Birthday!

I arrived on Wednesday, and on Friday we had a Birthday! This precious boy turned 5! 

I was happy to help out by making the cake, I think it went over well! 

We were excited to have some Volunteers bring some babies from Casa 1 over for the party!

Everyone was happy to help out!  

The Birthday Boy himself! 5 years old! 

Present Time! I was so impressed with our two oldest boys, when they pulled out a gift they had decided to give him and had wrapped themselves! 

 I'm so happy I could be here to share this day with such a special kid! Due to some special needs that 'B' has, he has very slim chances of being adopted. That makes a day like this even more special, a time when the Tias, the kids, and the volunteers can all show him we love him and he is an amazing Child of God.

He was SOOO excited the days before his birthday, and I would often find him staring off into space only to 'wake-up' and excitedly tell me it was going to be his Birthday! (also the days following, he was very excited to let everyone know that his birthday had passed!

Please pray for 'B' as we don't know what the next few years of his life with look like. Sometimes he can get lost in the crowd of 13 kids we have here and he really needs an extra patient Tia by his side to help him stay on task when trying to change his clothes, eat meals, etc.

On a personal note, things are going really well! I have really been enjoying my time back. So far, the time is FLYING! Being able to jump right in once I arrived has really been a joy, since I already know the language (mas o menos!), I know the kids (almost all of them) I know the Tias, I know the rules and general run of the house, and I know Cochabamba I have really been able to hit the ground running!

Thank you for praying, and I will try to be diligent in my blogging to keep you up to date on the goings on here at Casa de Amor 2!

Kaley
kaleyrachelle@gmail.com

I'm Back!

Well it was a long trip, 6 different planes, 3 countries and one 10 hour layover. But I'm here! My first day was kind of a blur (I was very tired) but was so happy to see Elena with her husband Vico at the airport. They had also brought with them "my baby" (Elias who I fostered the last time I was here!) who is now quite chubby and even more adorable than before!

The new House 2 is almost double the size of the last one with more than enough room for myself, the tias and all 13 kids we currently have.

I was really happy to see the Tias and was surprised and touched with this welcome cake that they made for Pauline and I!

Before arriving I had been trying to prepared myself for the kids reactions to my arrival. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that a lot of the younger ones probably wouldn't remember me, seeing as how I've been gone almost a year and quite a number of volunteers have come and gone since then. 

However, I was relieved and overjoyed to be welcomed with hugs and kisses from the kids who were very glad to see me! 

I feel like I've been able to fall right back into place, and it almost feels as though I never left. The days are already flying by as I'm starting to plan projects and outings for the coming months. 

Thank you for praying for me during this transition and for my safe travel, though my trip was long it went off with out a hitch and I Thank God for that! 

Stay tuned!

Kaley

A Day at the Pool!

Saturdays are always a great day to get the House 2 kids out of the house and on the town. This past Saturday was spent doing just that!

The day started as many of my days seem to, waking up with no idea what my day would look like, but sure enough, I got a call from Elena, (Resident "Tia"/pretty much in charge of House 2/awesome) who said that she was planning to take the kids to a "pool" at a friends house and would Pauline* and I like to join in the fun/help wrangle the 11 kids (minus AM, who was in the hospital with Pneumonia, doing much better now!)

So we quickly got ready and headed over to House 2 where we loaded towels, lunch, lemonade, 11 kids, and Elena's new puppy into the truck and off we went!

It was a great time! Even though most of the kids can't actually swim, and the water was over my head, and was appx. -233degrees (celcius). Hehe. Swimming was followed by a delicious picnic lunch. Mmm, mangoes in the sun, delicious!

Once we were all full, warm and happy, we played some great water games which mostly consisted of throwing water at children. And they loved it!

PICTURES!!!

Checking out the pool, most of these boys are thinking..."Am I brave enough to get in there?????"


Thankfully Pauline is a lot taller then me, and could 'ferry' kids across the pool : )


Lunch!


Hehe, I love this picture, "How much pasta can 'A' fit in his mouth?????"


"Papa Fritta, Papa Fritta!" Basically a game of hot potato, but the hot potato was a freezing cold cup of water!


What could be more fun then dumping it over your head you may ask????


Having it thrown at you of course!!!!


So much fun!
The rest of the day was spent visiting AM in the hospital, stumbling upon a parade and going to a farewell dinner for new friends from Spanish School. If I'm lucky, I can make that into 3 seperate posts!!! ha.

Thanks for Reading!
Kaley

Prayer Requests/Updates

• Spanish. Now that I've been here for a month, I can see a vast improvement in my Spanish skills. I comprehend So Much more then I could have hoped for, thanks for praying! I still need a lot of work (and prayer) because my speaking skills are coming slowly and the sooner I can communicate the easier my time will be with the kids! Thanks for praying, and please don't stop!!!
• Next week, Elena is heading home for a month for a (well-deserved) break and visit and with family and friends. Please pray that things will go smoothly during her absence! (and that she has a safe and wonderful trip!)
  
• Praise God that I'm no longer ill! I've been able to shake the various diseases, bugs and viruses that have been hanging on, thanks God! It's so nice to feel good!!!!!!!!