Busy Week + Prayer Requests

Wow, this last week has been totally busy! Some of the things I've done:

A team of 4 people from the organization Orphan World Relief (OWR) was here for a little over a week. They support Casa de Amor, and they (the founder/director and 3 others) came to visit the city, see where their money is going, and help in any way they could. They were all completely awesome and very fun to hang out with. They just left yesterday, and I know they'll be missed by all the staff and children! One day last week, with them, Jennifer, Elena, David, and a professional bricklayer (the husband of one of the House 2 tias), I helped with the building of a house for a girl who is getting off the street, and her family. That was quite an experience - we literally threw bricks at each other to move them from one side of the land to the side where the house was going to be. That night I slept (more like didn't sleep at all) with the 4-month-old triplets, feeding them every 3 hours and trying to calm them down when they cried (which was basically all night long). After a long day of manual labor, then a long sleepless night, I went home and slept for about an hour, then went back to House 1 to work for 8 hours!

Don't remember if I already talked about this, but I also went to a soccer game at the big stadium last Sunday! It was between the 2 Cochabamba teams (big rivals, very intense competition), but since it was only part of the winter series there weren't many people there. It was still a fun experience though- barbed wire separating the fans from the field, police with shields to protect players from objects thrown at them, people selling various foods in the stands (including empanadas, ice cream cones, and beans. Oh and one lady had a basket full of candy...and cigarettes. What a combo), and fans cussing at the players. I went with the OWR group, Jen, plus a few street kids who were very into the whole cussing at players thing.

This Sunday after church, I went with Elena, 4 of the House 2 kids, and the OWR group to El Cristo de la Concordia, which is a huge white statue of Jesus on top of a mountain. There are steps going all the way up, but we opted for the teleférico (cable car) that takes you to the top and back down. We took lots of pictures at the top, with the Cristo and the awesome view of the mountains and city. Afterwards we stopped at a "restaurant" (basically a street corner where people set up a long picnic table and area to cook) to drink api, a hot corn drink with cinnamon and other spices (kind of like apple cider...yum), and eat some fried dough and cheese-stuffed pastries. That night I "babysat" for Elena for a couple hours, then got myself a taxi home.

Yesterday, after working at House 1 and saying goodbye to the OWR group, I went with Elena and her church to do an evangelism program for kids in a small country town. We played outside, helped the kids make a craft (they were VERY excited to use glitter glue and stickers!), then they did some songs and dramas with a Bible lesson and verse to memorize. Then Elena found out that 2 of her kids were going to meet their new adoptive parents TODAY, so we rushed to House 2 so she could talk to them about it and try to prepare them a little. After that, some of her friends picked us up to go to a bonfire at a children's home way out in the country with a group from Florida that's been working there, the kids, and people from the church. They had the fire, music (and some people danced), soccer, and volleyball. It was a really full day but very fun, and I met a lot of new people!

So those are some of the things that have happened in the past week. It's been full of long, busy days, but also a lot of fun!

I also want to mention some prayer requests. Thank you to everyone who is praying for me and CDA; here are some specific things you can be praying for:

• The 2 kids who met their adoptive parents today (JK and E). We don't know how long it will be until they actually get adopted, but just pray that they would adjust well with their new family. Also for Elena. She lives at House 2 and these kids are basically her children, and I know as excited as she is for them, it will be very hard for her to see them go.
• Other adoptions at House 1: one boy who was at House 1 (but has been living with a foster family- I actually babysat him the first week I was here!) is being adopted this Friday. A pair of twins may be going back to their mother soon. Another pair of twins is also in the middle of an adoption. It's very exciting that so many kids will have families soon, but it will also be hard on Jennifer and everyone that works at the home. Please pray for all of those kids, the adoptive families, the staff of CDA, and that everything goes smoothly with all the adoptions.
• Maite and Teresa (my Bolivian family). Nothing really specific for them, but just in general, and that God would bless them and keep them safe. Also, another girl is supposed to come live with us for a couple week (she comes the 10th), so for her to have a safe trip and a good stay here.
• My health: I haven't been majorly sick here, but I have kind of a cold. Mostly just coughing, but please just pray that I get better because it's very annoying, both to me and to M and T!

• Keep praying for Jennifer (she is super busy all the time and does A LOT!), CDA, all the kids, and all the staff.

That's all I can think of for now...thanks for all your prayers and support!

Has it really been almost 2 weeks...

...since I last posted something?! Sorry everyone, I've totally not been keeping up with my blog here. I want to write about everything I've done in the last 12 days, but I think I'll post some pictures today and let them talk for me :) If you're my friend on Facebook, you can see even more (and get almost daily, short updates)!

Cochabamba from a mountain

My house! We live on the 2nd floor

My bedroom
The street of CDA 1

Front yard/play area at CDA 1

Micro- bus (There are lots with different routes. This is the "E")

Trufi- basically a small van (what I take most days to and from work)

Some of the older kids at CDA 1 making bead necklaces

J and S- these 2 were so excited to show off their jewelry!

One of the triplets! Soooo sweet

And the other 2 :)

They were singing for Tia Consuelo and me

Tia Consuelo with the girls (really dark, sorry!)

B- such a CUTE smile!

S- sweet girl

The kids at CDA 2 with Melissa (photographer from dallas that was here the week I got here!) watching a Clifford movie

JK and J riding a horse...

One morning in a trufi, a girl had her (not too small) dog with her! Good thing it wasn't too full that day.

I helped with a wedding (of people I don't know...) and we made these pineapple centerpieces for the tables at the reception. They were definitely a hit with the hungry guests :)

Maite (the lady I live with) cutting cheese to stick on the pineapples (with toothpicks), along with other foods

During the wedding

The reception was a PARTY! The bride's sister (maid of honor) sings in a Christian mariachi band. They came and played, and she sang a few songs with them. The reception lasted until about 12:30 am!

Not a very good photo of her (lol), but Teresa (Maite's mom who also lives here)

These are just some of the photos of what I've done so far! I also went to a soccer game yesterday with Jennifer, a few street kids, and a team of 4 people who just got here Saturday to spend 10 days working here! It was a ton of fun going to the game, then to a nearby churresqueria for dinner.

If you want to see some AWESOME photos of the kids taken by Melissa, check out Jennifer's blog! They are so cute, and you can see more kids than what I have pictures of. She has 8 posts so far (and she may post more...don't know) and these pictures are definitely worth looking at! 

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the pictures! More will come soon whenever I get the chance to upload them. Thanks for reading!

Not-so-great day

Some of the highlights of today:

• Ran to catch the trufi, which was full, and had to stand up the whole way along with 2 other people- we were literally PACKED into the tiny van. (Not horrible, but not exactly comfortable either)
• Cleaned the nastiest bathroom of my life. How do such small kids make such a big mess? (Also not comletely horrible, but I almost threw up once...that bad)
• Got peed on by a 2 year old. I was sitting down playing with some kids, and he came and sat in my lap and immediately started peeing, like I was his own comfy toilet. I don't know if his diaper wasn't on right or what but it soaked through his clothes and onto my jeans that I had to wear for about 6 more hours. (It dried, but still. Eww.)
• Got on a trufi to get home. Apparently the number 209 has several different routes, and not all of them go near my house. I don't even know where I was, but I ended up at the end of the route where I had to get out. I walked through some neighborhood until I got to a busier street, then stopped and waited for a taxi. (I definitely was not going to get on another trufi or micro. With a taxi I could just tell him where I needed to go and know that I'll get there)

After that it was fine, except my house was actually a little farther than what I told the driver, and he lectured me a little about which streets were what (There are no street signs, how am I supposed to remember all of them?). At least he was pretty nice about it though, and he still only charged me the 7 Bs ($1) that he originally told me.

Now that I've changed out of my pee-y clothes, I'm drinking some much needed water and eating some much needed chocolate chip cookies (comfort food! :P) that I baked yesterday. I know my day could have been much worse, especially when I look at a lot of people's lives here. I'm still thankful to be here, and on a day like this I rely more on God to get me through it.

To end this post on the bright sides:

• I had some new experiences and saw some new parts of town (I actually wish I had my camera with me).
• I now know either to not take the 209 home or to specifically ask the driver if it goes to Avenida Beijing (the main street my house is off of).
• I feel like I did some actual work at the home today, and I took the disgusting bathroom task away from the tias having to do it.
• Still haven't found a bright side to getting peed on. It warmed me up..?

Fiesta Sunday!

This morning I went with Maite to Cochabamba International Church. It was my second week there and I really like the church. There are people from Bolivia and people from all over the world that attend. The services are kind of a mix of English and Spanish, and I like that a lot too. Some songs are in English and some in Spanish. The pastor preaches in English, but they have a translator that they broadcast on a radio station, and people can listen to the Spanish translation with headphones. I just really like the diversity there, and everyone is very nice and welcoming. I still need to find a Bible study to go as well.

Today is Maite's birthday, so after church we came home and had a lunch/party with lots of her family! We somehow squeezed 20ish people into the small living/dining room of our house. Teresa made some kind of pot roast thing, rice with cheese, yucca, and a salad with tomatoes and avocadoes. Maite made a jello cake thing with milk and peaches for dessert. YUM. We hung out and talked (I actually didn't talk much. I'm losing my voice) and took tons of pictures with everyone. They all left about an hour ago, so after cleaning up and washing countless dishes, now it's time to rest.

That's all for now...but another blog is coming soon about some of the interesting parts of Cochabamba life/culture!

I have a schedule!

So in case you didn't know, I'm the kind of person who likes to have a schedule. I live off my planner during the school year (and I wish I would have brought it here! I'll probably buy one soon), and in general I just like to have some kind of plans. My first week here, I wasn't on the CDA schedule, and I really didn't have to be anywhere or do anything specific. I pretty much never knew what I was going to do until I woke up. I depended on other people to pick me up and take me home since I didn't know my way around the city (still don't really, but I'm starting to learn). Going with the flow like that was kind of nice for a week, but I am so relieved to now be on the volunteer schedule! I actually have somewhere I need to be at a specific time!

Yesterday was my first day on the schedule, and the first time to travel in the city by myself. The night before, Teresa took me out and showed me which trufis (basically vans used for public transportation) I could take to get to and from Casa 1, where I need to get off, and where I need to walk. I wrote everything down, and yesterday morning I set out alone. I had my notebook for reference, but I actually remembered pretty much everything! The only problem was the trufi driver almost passed where I had to get off because he was taking his time getting to the side of the road, even though I had told him that I was about to get off. A few guys in the trufi yelled at him to get over because "she said she was getting off!" After that he quickly went over to the side and stopped for me. It actually ended up being the perfect place, and I walked to rest of the way down to the home.

I worked there from 12 to 8 pm, then called a taxi to take me home. I had my address but the driver didn't know exactly where to go, so I told him when to turn and stop and everything. Landmarks are my saving grace. Most streets don't have signs or anything to indicate where you are, so pretty much the only way I know where I am is by looking at billboards or distinct houses.

My day at Casa 1 went pretty much like this:
Got there around 12, helped get the kids in and out of the bath and dressed, went with them down to the dining room to eat lunch. Ate with the kids and tias, then took them upstairs for naptime. Brushed teeth and put some of the smallest kids to bed. During naptime the tias usually just rest, but I wanted to do something. I went to the kitchen to see if the cook needed help, which she said she didn't (she always says that, but if I bug her enough she gives me something to do :p). I ended up helping give the triplets their 2:00 milk and burping them. Then I sat around for a while, until David came in with a carload of groceries. I helped carry all that in, then helped the cook organize things in the kitchen (she tried to show me the difference between naranjas and mandarinas, but they looked exactly the same to me). The kids got up from nap around 4. Changed some diapers, made some kids go potty on their little training toilets, then downstairs for dinner. Helped serve dinner, fed Baby F (the only real baby there besides the triplets), and ate a little dinner. After dinner, I helped fold laundry with one tia while another tia was singing songs with the little kids and some of the older ones were outside. After a while everyone went upstairs. I stayed in a room with the little ones, played with them and broke up fights. Around 7:30 everyone got ready for bed, and by 8 everyone was in bed. That's when I called the taxi and went home.

At home, I ate dinner and played games with Maite and Teresa. SUPER FUN. I taught them a card game, and they taught me a few. We played until about 11, then Maite and I did a puzzle and finished around 12. Then it was time for bed.

Today is apparently a holiday, so pretty much everyone is off work. This morning I've just been hanging out at home with M and T, but we may go somewhere later today. Tomorrow I work at Casa 1 in the morning, so I'll probably blog about how mornings are there. Hopefully M´s friend will come today or sometime this week to get my computer configured with the internet! Ciao for now!