Lots of smiles, lots of pics....

Well, I feel like there is so much to write about since it’s been about a month since my last
post….sorry about that. Hmm where do I start? I suppose we would officially say that rainy season has started here in Bolivia, it’s going to be a long couple months. No it’s really not that bad, there’s a lot less sun and frequent down pours when you least expect it. October has been a big month here at the hacienda; people have once again come and gone. We had to say goodbye to our great friend Jeff. Him and I arrived in Bolivia together, so it was hard to see him go. He may be back, we’ll see.

We spent a lot of time with the kiddos this month, playing, learning, and swimming. One Saturday, we had the kids from the Villa Israel Orphanage over at our team leaders house. They have a pool so of course the kids had a blast. Here are some pics of the kiddos sunbathing. Here is a pic of Jhoel, the boy I want to bring home with me….what a great kid he is.

The other days spent at Villa Israel could not have gone better. These kids seem to improve more each time we go. I think my boys really enjoy our tutor time together, not only because of the candy I bribe them with to work, but also because they get my undivided attention for a full hour. These two are so sweet and we always have a blast. We have started memorizing Psalm 100 together in Spanish, so Ill let you know how that goes.

Here is a pic of Neydi, the girl that I mentioned in my email. What a beautiful heart she has. We still don’t know exactly how she is adjusting to her new home, but we continue to pray for her and that she would feel God’s love and her family’s acceptance. The other little guy is Arland, he has good days and bad days. He loves to eat….that’s all he ever wants to do!

So another fun thing we did this month was celebrate my birthday. I don’t think I have ever felt so special on my birthday; God is soooo good and surrounded me special friends here in Bolivia. Not only did we celebrate on the actual day, as you can see in these pics below, but we celebrated for a good week. I got a north american and a south american cake, yes!!

We also celebrated in on the weekend by going out to a nice Italian restaurant. Here is a pic with some of the other volunteers that I have the pleasure of working with on a daily basis.

I thought the celebrations were all over until the next day, another cake appeared and we celebrated with our Potosi Team. How wonderful it felt to know that, even though I was far away from home and from friends and family, I was surrounded by friends and family here.

I haven’t written about our Wednesday mornings building bunk beds in a while. Things have really been progressing over the past couple months and soon the beds will be ready to assemble. I have used some heavy duty machines and have been scared to lose a finger or a hand, but God has kept us all safe. These beds are going to be used in the new orphanages that are going to built in Chapare (the jungle area where we work). It’s very exciting to see the progress of something we have been working on for months now.

As for the other days during the week. Our time at the center has it’s up and downs. The kids continue to be crazy and unruly, but we continue to learn from them each time we’re there. I have been working with the littlest kids and they have been improving for the most part. They still enjoy climbing up the book shelves, spitting on each other, hitting each other in the face, swearing, and crying. Aside from all that, we somehow manage to teach them about Dios (God) and how much He loves each one of them. This is Dennis, probably one of the most misbehaved kids at the center, but has grown on me in a weird way. Just look at those eyes.

These are twin sisters in our class. They are bad too, but just crave a little attention.

There’s not much to say about the Frutillar Orphanage except that the kids are the sweetest kids here in Bolivia. We see them twice weekly and enjoy our time with them each time. Just look at these pics….so great!

Well thanks for taking time to look at all these pictures, even if I got a little carried away. Sometimes pictures are the best way to express how wonderful things really are. Praise God for his continued faithfulness and for all the ways he is growing the kids. I miss you all....