting Casa de Amor's

2011 Holiday Giving Catalog!

This year, share the gift that makes a difference in the life of a child.

A beautiful card describing your gift choice will be sent to the gift recipient to let them know of your gift in their honor.

Click on the images below to see the Holiday Giving Catalog!

Make an online donation here or send your check made out to GOAL to the following address:

Global Orphan Assistance League (GOAL)
PO Box 357
Collierville, TN, 38027
USA

Casa de Amor Baby Home Christmas 2010

For more information, write us at gifts@casadeamor.org!

frames, frames, and more frames...

2011-11-30T13:09:00.009-04:00

It's become popular in recent weeks for my friends at the men's jail to sell me picture frames for "food money".

They make the frames by rolling up newspaper or pages from phone books.

Well...I now have quite the collection!!

One of the office staff bought one from me last week as a gift, which I appreciated...and I imagine the gift receiver will, as well. :)

The stack!

A quick display to take pictures...

I always have pictures floating around my desk, so I popped a few in.

There! Much better!

The faces of our beautiful kids spruce up anything. :)

Faces of the Baby Home

2011-11-28T12:57:00.001-04:00

Continuing what I started both here and here....now, faces of the Baby Home!!

G., 4 months

F., 6 months

C., 6 1/2 months

E., 7 1/2 months

G., 9 months

M., 13 months

M. N., 14 months

O., 20 months

J., 2 years old

C., 3 years old

J., 3 1/2 years old

B., 4 years old

B., 4 1/2 years old

J., 5 years old

(Not pictured: baby A., 9 months, and baby F., 16 months)

Of these 16, one will return to family early next year, two (siblings B. & C.) are pre-assigned an international adoptive family, and we continue in paperwork for the other 13 to be eventually adopted!

Christmas Cards

2011-11-27T09:40:00.000-04:00

Casa de Amor was asked by Austrian sponsors to provide Christmas cards for a Christmas Fair in Austria. I wasn't sure we should attempt it (our children are rather young) but the staff enthusiastically took on the challenge with the kids of Casa de Amor II.

Here are a few of the cards I saw after all the rest were already shipped off (via a Swiss volunteer) to Austria!

Faces of Casa de Amor II

2011-11-26T11:47:00.003-04:00

After showing each face of Casa de Amor III here, thought I'd continue showing the pictures staff have been taking of each child as we prepare to look for Christmas gift sponsors.

J. G., soon to be 5 years old

J., 8 years old

M., 7 years old

A. M., just turned 5!

B., 6 years old

J., 8 years old

The famous sibling group of three!

S., 7 years old

A., almost 6 years old

D., just turned 4!

Brother & Sister:

A., 8 years old

E., 6 1/2 years old

Sisters:

S., just turned 6!

B., 4 1/2 years old

Casa de Amor II will change drastically in upcoming months, including changing houses.

Of these 13 beautiful children, many with us since infants, we are thrilled that SIX are pre-assigned international adoptive families. Another three of these children have visits from either a father or mother. That leaves one to be assigned a family any time now, and another three who could be with us long term.

Pray for God's hand to be upon each one, and that they would feel His love this holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T09:48:00.013-04:00

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful US holiday it's always a little hard to accept that nothing changes in Bolivia on this day. Even so, I've faithfully observed it, even on years like this one when a lot was going on in the office and street because, well, it was a normal day in Bolivia.

I was grateful that things slowed enough around midday for me to be able to finish the salad and prepare corn casserole (my aunt's recipe)...which I NEARLY completely burnt-up by getting busy in the office and forgetting about it, gasp!

That evening, Casa de Amor volunteers were treated to this sight at Casa de Amor III...

Thanks to volunteer Katrina's hard work and hospitality!

A few of the little "Indians" (and proudly so, I might add) who welcomed us to their home for Thanksgiving Dinner:

6 year old JK

Little brother J, age 4

Indian Princess C, age 3

And twins K & A, 1 1/2 years old!

Handmade place settings....

Everyone prepared several dishes to share of Thanksgiving favorites...

(substituting turkey for chicken, as turkey is at least twice as expensive here as in the US)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Apple cobbler & ice cream for dessert, yum!

Our amazing hostess....Katrina!! Currently substitute mother to five little ones (plus a hyperactive dog), keeping the Mitchell's house running while they are visiting Texas, and the brains behind this year's Bolivia Thanksgiving!

Thank you, Katrina! :)

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

local adoption!

2011-11-18T11:12:00.009-04:00

This beautiful bundle of baby boy left us on Tuesday for his new family!

Baby C was abandoned as a newborn on the doorstep of another children's home. They tried to care for him but decided their home wasn't the best for a baby, and thus we were contacted.

Baby C., April 2011

He's been a healthy, happy, content baby these nearly 7 months we've been privileged to care for him at Casa de Amor!

Getting changed into his new clothes...

...Saying bye to Tias Teresa & Rosi (with Baby A, who actually arrived the same day as him)

Tia Roxana giving care and schedule instructions to C's new mom

Is that a happy family or what?! They have been SOOOO excited during the last week of this process, so desperate to come pick him up and have him join their family.

We are so happy for you, Baby C! The great thing about local adoptions is being able to stay in touch. So, till soon!!

(Please forgive the rough layout. Blogspot is just not cooperating with me to do any changes of formatting like centering!)

Group Picture Day!

2011-10-31T18:21:00.002-04:00

Twice a year we have a big, fun afternoon of taking pictures with the whole crew! We often combine these days with birthdays. (This gives us the chance to eat cake, you see!)

A huge thanks to Elena and Katrina for all their hard work planning the afternoon. Other than a late arrival by the Baby Home due to the arrival of this cutie, it went off without a hitch!

Assembling the gang...

It's always cute to watch little kids do their best to hold up big babies. :)

The very first picture I snapped! Baby M at the far left was the only screamer in the bunch....

....but a lollypop from a prepared tia took care of that!

One of the best shots...

...and another! What smiles!

Then it was birthday time!

Little girls D and AM of Casa de Amor II (turning 4 and 5, respectively, during this week)

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Aren't little girls in pretty dresses the cutest?! MN and the newest, L.

All together!

coming up roses...

2011-10-28T12:45:00.002-04:00

Our volunteer coordinator Elena suggested that my friends in jail make hair accessories with roses. The next day I was in jail wearing a rose clip that I'd bought at Claire's while in the US. Before I could say anything, the girls asked me if they could make some!

Here's the result...

LOVE love love this color!!

I love going in and seeing what pretty things they are going to send me out with. :)

New arrival: sweet little girl!

2011-10-26T23:38:00.000-04:00

Literally a few minutes before we were supposed to leave for Casa de Amor II for picture day, this little girl arrived to the Baby Home!

Since the arrival of Baby Boy G a few months ago we've turned down all requests to send us babies, but a two year old is a little more independent.

Very first picture!

Eating a snack before a bath and heading out to CDA II.

The tias started to come downstairs to meet their newest!

At the end of the photo session with new big sister J.

I'm pretty sure she thought she'd arrived to a crazy house watching all the crazy things the adults did to get good pictures of the crew. :)

What little we know about this one is that she was left in a chicharia (place to drink chicha...an alcoholic brew) all day until the owner contacted police and declared her abandoned. Something tells me the mother or parents or someone will go looking for her, so we have some investigation to do in this case. Police estimated her at 1 to 2 years of age and someone gave her a made-up name which begins with the letter L... And it's not a name we've ever had before, good going! (This is about all we look for now, LOL!)

Pray for little girl L to adjust to the Baby Home. I've gotten reports that she's a little aggressive with the other toddlers but otherwise is precious. :)

The whole crew!

2011-10-25T23:43:00.009-04:00

The whole crew,

even the newest...

...who can spot her?!

Casa de Amor I, II, & III
October, 25, 2011

Happy Birthday, B!

2011-10-07T15:24:00.009-04:00

Somebody turned FOUR this week...

...and couldn't be more pleased!

The rest of the crew doesn't mind another birthday, either!

And this special guy had not one but TWO days of birthday fun...

...and cake!

On B's birthday I was reading September staff reports and one of the tias mentioned that he's the smartest one in her group of toddlers. Wow, I thought. Seriously?! This is the child waiting three years to be assigned a family not put off by his medical and development reports.

Then that very evening before hitting the streets, I was hanging out with some kids supposed to be winding down for bed, and 4 1/2 year old B says "Tia, what color is your hair?" I told him to tell me. He thought about it and said "Hmm...PINK!" Brand-new-four-year-old B immediately corrected him "No...YELLOW!!"

Way to go, B! You've come so far and we pray that God has an adoptive family specially picked for YOU.

the view from here

2011-09-28T17:07:00.001-04:00

Forgot to post this a few months back. Both babies visible here are now with their families (one adoptive, one biological)!

remember those in prison...

2011-09-24T15:11:00.002-04:00

See this post first!

This is a direct copy of the sign I created to explain the jail ministry for the Cochabamba guesthouse that will display and sell the artesian items.

"Remember those in prison as if you were together with them..." Hebrews 13:3

Prisons in Bolivia are nothing like the Western system. There are no handouts.

From the minute Ana (name changed) entered the Penal San Sebastian Mujeres, she had to come up with money for fees...but that was only the beginning. Stripped of her liberties since May 2009 and still awaiting a court hearing to prove her innocence or guilt, Ana receives a monthly stipend of 180 Bolivianos (approx. $26) from which to live. She is now 22 years old. She buys clothes, simple footwear, food, rents a cell, and cherishes something as precious as shampoo or soap. Jobs are few and far between in this overcrowded jail, a small, old building that is home to nearly 200 women and their over 200 children ages 0-12.

At first Ana had some family visitors, but now no one visits and her husband was detained in another jail just weeks after her. Ana’s children live in Casa de Amor but have no contact with their mother due to the long judicial process and uncertainty of her future.

Casa de Amor’s director Jennifer Thompson looks out for Ana as well as several other young women that she initially met when they lived on the street. A plate of simple food, a couple of dollars, or any simple toiletry item means the world to them. Seeing their abilities with any sort of thread or yarn, Jennifer began taking in supplies, paying the girls for the finished product, and selling the items among CDA staff members and friends. It’s a great way for the girls to spend their days more productively and be able to support themselves without falling into debt.

Consider supporting this ministry by buying one of the beautiful items they create! Donations of supplies are also welcome. Call Jennifer for more information — or if you’d like to visit her friends in San Sebastian!

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’" Matthew 25:35-36

new enterprise

2011-09-23T17:59:00.005-04:00

On my last night in the US, while having a slumber party with my youngest sister Emma, we were talking about stuff and something occured to me.

I could help my friends in jail by selling stuff they make, particularly the creative, skilled girls.

They make something, are more productive with their days, and if I do it right, I can make something back for what I spend in street/jail ministry.

Simple, but it took me 10 months of visiting (street) friends "inside" before this dawned on me!

Within a couple weeks of getting back and catching up with everything and everybody, I was already taking yarns in to the girls. At first I just asked them to make in bulk some of the things they'd already given me, like this little monogrammed change purse...

This would be my name spelled Bolivian-style :)

And a beautiful scarf that they declared matches my eyes...

So far, things are going wonderfully!! I just need to start focusing more on selling than constantly taking in materials and picking up the products, which is always a fun surprise, and they do such quick, high quality work. I've had multiple other women come up to me in the jail and hug me or shake my hand, thanking me profusely for helping these girls who "have no one" by giving them legitimate work.

More stories and pictures in an upcoming post!

any guesses?

2011-09-22T18:49:00.001-04:00

...as to what these are...

when we wish we were octupuses...

2011-09-05T10:32:00.006-04:00

FEEDING TIME!!!

our new set of babies

2011-08-31T10:49:00.004-04:00

We currently have a BIG group of babies!

There are 16 total* in the Baby Home right now, 9 of those ages 1-12 months. It gets wild and wooly sometimes!!

We've turned down at least 3 babies since baby G arrived end of July... Yesterday it was a 6 month old that social services was desperate to place, but what to do? We lack hands as it is now.

*Our 13 month old F is currently with a sweet missionary family for health reasons

Some pictures!

Most of our babies...

(Little J was at blind school and baby C was taking a bottle in the arms of a tia during the pics)

See M, far left? Fit-throwing is the norm when I'm anywhere near him but not holding him

Babies, babies, everywhere...

Some of the youngest:
newest baby G (1 month), baby C (3 months), baby G (6 months), and baby F (3 months day after picture made) giving a little wave - most certainly to her mother Savannah... :)

"My Babysitters", a stolen post

2011-08-26T12:24:00.002-04:00

As I catch up on some volunteer blogs, this one was so adorable I couldn't help snatching it to share with the rest of you!

Get ready for mega-doses of cuteness in Savannah's post, "My Babysitters"!

Our dear "Tia Savannah" is now back in Tennessee with her other family after nearly two years of pouring her heart and soul into our children and staff and even staff members' families. She made a lasting impact on so many people while living here, the numbers must be in the 100s.

Casa de Amor will never be the same! We were so blessed to have you and miss you a lot, Tia Savannah!!!

learned, 2.

2011-08-23T16:04:00.003-04:00

While on my 25 day long US trip,

I learned that…

…Memphis summers are really hot and really humid (HELLO frizzy hair!!)

…Baking in the kitchen all the time for “old times sake” doesn’t seem like such a good idea when your family practically lives in cookie stores…and bring home plenty to taste!

…My favorite cookies are still all the “chewies”, YUM!

…I really seriously need to be in North Texas more than just a couple of days the next trip (shout out to Texas friends!!!)

…Even though I could talk about Casa de Amor in my sleep by this point, it was an interesting, new challenge to communicate the street work

…Memphis churches are passionate about local city outreach and are finding innovative ways to make a difference

…Road trips with family are still fun!

…US weddings are very lovely, very special, unique affairs (until my cousin’s this month, I hadn’t been to one since the 90s)

…never thought I’d say this, but Target is definitely a cool place to shop :)

...I am very fortunate to have lived in the same house 6 years and counting as a single (as my sister prepares to move for a 5th time, 5 years in a row)

…while it was wonderful to be with both parents again, in the same country, at the same time, the bond between sisters is extra special and I sure wish we could all four be together more often

My family!

2011-08-22T18:34:00.004-04:00

August 18, 2011

learned.

2011-08-11T11:14:00.002-04:00

On July 19 I celebrated seven years living and serving in Bolivia! Since early last year I even have my permanent residency visa, which is WONDERFUL! This means I never have to apply for a visa again as long as I’m not out of the country for extended periods of time.

Right now is one of my ever-rarer trips back to the US. I have a week more visiting my family and this weekend we'll attend my cousin’s wedding in Texas!

As I add more and more time in between trips, it becomes a little like visiting a foreign country! The United States changes, my family changes (changing houses right now), and I change. The main reason I feel different since my last trip is all that I’ve been privileged to experience and learn in 2010 and 2011.

I’ve learned how to…

…Drive stick shift

…Care for triplets! (In a phrase, it’s exhausting, rewarding, and definitely felt like a once-in-a-lifetime blessing!)

…Lead a worship team at church

…Be part of a leadership team at church of university students and young professionals

…Make a real Bolivian “torta” (birthday cake)!

…Administer first aid (second aid?!) for many and various urgencies and emergencies

…Stitch minor wounds

…Give shots (to humans…before I’d only given them to goats)

…Choose medicines for various complaints and illnesses

…Coach soccer :)

…Get out ID cards for Bolivians

…Deal with macho police on a daily basis

…Speak and understand many, many legal and medical terms I had no idea of before 2010

…Speak “street slang” (literally dozens of new phrases and words in my vocabulary…some usable, others—well, NOT!)

…Go to a beautiful Christian wedding in the maximum security prison

…Enter the three main jails plus juvenile detention facility in Cochabamba

…Get someone out of a holding cell…or jail

…Navigate far reaching corners of the huge valley that is Cochabamba as I take street friends to their families

What other country and job would allow me to learn all of THIS in 1 ½ year’s time?!

I LOVE learning, what about YOU?

It's a...boy!

2011-07-26T22:48:00.004-04:00

SO.... I leave Cochabamba for the first time since 2009 and even while I'm traveling, administration agreed to take in a 6 day old beautiful baby BOY!!

Should've waited a day more to leave, shucks. ;-)

I love his name too...those who know my email can write me to ask me what it is, but it begins with G.

Can't wait to meet this little fellow when I'm back in 3 1/2 weeks!!!

Some pictures that Tio David emailed me this afternoon, made with the camera we were able to purchase thanks to the donation of a special kiwi friend... :)

Casa de Amor's Car!!!!!!

2011-07-21T13:02:00.004-04:00

In all of Casa de Amor's 6 1/2 year history, we have never had our own vehicle.

We have transported CDA kids in
taxis
in buses
in my car
in my family's car when they lived here...

in BOTH of the Holman family's trucks while they were on furlough (thanks!!!)....

Record number of people in the Holman tank for a trip to Pairumani Park

...But now we have OUR VERY OWN MINIVAN!!!!!

We are so grateful to the kind-hearted women who form part of the NGO "Circulo Viviente" in Austria for responding to this need

Some of the ladies who visited us in June with CDA staff and babies

The founder of Circulo Viviente, a Bolivian who lives in Austria, attaching a label from an optics company that donated towards our vehicle

The kids and staff of Casa de Amor II checking out the new car!

Gotta love our license plate...KUK??

Volunteer staff members Kaley and Elena trying out the wheel...

While the Austrian group's donation was very generous, Casa de Amor is still covering expenses totaling over $3000 for paperwork, license plates, insurance, etc. If you can help out with these expenses that cut into our regular budget, donate via paypal here, or write us for more options!

lack of posts...

2011-07-07T09:59:00.011-04:00

I just realized that I only posted ONCE the month of June, how embarrassing!

My camera is definitely on the blink though. Apart from not being able to see anything in the screen, the last month pictures come out blurry and "sun-spotted".

Like this....

Tia Consuelo with some of our youngest

...and this...

With my street soccer team yesterday and their FIRST PLACE trophy!!!

And what's a post without pictures?! The volunteers take such cute pictures and do such neat things with our very blessed kids, sometimes I want to snatch their pictures for my blog, but that doesn't seem quite right. :)

So in the meantime, enjoy reading their blogs, and I'll try to post something soon.....

Casa de Amor Mother's Day

2011-06-02T15:51:00.006-04:00

With a house full of substitute mothers, "mothers of the heart" as we call them, Mother's Day is a special day around the Casas de Amor! Here in Bolivia it's always May 27, in commemoration of a battle fought in the 19th century by all women while the men were at war. (With the result being a massacre.)

A little picture tour of this year's celebration at the Baby Home!

Gifts! (And music playing on the laptop)

Skit by Casa de Amor II + volunteers, stories of Jesus healing

Those Baby Home tias - never disappoint with a side-splittingly hysterical skit!! :)

Dra. Corazon...Elena???

Tia/Pastora Maria also gave an uplifting sermonette on Hannah and son Samuel. (no picture)

And we mighttt have gone a little long so Tia Savannah had to go ahead and leave with her little charge - newborn F's first doctor's appointment! But first a little pose with boyfriend M. :)

And speaking of Savannah, baker & designer of the world's cutest cakes in case you weren't aware....

Specially designed Casa de Amor I & II cakes!!!

Don't know if you can tell here, but each little (unique) face has it's initial. I think everyone's fav was baby G, complete with his little burn mask!

Casa de Amor II

And...the potatoes! No Bolivian meal is complete without 'em.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

For a blog post about another side of Mother's Day (mothering our children without mothers in a season where EVERYTHING here is about mothers), see this post on Savannah's blog.

2011 Group Picture!

2011-05-31T11:55:00.003-04:00

On May 23, we finally took our annual "April group picture". :)

First respiratory viruses and then a bad case of scabies caused delays, but....

DRUM ROLL!!!

Ta-da! It finally happened.

Granted, baby G was in the hospital so not present and we also did not bring newborn C from the 4th house, not being entirely sure the skin stuff was entirely dealt with (surprise - it's not!). Anddd the very next day baby F arrived (see former post), so three are now missing from this picture to be the actual "these are our current kids" picture.

But we still love it. Are the babies not the cutest thing in the world?!

J, age 7, proudly doing his part with new baby E

Casa de Amor III!

Then it was time to give little girl B a 4th birthday party! Check out that cake, just what the birthday girl ordered: a kangaroo!

Some of the guests (Hospitals of Hope was visiting this afternoon)

The ever-photogenic B!

Fun times!

Birthday & Babies

2011-05-30T10:27:00.009-04:00

While every week is memorable with my two "jobs", this last week was really over the top. On Tuesday was my birthday and every day since Thursday there's been something somewhere for Mother's Day.

A few of the highlights on my birthday...

The day started off with an early morning serenade outside my door, complete with guitar and representatives from three of the homes!

Then we went to the dining room where a breakfast feast had been laid out. Savannah outdid herself on the cake, yet again! She explained that the kids wanted to make me a cake like the movie “Cars”, which I think is pretty appropriate since they adore my car and I practically live out of it, hehe, but Savannah voted them down and did a logo cake.

Around 8:30, there was a phone call. The social worker took it in the entry way then popped her head around the corner and said “Jennifer, you have a birthday present. The other baby [from a women's shelter] has been born, should I say yes?” I thought she was joking, only that she doesn’t joke! And so a beautifully perfect newborn arrived...

Cheers to the new baby!
...with freshly squeezed orange juice... :)

At 11:51am I was reading the papers with baby F in my arms, reading that she was born at 11:50am the day before, May 23, weighing nearly 7 pounds.

She was 24 hours and 1 minute “old”!!

But before her arrival, I had already run to the juvenile detention center and the hospital, where I was just supposed to leave the third sample of one of my former bridge kids. However, they didn't even need the last sample to confirm what I've suspected a month now: positive for TB.

In the afternoon, I picked up one of our newer babies, G, who was released from his 3 day stay at the hospital for unexplainable diarrhea and vomiting.

Admiring the two babies! Baby G, approximately 3 months old and recovering from burns, and baby F, 1 day "new"!

That evening I was told to await a visit from the "world's most handsome little man" and was surprised by this little fellow, Gabriel, and multiple gifts! Gabriel was adopted last year by one of our caregivers.

Then it was off to the Coronilla (an infamous hill in our city known for its street community) where about 25 were waiting patiently for me to arrive to a carefully prepared birthday party.

Once I had approximately two pounds of confetti on my head, after each one greeted me personally, there was a huge heart shaped cake. And singing. And coke. And gifts. And lots and LOTS of pictures! All by candle light!

It was quite the event. :)

About one third of those present...

Life here is very full, with both my babies and my big kids, and I can't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else.

this little love...

2011-05-20T00:10:00.004-04:00

joined our Casa de Amor family today!

More news (and pics) later! :)

this is what happens...

2011-05-18T22:47:00.011-04:00

...when you ask Casa de Amor for babies!!

Within six days, two babies!

The story of baby BOY G (yes, it's a boy! he was in donated, very pink clothes when I picked him up)...

On April 5, 2 month old G and his mother were admitted to the hospital* with severe burns suffered in a kitchen gas tank explosion. His mother was burned on 60% of her body and G on 9% (his face and thigh). He was operated on three times and received two blood transusions.

He's been well enough to leave the hospital since the end of April but they weren't sure where to send him.

Then...... On Saturday, May 14, his mother died from complications. His father, an alcoholic, never visited, so he was declared partially orphaned and abandoned and taken to government offices today. Which is when our social worker called me (out and about) and asked what to do. See, we've had some bad skin things the past couple weeks possible due to this new baby so although we have room, it didn't seem the wisest thing to bring a baby into our scabies infested house.

Sooo.... I called Casa de Amor IV! They agreed to take Baby G in until next week when we're sure we're over all this skin stuff.

I was blessed to be with him all day long as I ran other errands and took him to the doctor, and never once heard him cry! In spite of all the trauma he's been through, he seems to be a sweet, laid back baby, but still pray for his recovery (he also has a bad diaper rash, possibly caused by all his medications) and the VanderWerf family as they kind of have twins suddenly. :)

*And possibly his half-sister, but the government doesn't know where she is (??) so tomorrow we start the search!

new baby, new home!

2011-05-13T14:01:00.012-04:00

While receiving a beautiful newborn to our Casa de Amor family is always headline news, this tiny one...

...made double the news by being the very first to enter our Casa de Amor IV! Yes, you read right! Casa de Amor children are now living, growing, and being loved in FOUR homes scattered throughout our beloved Cochabamba.

While the model is certainly more "foster family", for legal purposes it's just another one of our "hogares" (children homes), with the same administration and support staff as the other homes.

Mama Cara getting her first peek!

The VanderWerf family has three lovely daughters. Pray for them as they adjust to their new role as Casa de Amor foster parents!

More on the baby: baby girl C was born on May 11 by cesearean and was in the arms of her substitute family by the afternoon of May 12. Before judging why this baby would be abandoned, understand that the mother is 16 years old, and the father is the stepfather of the mother... Her own mother left the home last year, whereabouts unknown. A hard situation, to say the least. The birth mother plans to go on to study cake making and decorating to be able to get a job and be on her own.

Doing some paperwork right after leaving the hospital with my new charge: we were color-coordinated, ha!

the newest look-alikes

2011-05-12T09:23:00.004-04:00

Two of the cutest babies EVER!!

Baby F (10 months) and Baby MN (8 months)

They are getting so big!

(So blogger definitely uploaded this sideways! I'm never sure why it does that when it does that...)

Married!

2011-05-08T00:42:00.010-04:00

Congratulations Tia Elena & Tio Vico!

Your wedding was beautiful...

...and you were very generous to invite the dozen children of Casa de Amor II, who definitely had a memorable afternoon & evening!

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13

three hospitals

2011-04-10T21:29:00.009-04:00

I'm at hospitals/clinics every day (and many nights) with both of my jobs, but lately it's gotten a little crazy as I have kids in three.

Just the past few days...

I've had up to two from the street in Viedma (both for surgeries)

Up to three babies at Hospital Albina Patino

And now one at the public pediatric hospital: a new baby for us, as soon as she's released!

But that day won't come till sometime next month, for reasons obvious in these pictures:

We're not filled in on the details, but Baby A was admitted due to multiple fractures inflicted by her parents. She is only 1 1/2 months old. Both of her legs are broken and her skull has a crack as well (remember baby Victoria?). There are no words......

Apart from the fractures, it's abundantly obvious that she has a bad skin condition going on. The doctor who approached me out of curiosity, for checking on this "abandoned baby", said it's bacterial. She must have been in less than hygienic conditions. For that reason they can't even cast her legs, until her skin is better.

Either the skin problem or the pain she was in has caused her to claw her face in several places.

Thanks for praying for baby A and her long recovery at such a young age!

Please also lift up baby boy S, in the hospital for over two weeks now, as we wait for results. The TB came back negative as we expected but the H1N1 results will be in tomorrow. Even so he has been moved to the isolation wing, where normally only our HIV+ kids go. He really needs to get better SOON!!!!

sick baby update

2011-04-07T17:48:00.006-04:00

Shortly after writing the last post, we got the good news that baby girl F could come home!

The other news nearly made us faint: the bill for 13 days is $280! (We rarely spend more than $100 to get a child out, if not much less, because we are in the lowest paying category of the pediatric hospital.)

We were blessed to have the social worker, a long time friend, speak to the director on our behalf and slash the bill down to $143. Tomorrow baby boy S might be released (yeah!) and we have been warned that his bill is nearly as much as baby F's.

Apart from these two, we spent $110 on the other babies admitted, not to mention a whole lot more on medications the past month.

The accountant just showed me his pile of health related receipts for March as related to other expenses - it definitely wins!! It's been a rough several weeks.

If God puts it on your heart to help with these extra expenses, please let us know. I think maybe once or twice a year I mention economical needs on the blog, not wanting it to be anything about asking for money (my least favorite part of my "job"!), but sometimes it's good to share our needs with one another.

I'm done now - off to check on all the babies! :)

sick babies.

2011-04-07T10:00:00.006-04:00

We've had a rough few weeks as the babies get sick with a cough, then get sick AGAIN with the cough, and now the dreaded rotavirus is here....oh will we ever be all healthy again?? In times like these we become excruciatingly aware of how susceptible our babies are. Many were born prematurely and obviously without many of the physical and emotional benefits of other babies.

Baby girl F and baby boy S were admitted on the same day, 13 days back. Little girl S (CDA II) and one year old F (Baby Home) just spent a few days before they were on the mend. Doctors wanted to admit baby A (youngest at the Baby Home at 4 months) but there were no available beds in the two main pediatric hospitals! This epidemic has hit Cochabamba hard.

We thought it would be cool to just take over this hospital room with our three. As it is, we run back and forth between the two wings of the hospital. More than once another mother has said "Is that one ALSO yours?!" Oh yes, and there are many more where this one came from. :)

Monday was scary as baby boy S took a downturn and doctors said I needed to go in to "make decisions". They were throwing around the possibility of a type of chemotherapy. WHAT??? He is now in testing for TB, but if he came straight to us from the hospital, how could he have TB? If a staff member has it... I don't even want to think of the possibilities!! Finally he was taken off penicilin and put on two other antibiotics and is slowly improving.

Pray that he and baby F are out SOON!! We are so ready to have everyone back home and healthy. One of the triplets, A, has had a very hard time improving. Baby MN has been absolutely miserable with the rotavirus.

*Photos shamelessly swiped from volunteer Savannah's blog :)

one of the newest...

2011-03-29T15:12:00.013-04:00

We have been flooded with new babies this year!!

{some of our current crew of babies}

Whereas in 2010, the arrival of the triplets was all we had for the first seven months of the year, we've already received EIGHT this year! How I love being able to say YES when we get the calls. :) This due to the other amazing statistic of FOURTEEN adoptions last year, by far a record for Casa de Amor, and the re-opening of Casa de Amor III.

This handsome little guy is one of 3 March arrivals: His arrival story is unique to the others. I've known his young family since late last year through my street work. I actually met his mother and 1 1/2 year old sister at the crime police station as his father was being sent to jail. As I helped them weed through the paperwork and implications of what was happening to their family, I fell in love with baby M's witty mother (and adorable sister), often joking that she was my assistant on the street. For the past few months she has been back at home with M's sister and we just meet up to visit L in jail once or twice a week. Long story short, baby M has been living with relatives in another part of the country since he was 3 or 4 weeks old. When they dumped him back rather unceremoniously with his mother the evening of March 10, now 5 months old, he was in a terrible state. He was being fed watered-down powdered milk and had a bad cough, diarrhea, fever, tight distended stomach, and almost 3rd degree malnutrition...and screamed non-stop. (Now the pediatrician has detected a concerning heart murmur and has requested tests.) The very next day I went to government offices to get approval to bring him home temporarily, until his dad is out of jail (possibly this month) and the family is functioning again. Just now I realized that I've taken pictures of him three Fridays in a row - what a transformation!!

March 11, 2011 - Arrival day! A few minutes later a tia christened him with his name. He has not been named as they are waiting for his dad to get out before deciding. (But the parents like the name we chose.)

March 18...looking better!

March 25 - sweet, happy baby boy who rarely cries now

More pictures to come of the other new arrivals, and I think I still owe the triplet birthday party picture post.... :)

Birthday Baptism

2011-02-21T16:17:00.001-04:00

Although it's common in Bolivia, it was a first for Casa de Amor to have a Catholic baptism. Even though we have explained to the triplet's mother what the Bible says in regard to infant baptism, this was the wish of the babies' padrinos (godparents).

So on the morning of their first birthday, February 16, the three babies turned into three little white-robed princesses..... :)

First baby transformed, Nataly!

Setting up our three little dolls. (We all had to giggle when one toppled over backwards as soon as the hands were removed. At least she didn't cry!)

Is there anything cuter?!

In the ceremony, arranged especially for the triplets

The man on the right filmed all the festivities of the day

Triplets Nicole Nataly (with the mother), Alison Nataly (with godmother), and Nataly Claudia (with godfather)

The poor priest could barely keep all their names straight! They are rather confusing I guess, especially if you haven't had practice and can't tell the three apart.

A little review on the names...

Nicole is named after Jennifer's younger sister Heather Nicole
Alison is named after Savannah's younger sister
All the "Nataly" is for their godmother who has provided so much since their birth
Claudia is for Nataly's younger sister

The three were a weeee bit stir crazy by this point, besides that we had just passed bottle time...'nuf said!

Out for salteñas afterwards (a lovely Bolivian morning snack) while tanking up the triplets

Alison enjoying some special lovin' from a man who calls himself their adopted grandfather

The newlywed godparents, each with a triplet

We so rarely go out with all three, and just the three, it was a really lovely morning! So blessed to have been a part. :)

Pictures coming soon...

2011-02-18T16:04:00.002-04:00

Of the triplet's big day!!!

We love our triplets!

2011-02-16T08:03:00.007-04:00

Happy happy HAPPY birthday to our very happy triplets!

Sharing some of our every day joy with our beautiful threesome:

What I love...

2011-02-14T09:17:00.006-04:00

Living in Bolivia

Holding a sleeping baby

Doing first aid on the street

Adventure

Getting calls from the US

Reconciliation

Reading the news

Seeing God’s hand at work

Twins

Triplets

A car FULL of street kids

Snowy mountain tops

Homemade bread

A good book

Saying “yes” to a new baby

Meeting volunteers & visitors from all over the world

Going under bridges

Learning new things

Playing piano or guitar at Cochabamba International Church

Sleeping in

Visiting street friends in jail

Cold treats in hot weather

Wool blankets in cold weather

The dedication & LOVE of our Casa de Amor staff

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at Casa de Amor, the “Homes of Love”!

Triplet Top Ten

2011-02-11T22:05:00.003-04:00

As the triplets near two milestones (their first birthday and returning to their mother), we are running around with preparations here at Casa de Amor.

Today, which just so happens to be the 11 month anniversary of their much-heralded arrival, I assembled all of the pictures of or with the triplets. Can you guess how many there are?

641!!!!!

And that's even before their first birthday next week, which by all appearances will be the social event of the year for Casa de Amor.

Even with so many pictures, here are ten that immediately came to mind as my favs from this absolutely unique experience:

March 11, 2010, my first picture with all three, newly at "home"
It TOTALLY hadn't sunk in yet...not even during that same night, taking the first night shift. Alone!

St. Patrick's Day 2010
Photography, dresses, design all by volunteer Elena Boisvert

Easter 2010
Flower crowns from volunteer Savannah, dresses borrowed from baby Fabiana

April 2010, first park outing!
with three proud {slightly sleep deprived} mommas

May 2010, Baby Burritos
(All I've gotta say is: Praise the Lord for Miracle Blankets!!! My night shifts didn't begin till I'd located all three.)

May 2010, barely able to juggle all three at once
Picture by Melissa Dickey, professional photographer visiting from Texas

July 2010, Happy US Independence Day!
And we thought they were getting so big and chubby in July, ha!

September 2010

September 2010
Right in the thick of the "chewing on the shirt" phase. Obviously!

September 2010

November 2010, Live Nativity Scene!
Never seen more adorable wise~~men~~ babies!!

That's 11, you say? Aw, who's counting.

And a few runners-up...

(There are 641 pictures, after all!!)

FEEDING TIME!!!
Gotta say that when all three pipe up, it's dangerous for the ear drums!

{Both from volunteer Savannah when the babies were three months old}

Christmas 2010
Definitely goofy!

The biggest blessing we've had in raising these babies: the V family, successful business owners in Bolivia. Their daughter, on the right, is the triplet's madrina (godmother).

So till the birthday bash pictures, that's it!!

Joy Multiplied

2011-02-11T09:40:00.003-04:00

This is the fourth year in a row we've been blessed to receive multiples!

A little review...

Twins E & E: girl/boy

Arrival: May 26, 2008

Twins G & G: boy/girl
Arrival: October 3, 2008

Twins L & L: boy/boy
Arrival: July 3, 2009

Triplets N, A, N: girl/girl/girl
Arrival: March 11, 2010

Twins K & A: girl/girl
Arrival: February 11, 2011

our threesome

2011-02-03T10:38:00.000-04:00

Some new pictures of the three little ladies...

Fast becoming little girls

our baby boy

2011-02-02T10:30:00.002-04:00

Oh but to sleep this deliciously......

It's a Boy!

2011-01-19T23:09:00.001-04:00

Today a one year old arrived to us from the hospital, where he was admitted for three days after being removed from the street.

He is really down, poor little guy. It's so hard to see him here looking all alone when I've always seen him happily in the arms of his mother.

This is the very conflictive, controversial part of our work, even if I didn't have any say in him being taken away. Police and even the child's father had warned the mother multiple times and this is the consequence of her refusal to leave the street.

Pray that little J perks up soon, responds to our love, and heals from several ailments!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-01-19T15:50:00.002-04:00

Feliz Año Nuevo!

2011-01-01T20:02:00.005-04:00

Happy New Year to You & Yours!!!!

with a few of my "big kids"
Plaza Principal, Cochabamba
1 am, January 1 :)

“The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-27T12:04:00.005-04:00

Feliz Navidad from Casa de Amor!

On Friday we lost internet and with all the Christmas festivities, it was low priority to get fixed, until today when we went "AHHH without internet we can't transfer money!!" It's now better. :)

Team Baby

2010-12-23T22:54:00.003-04:00

Baby S (the sole boy in the under 1 bunch).......5 months

Baby F........5 1/2 months

Baby M. N........3 1/2 months

New Baby A........1 month

And don't forget the triplets, 10 months old!

Folks, that's a lot of babies!!

Christmas Baby :)

2010-12-23T15:32:00.007-04:00

Today we received a beautiful baby girl!

This makes 8 new entries for 2010, SEVEN of them girls! :)

Baby A is 1 month old and came with a good 25 pages or more of papers. Her mother is 14 and was the victim of rape. It's obvious from all of the reports that the mother has very little support and is suffering a lot with the whole situation so please pray for her.

Twin Birthday Bash!

2010-12-21T14:52:00.001-04:00

A post specially for Tia Denise (aka mother to twins E & E) and our northerly neighbors shivering their way through winter...

At the end of November, thanks to generous friends, we had a VERY special 3rd birthday bash for our Twins E & E!

(We had just arrived and they were already flushed and hot - it's been a HOT rainy season this year)

The pavilion all set up...

But first things first, we dove into the pool!!

Tia Savannah giving a little safety and rule pep talk first (well done!) while sister Allison snaps pictures

How 'bout that view?!

Everyone did remarkably well. Even our special needs J LOVED being in the water!

The only ones who cried consistently? The twins, which will surprise no one who knows them!!

The snacks just kept coming, and coming, and coming....

As well as the special attention!

Our new friend this year, father of the godmother to the triplets and also owner of the bus station and several other businesses around town. The mother of the triplets also live with him and his family.

He has taken on concern for all our children, particularly new little J, even setting up an appointment with an excellent eye doctor.

Little Miss E with a birthday gift! (We had just drug her out of the bathroom here. Seeing as she didn't need to go - not sure what she was going to do in there!)

After a lovely play time in the spacious grassy area, it was CAKE TIME!!

Cute kiddos or what?!

and piñata time!

What a beautiful, memorable afternoon all together and outdoors!

Pray that the twins' papers continue progressing in the court system as they've been pre-assigned adoptive parents for several months now!

CHRISTmas

2010-12-17T16:59:00.005-04:00

Love, love, LOVE this!!

Don't forget to check out Casa de Amor's Christmas Giving catalog.... :)

Assuming the link still works, here's the Advent Conspiracy video I posted a couple years back: Advent Conspiracy.

Anniversary!!

2010-12-03T13:25:00.002-04:00

Happy 6 year anniversary to Casa de Amor!

Casa de Amor Christmas Catalog!

2010-12-01T19:38:00.006-04:00

We are excited to introduce Casa de Amor's first ever

Holiday Giving Catalog!

This year, share the gift that makes a difference in the life of a child.

A beautiful card describing your gift choice will be sent to the gift recipient to let them know of your gift in their honor.

Click on the images below to see each page of the Holiday Giving Catalog:

It's easy to give!

Make an online donation here or send your check (made out to GOAL) to:

GOAL
PO Box 3201
McKinney, TX, 75070
USA

For more information, send an email to gifts@casadeamor.org

From all of us at Casa de Amor Children's Homes....

Merry Christmas!

*Many thanks to Elena for her incredible work on the catalog!

new babysitter

2010-11-30T19:47:00.006-04:00

This little one sometimes has tummy trouble.

She screams with such fervor, even the other babies feel sorry for her!

This evening in particular, one of the triplets (Nataly?) was so concerned she was trying anything to get baby F to quiet down.

So sweet!

Triplets to the rescue!!

Last night I was in a police station and the news was on. Triplet girls have been born again, this time to a couple in La Paz! One of them even has the same name that one of ours had.

I felt so happy for the parents I had to think I'd already forgotten all the stress of keeping them fed and alive and well those first months, not to mention the round-the-clock work...and exhaustion! Definitely something that it's more fun to REMEMBER than live through, ha! :)

First Aid

2010-11-30T19:10:00.003-04:00

I get all excited about stuff like....

first aid donations!

Much of the goodies in the pictures are thanks to donations from the young people's group at Cochabamba International Church.

And this was the floor of my room yesterday during a common task: restocking and cleaning out all my first aid kits and bags.

My car is practically a clinic on wheels by this point!

That's helpful when you have issues like a fight at 2am and no one wants to go to the hospital because they were just there the week before because of another fight... Sigh. And the endless other daily needs, both large and small, that they trust me to tend to now. I love learning more every day!

And Lesson Number 11...

2010-11-30T18:16:00.002-04:00

...How to navigate the ins and outs of Bolivia’s jail system. Definitely a lesson I neither asked nor expected to learn, but it’s been quite the education.

The week after writing the below, 4 friends were arrested. Along with the one who went in a few weeks ago, that makes 5 friends in as many weeks to FOUR different jails. [Note: since I wrote this yesterday, two MORE have been arrested!]

My “Codigo Penal” and newly purchased “Codigo de Procedimiento Penal” have become my new constant companions!

The first couple of weeks as I got everyone settled and untangled the mess of which lawyer was on each case (both sides) and what the next steps would be, I spent hours every single day in jails. In all but one place I have other friends (also from the street), so its non-stop conversation and questions about their friends on the “outside” the entire time I’m inside with them.

I also get constant calls now from all of the jails. I imagine that the women’s jail phone booth opens at 7am because I often get a call right at that time: “Senorita, are you coming today??” (Even though visiting hours don’t begin until 9am!)

When my best friend Amber left in October after another Bolivia visit, the verse she left on a card was more prophetic than I think either of us realized at the time:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; …I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40)

Apart from being quite the balancing act, it’s been emotionally exhausting. It’s rough to go from having daily contact with your friend to BAM! In jail! And having to wait for visiting hours, suffer through police pat-downs, present your ID, pay money, etc., just to try to talk in a seriously overcrowded warehouse of humanity… On the streets at night with the others, I still expect to see them around any corner. Almost any picture we look at of fun times together, at least one in the picture is currently in jail.

Pray that I know how to show tough love. After the hearing of two of the girls, as they begged me to “save them” from their fate, I looked them right in the eye and said "I love you two and you know it, but I hate what you do".

It’s been a month of constant shake ups at the bridge where I work, as well. At some point every month I record a simple list of who is currently at the bridge. From mid October to now in November, the number has dropped from 17 people to 8. The reason? Three have moved to different street communities, two are currently home with relatives, two are in jail, one has died, and last night the baby was taken away from her mother.

As hard as it all is, I LOVE "filling the gap" with the most down-and-out kids of the city, being their mother, lawyer, best friend, nurse, social worker, and whatever else the situation calls for. Thanks for your prayers!

Ten Months. Ten Lessons.

2010-11-08T11:07:00.004-04:00

November 2 marked ten months since God dropped street ministry in my lap on January 2, by visiting a certain bridge with the street mother of a child we had here. I had no idea that getting to know that bunch of kids, adolescents, and adults at that bridge would change my life and open the door to a whole new world.

But something had always been stirring in my heart for the street population, apart from taking in the children sent to us at Casa de Amor. The other night I came across an old journal, and on 8-8-08 I wrote “I still wish I had more reasons to go to the street, but that period last year was apparently just a phase.” And then: “I can’t be grateful enough though for having that opportunity.” Now I’m blessed to go every single day and be welcomed with open arms!

As I look back on the ten months, I quickly came up with ten points of what the kids and street life has taught me.

Lesson #1
Don’t judge by the outside. It’s still ingrained in me more than I want to admit, but I am learning to look past the rough, unkempt, dirty exterior and meet the person on the inside. Each man, woman, and child I’ve met on the street has his/her own special sparkle if you just look for it. I love telling them they were created by God and are special, no matter what others may say!
Story #1: one morning I was running errands when I was called by a young friend and told that “S” had sliced his leg open (police were trying to take away his baby) and could I come help. When I got to the ER and saw him lying there in dirty clothes, with this horrific gash in his calf, I had a brief moment of thinking “Why me?! What am I doing here, picking up this guy?” I had seen him around but didn’t really know him. I so repented later for my terrible thoughts as I drove him and his friends back. What a sense of humor!! He had us rolling in the floor laughing. Don’t judge by the outside.

Story #2: at the bridge we have a guy in a wheelchair that is quite honestly nothing pleasant to look at by human eyes. Years and years of street life, addictions, and illnesses have taken their toll. However, “M” still has a sparkle in his eye and we rotate through jokes. For example, he would pretend to get very mad at me if I didn’t shake his hand and properly greet him each and every time I come (which is always multiple times a day), but when I’d shake his hand he’d recoil saying “so cold!!” so I’d go through an elaborate procedure to warm up my hand before shaking his.

And maybe I’m strange, but I can’t tell you what joy I get to recognize and be recognized by name by the “down and out” all over this city!

Lesson #2
First Aid! And first aid and first aid and first AID! Day and night, there are medical urgencies and emergencies. I could write a book on some of the experiences I’ve had in 10 months time! In fact, tending to the knife cut of one at the bridge was one of two reasons I came back for a second visit (the other being the newborn baby) and the reason I first went under the bridge (with my partner Elena and a hastily assembled first aid kit that has stayed packed full ever since). I’ve gotten abundant practice in taking out stitches, giving shots, and tending to wounds, stabbings, lacerations, and burns.

Lesson #3
Police mistreatment. I’ve taken this on as a special area of mine on the street, so could write a book on it. But in a nutshell… I champion for just treatment and basic respect. The police believe that they can do whatever they want to the street people because no one protests it. And no one does, unless I am there or am told immediately after by the kids. Every single day at some point I speak to police. I have studied law codes and talked with several lawyers and the police chief throughout the year, learning what rights the kids have and how to deal with out-of-control police who beat up them up and lock them up, many times without reason or proof of any wrong. Currently I’m also working constantly with a lawyer friend from church and so appreciate his support!

The kids think I am not afraid of police, but try being under a bridge at night or at the top of a cactus covered hill when 20 police show up in anti-riot gear, ready to tear gas and beat up everyone in sight, and see how YOU feel! I feel like Daniel in the Lions’ Den and pray for angels to watch over us!! Then I swallow the lump in my throat and deal with the situation at hand, which often involves showing my ID to the police and explaining what I do and why, then answering questions they have about the kids’ lives and habits. The abuse was so bad the month of September at my bridge that I and one of the most responsible guys presented a two page letter to the chief police and “Defensor del Pueblo” detailing the mistreatment, and there have been only two incidents since then! Although it often means missed sleep, and the police nearly make me cry sometimes by misunderstanding my work and (their favorite lately) threatening the kids (“If you are going to tell your blonde friend about this…”) or even saying they will get me thrown in jail, I have loved tackling such a needed area on the street.

Lesson #4
Our conception in Casa de Amor before this year was that multiple people, churches, organizations, and institutions reach out to the street population in Cochabamba. Why would I get involved if I have my baby homes and the street kids have dozens of organizations on their side? WELL……as I started to go to the bridge more and more and more in January and February, and got to know the kids, and all of a sudden it was going every single day to change bandages, help with paperwork, be their guaranty as they try to move up in life, accompany them talk to family members, etc., etc., it started to dawn on me: I was the only one out there! Another group came one morning a week, but with their own agenda which didn’t always match up to the needs of the kids. Then they stopped coming. Then a dear friend from Norway arrived back and occasionally visits, but she is very involved with another group in the north of the city and so has delegated the bridge to me. I have been shocked at how many “desk” street workers there are, without a good grasp on how street life is every day and every night. Whereas my Casa de Amor responsibility is a desk job, and I love it, I also absolutely LOVE being out “on the field” in the thick of things as I serve the street population.

Lesson #5
No matter how “bad” our family is, we only have one. So many times I’ve nearly written off return to or involvement with family as bad for a certain child or couple, but I consistently see that the few who manage to leave street life do it because they have a family who cares. It may be full of drunks or robbers or messy splits or “steps”, but the family is the family, for good or for worse. Same as with the children directly in my charge at Hogar de Amor, my priority with the kids is family reconciliation.

Lesson #6
The Trust Factor. I’m a trusting person by nature, so this one comes easy to me and often surprises people who hear details of my work with the kids. I know that all of them have or do rob for a living, some of them being very good at it, but my philosophy is that to the degree that I trust them with my things, they are trustworthy with me. In fact anyone who even hints at robbing me or gives the appearance of not being trustworthy with something of mine is severely chastised by the others. My trust includes loaning them my cell phone for calls (particularly to family members), letting them use my camera, leaving them alone in my car even though there are valuables there…right up to teaching them to drive my car!

Lesson #7
Alcohol abuse is almost as bad on the street as drug abuse. It’s really awful. I’ve always seen alcoholism as a major plague in Bolivia, with the consequences all too apparent in the lives of our children at Casa de Amor, but I hadn’t realized how many children, even as young as 12 and 14, are becoming regular drinkers on the street. I hate with a vengeance what the glue (and glue addiction) does to their minds, bodies, and relationships, but I can put up with someone being high any day over someone being drunk. Before moving to Bolivia I think I had seen exactly one drunk person in my life, and that was in Russia. Now I can tell almost immediately if someone calling me or talking to me is drunk, an education I never asked to have! And the drunk calls at any hour of the night, often by family members of the kids? Ugh, not a favorite!

Lesson #8
Violence. On the one hand, it’s worse than I thought. While the average citizen here is anywhere from extremely cautious to terrified in encounters with street people, I quickly learned that they are much more violent with each other than anyone else. They settle their issues with knives, rocks, and fists, particularly when drunk (see lesson 7), which is why I stay so busy with first aid (see lesson 2)! I’ve learned that while a late night drunken fight can land someone in the hospital, by morning they are still friends. I’ve learned that a hurled rock can do an awful lot of harm. I’ve learned to ask for discounts in the hospital for bringing in such a flow of patients! But on the other hand, there are more “internal regulations” than I had imagined. In a way their communities are more controlled than I thought, with clear cut leaders and rules. If someone is too problematic, they are kicked out and not provided the “protection” of the community which is often like one large family.

Lesson #9
Expect the unexpected. Every. Single. Day. They surprise me. I’m not surprised when they do something wrong or dirty because that’s what everyone expects of them. But every single day (and night) they teach me something amazing and I learn from them. As one example, this winter (May—August in Bolivia) was the best yet for me. Before I resented not having indoor (or car) heating, but I just couldn't complain when THEY never complain. Sure I was out all hours of the day and night being with them, but at least I had a house and warm bed to go home to eventually. Another example is when someone does something wrong or hurts someone’s feelings, and I watch the kids work so hard at reconciliation. Sometimes they are examples to me! Another way they convict me is how kind and accepting they can be to the weakest, most down-and-out member of their group, often someone that society has completely turned her back on. Sometimes they fight over who is going to buy me my dinner, or something to drink. And then there’s the whole trust thing (lesson #7). More than once it's happened that money is showing out of my back pocket and someone I barely know goes hey, your money is showing, rather than so easily snatching it. I could go on and on…

Lesson #10
On a more lighthearted note to finish, did you know that you can earn a whole lot by begging or just washing windows at intersections?? It’s rather amazing, actually. In a few hours of work, one can easily earn 40 or 50 Bolivianos, equivalent to $7, which is more than most Bolivians make all day. I joke all the time I’m going to start washing with them! Some of the cute younger kids who beg on a busy street on a weekend night can get up to three times that amount. The problem is they occasionally lose all they’ve earned to corrupt police who claim it was stolen, so often they save it back with me.

Many people assume that I win the trust and acceptance of the kids by buying them food or clothes, but the truth is I rarely do that—just on special occasions, or when someone cannot work for some reason. They CAN make money without stealing, so I do not want to reward laziness even with a loan.

I have learned so much else, such as…

...the reality of how most people live in Bolivia (in one room, for example)

...how to get around many far flung zones of the city I had only heard of before this year

...street slang (I just THOUGHT I knew Spanish before...!)

...how to ignore constant itchy flea bites

...that I can operate on much less sleep than I ever thought possible

...celebrating birthdays creates wonderful memories and strong friendships

...the locals think I'm either crazy or a saint for going to the worst areas of town "alone" and for reaching out to the criminals and drug addicts of the city (but I'm not!)

...that watching soccer is so much fun when you know everyone playing, same for going to the pro games with die hard Wilstermann fans!

...that my stomach is finally up to speed to the bugs here and I can eat anything from anywhere without getting sick

...the importance of educating authorities on the situation of the kids

…and that there is always room for one more in my car, dubbed the “auto fantastico” on the street! On an average night, up to 15 pack into my Toyota Raum, a mini "mini van".

The lessons go on and on! I am so, so privileged to have the double blessing of running Casa de Amor and also being mother, doctor, pastor, social worker, lawyer, and just best friend of over 100 on the street. And several off the street, starting a new life.

I appreciate your prayers for strength, finances, and loads of grace and patience as I work in the darkest parts of society every day and every night.

"And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD." Jeremiah 22:16

If you would like to know more, such as my goals and vision working with these people I've grown to love so much, I'd be happy to tell you in between all the hecticness that is our life here! Just write me.

Two Party Princesses

2010-11-01T18:51:00.001-04:00

These two cuties...

have birthdays close together.

This is the first year they've lived in the same house (Casa de Amor II), so the staff there decided to turn the biannual picture day into one big birthday party!

The cakes were AMAZING!!!!

Little girl D, turning 3, requested a cow cake, and Tia Savannah came through!

Little girl A, turning 4, got this gorgeous flower cake. Before the colored icing, I told volunteer Haley it reminded me of one of those huge round cakes at the fair on "Pollyanna". Remember?

Party "guests" enjoying the fresh air, fellowship, jello, and cake!

A few sweet close-ups, thanks to volunteer Elena:

Little girl C (2 years old)

Little girl A (3 years)

J (7 years) giving a helping hand to a triplet (7 months)

B, now 5 years old!

B, 3 years old

SMILE!!!

2010-10-29T17:03:00.006-04:00

This week we had our biannual group picture day!

Love, love, LOVE how organized volunteer Elena was in hosting us at Casa de Amor II and preparing everything so that it all came out just right.

So with no further ado, all 33 of our children!!!

Minus one little fellow, J. G., who was not in the mood for picture day and distracted everyone so much that he had to be left out.

Even though I see them every day, my heart about melted when I first saw the sight of all those babies in a row - triplets and "triplets" - with kids just a bit bigger holding them!

Adorable or what?!

Funny face picture - say cheese!!

Our lovely volunteers - Amber M., Savannah, Kaley, Haley M., Elena

(Yes we have a guy volunteer, but Maxim opted to take the picture rather than be a part. Wonder why?!)

A picture featuring Casa de Amor childcare tias, mother of the triplets, volunteers, and more squeezable, chubby babies!!

More pictures coming of the special double birthday party also celebrated this day.

Any guesses as to who the birthday girls were??

H-e-l-l-o out there...

2010-10-18T16:34:00.002-04:00

I must be the most sporadic blogger ever. Don't ask me how I could put together 20 posts in September and exactly zero in October. I'm the same busy.

Once I fall off the bandwagon it's just hard to know where to start up again.

I have so many post ideas and so many pictures....

They just never seem to make it HERE. Sigh.

Well, until I can find time amongst office work, holding babies, 40 + hour weeks on the street, church responsibilities, and spending every free moment with Amber & Haley (good friends visiting this month) and the other volunteers, here are a couple of pictures.

Right now the wind and changing seasons (heading into spring and rainy season) makes for beautiful Cochabamba skys, and particularly sunsets.

Love it!