My Baby (...sort of) Part 1

It's been more than three years since my first trip down to Cochabamba and over that time I've gotten to know many wonderful kids.

Some of those kids have moved on to join families all over the world, some of them have been adopted by families in Coch or by staff members of CDA, and some kids are still here with us in one of our four 'hogares'.

During my second trip to Cochabamba, there was a Scabies outbreak at the baby home. If you don't know much about scabies, I'll just go ahead and tell you that it's miserable and very difficult to get rid of!

At this point I was living at Casa Dos, the big kids home and we were somehow saved from getting the plague! 

One day, during the epidemic, Jennifer was telling the volunteers about a new baby that had arrived and how a family from our church had offered to foster the baby for a while so that she wasn't introduced to the scabies. It was a good temporary situation while the staff and volunteers were working to get rid of the contagious skin infection.

After hearing the story I told Jen that if anymore babies arrived and needed a place, I would be happy to foster one at the big kids house for a week or two. I figured it would be good for the older kids to have a baby around, and they could even help take care of him. (I also assumed it would be about a two week stay at the most!)

The next day, I got a call from Jennifer asking if I had been serious about my offer to foster a baby, because she had one for me. That afternoon, Three-month-old "E" arrived, and he stayed with us at Casa Dos for 6 weeks! 

"E" went everywhere with me! Church, choir practice, Bible study, Spanish school, not to mention all of my CDA shifts! 

There were a lot of bottles, a lot of diapers and a lot of sleepless nights. It was a completely new experience for me, to be entirely in charge of a tiny human being! 

 I had to take "E" to the baby home once the scabies were gone. I wanted to keep him with me, but there were several reasons why that wasn't best. For one, I wasn't going to be in Bolivia forever, and the longer I spent 'mothering' this  baby, the harder it would be on both of us when I left. He was also (in a way) getting spoiled. He had my undivided attention at all times and the sad truth was that eventually he would move into the baby home, which is arguably the best baby home in the city, but still could never compare to the love and care of a parent. 

Finally, it wouldn't have been fair to the older kids at Casa Dos for me to keep "E" any longer. I was living with the big kids and still working my shifts, but all of my extra time was going to this little one, which wasn't a bad thing, but I had made a commitment to work with the older kids and I wasn't able to do everything I wanted with them when the majority of my time was going to infant care! 

I LOVED having "E" with me. When I left in 2011, "E" was set to be adopted but like so many cases, it fell through. "E", my baby is still with CDA and it's amazing to see how he's changed and grown over these three years.

....to be continued

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

1 Thessalonians 5:17

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing".

I know in our world there is always something or someone to pray about. But there is no reason that we can't live our lives constantly in prayer....

So this week, I ask that you take a moment and pray with me for these two young ladies;

"B" the younger sister is a precocious 5 year old, who a lot of times ends up taking care of her older sister "S"

"S" is a cheerful and very imaginative almost 7 year old. Sadly she "S" has 'FAS' or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which you can read about here. 

Because of the FAS "S" sometimes has trouble focusing when instructions are being given and sometimes winds up getting herself into trouble because of that. 

I really believe that what she would benefit from most would be a committed Mother and Father who were working together to make sure that they were giving her the attention and training she needs in order to have a happy childhood and a successful and Godly life.

Younger sister "B" was quite young when she arrived at Casa de Amor, but has some memories of her life before. She makes references to her mother and father, who are both gone for good. I found it was usually when she was being punished for something when she would defiantly tell you from her timeout spot that her Mother and Father were coming to punish you and that they would be very upset we were treating her this way. 

(Though this behavior was both disobedient and unhealthy and had to be dealt with, it still could be pretty funny to have a four year old tell you with complete confidence that you were going to be sent into timeout and that you should wait and see how you liked it!)

My heart breaks for them, these two precious, hilarious and loving girls who so far have not known what it means to have parents, or a 'normal' family life.

So please pray for "S" and "B". 

• Pray that paperwork and courtdates and all of the legal battles that have to be won are miraculously expedited
• Pray that these girls will not grow bitter or sad during this season of waiting.
• Pray for the Tias who are working with them on a daily basis, pray that they will be given extra measures of patience and wisdom when dealing with these Children.
• Pray for the parents God has waiting for them. Pray that they are even now preparing mentally and emotionally to train up these girls in the way they should go. 

THANKS FOR PRAYING!! I head back in 25 days! I can't believe it!

-Kaley

For the least of these...

Not everyone is a 'kid' person. I didn't even consider myself a 'kid' person until a certain group of beautiful children halfway across the world stole my heart. Now it's hard to go through an entire day without thinking of one of them, or a funny story from my time in Bolivia. Sadly, however, it's often hard to think of the funny, or the adorable without also thinking of the heartbreaking and the devastating lives that these kids have had.
So over the next few weeks as I prepare my heart to go back to Bolivia, I'm going to be praying for my children, one by one, and I ask that you pray with me. It is my greatest desire that these children will each never have to suffer any more devastating pain or torment and that wherever ever they end up that they will remember the lessons that Casa de Amor has worked so hard to teach them, about God's love and forgiveness.

Today, please pray with me for this precious young man, "A". (Due to some CDA policies, we're not able to publish names with pictures)

 Due to paperwork delays, failed adoption attempts, and a number of other heartbreaking reasons, this soon to be 9 year old has been at CDA longer then any other child.

 I cling to the hope and knowledge that God has a plan for his life, an amazing future that I can't even imagine for him.

 While I was in Coch, I was able to observe this spunky character at his best and his worst. He can be a fun loving, creative, playful child, as well as having his moments of being a bit more difficult!

 It has been hard for him over the years, watching other kids come and go, getting to meet their new parents and begin their lives. Because of this he can be a handful. He has trouble connecting with new volunteers, understandably seeing them as just someone else who is free to come and go, entering his life and then leaving.

 So here's what I'll ask you to pray for:

1. Pray that everyday he spends under the care of the CDA staff is a chance for him to grow in character, in wisdom as well as in stature. Pray that the Tia's and volunteers will administer lessons, discipline and love with knowledge and in accordance to scripture.

2. Pray that he will not become hardened by the rough life that he has had, but that he will flourish into a strong man of God.

 3. Pray for his parents. Whoever and wherever they may be, pray that God may soften their hearts toward the idea of adoption, and that if they don't know the Lord now, that they may find him, so that they will be able to continue to train "A" up in the way he should go.

 Thank you for praying! I believe all things are possible through Christ, so I will keep you posted on how God answers our prayers for this precious young man