Team Time

As I wrote in my email, we had a team here with us for 10 days and it kept us very busy. As interns, we are expected to do all activities with the team and answer any questions or concerns they have. There was really no free time from the minute they arrived til the minute they left. I’m not complaining, we’ll just say that I’m happy to be back into my normal routine of things. We took them to both orphanages that we work at. They got to meet the kids, play and see how they live in each home. We also were able to do tidy up projects that needed to be done at each home. We painted, planted flowers and trees, built doors, cleaned and much more. I personally think the team enjoyed meeting and playing with the kids the most. Here is a pic of us at The Frutillar Orphanage and the flower garden that was planted.

We also took a trip Sipe Sipe and did a bread run. We were able to hand out 200 little bags of chocolate milk and the same amount of snacks. Of course, we had a bunch of candy to give the little kids as well. We were able to spend a few hours in this town, it was really neat. After that we drove up the mountains to some ancient Incan Ruins. We ate lunch up there and explored what it must have been like to live hundreds of years ago…here are some pics below of the bread run and the ruins. This is my roommate craig handing some things out to the little kids....

We spent a couple days in chapare (the jungle), but did not do much because of the accident. We were able to stay at this orphanage below for the night. It was cool to see the inside of a place where children will be living very soon. We stayed there for the night and the next day went to the nearby monkey park. This a park run by volunteers who care a lot about the monkeys in the jungles. They started a park that people can visit. Below is me making friends with one of the monkeys, before he realized I had gum in my mouth and decided he wanted it. Then he attempted to pull my hair out…awesome. Also below is one of the three orphanages in the jungle...

Here is the church that we partnered with while building the orphanage....the team.

Here is craig working hard at cutting back the crazy growth in the jungle...

So after the team left, we were able to get back into our routine. Here are some pics of us at the Villa Isreal Orphanage. Its still a joy to go there and see how well the new parents are doing with the kiddos. There are rules and regulations all over the walls in the house and the kids really seem to love the parents. We (the interns) decided to try some new things with them each week. We are going to have a specific time set aside for bible study time each week. This is one area that the kids really need more of. We tried it last week and it went really well. They enjoyed the story (Daniel and the Lions Den) and the questions that followed.

This is Neydi….she lives at Villa Israel Orphanage. She broke her leg last week and will be out of remission for about a month or more. She has a lot of energy and I’m sure it will be hard for her to be on the couch for the next month.

We were also excited to get back to visiting the kids at Frutillar Orphanage. We played an intense game of soccer with them and did some tutoring. The kids have been out of school since the beginning of December, so I think they’re all ready to get back into that routine. They start school again February 2….that will be good for us interns as well because we have more options for tutoring. Here are two girls at the Frutillar Orphanage (Dhalia and Viviana).

Hope you enjoyed the updates…sorry there were a lot. There are always things to report about here in Bolivia. I miss you all lots!!!

Sweet Reunion!!

Thursday January 8th, 2009. A day I will look back on and smile. Craig (my roommate) and I went to visit the kids at Villa Israel and it was the sweetest reunion I have had in a long time. Before I left, I gave them a mini countdown calendar so they would know that I was coming back and on what day. So I decided to hide while Craig rang the doorbell. They all came to the door and came out saying hello to Craig and looking around. I jumped out from behind the wall and they all screamed, “hermana Jenny, Jenny!!” It was the cutest thing and it brought tears to my eyes; which as some of you know is a hard thing to do. They bombarded me with hugs and “te extrane mucho”(I missed you a lot). The rest of our time there was very fun. We all went to the park, I showed them pictures of the snow from Chicago (they loved that), I gave them each a little gift from the states, we read some books, colored and had snack. It was a fun filled day and a wonderful way to spend my first day back.

Things in Cochabamba are the same, except greener. We live in a forest area and when I left, things were not as green. Now I feel as if I’m living in a jungle, with growth everywhere and green everywhere. It is gorgeous and I’m very blessed to be living in this house. While things in the city remain the same....things at the hacienda have changed drastically and for a week it was me and Craig doing ministry together. In December we said goodbye to the two Katie’s, Kristen and Bethany, all who had been here since I arrived in July. It’s been hard not having anyone sleeping in my room or running into the girls in town. There are many things I miss, but I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with them. Leanne (a girl from the states) is scheduled to come this Thursday, so I look forward to having another girl in the house.

There is really not a lot to write about right now, since I just got back and am getting back into the swing of things. I look forward to getting back into the schedule I had before I left. I want to continue with ESL, bible study and much more. Bolivia has been and will be my home for the next five months and I’m excited to see more of God and his work here . Here of some pics…hope you enjoy them!!

Here´s craig being crazy with the kids...

Here are some of my best buds....adrian and craig!