Playing with the Kiddos

In Bolivia a foster care system doesn't really exist, adoption is a long and increasingly difficult process, and many parents have more children than they can care for. For these reasons there are many many orphanages or children's homes, full, sometimes overflowing, with kids who's stories could break your heart and who's smiles and hugs will mend it right back together.

A lot of my friends, both in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, work full-time at these homes, and until recently I envied their closeness to these precious kiddos. But now that I'm starting to get settled into a more regular schedule I have plenty of opportunities to have a little one crawling into my lap, climbing on me for a hug, begging to brush my hair, or teach me these hand-clapping games which might be impossible for people over the age of twenty to learn, or at least improbable when they teach me 700 different patterns, instead of letting me repeat any of them. But I digress...

Here are just a few of the recent experiences I've been blessed with. Casa de Amor is a set of three children's homes in Cochabamba. My friend Savannah volunteers in the baby home, so I got to see the kids regularly at church and sometimes help get them there and back or get them fed afterwards, I don't know how she does it. Especially now that they have premature triplets in the house that require constant attention! When I visited Coch last week for Mateo's super-surprise birthday fiesta we got to have a slumber party with the triplets, meaning Savannah stayed up all night feeding them and I mostly slept through it all, but I had lots of fun with them when I was awake.

Cristo Viene is a girl's home in Santa Cruz that my friend Adreana helps run. The home is low on funds, but not at all short on love. These girls love getting their pictures taken and love visitors of whom they will be having plenty over the next few months as they're building a new dormitory with help from many short term teams, such as the one from Mosaic Christian Church in August!

Talita Cumi (in the third picture, and yes that's their parrot on my head) is near and dear to my heart and very near my house so I get to see those kids with increasing frequency. Last night, about a dozen of them and their tias (meaning aunts literally, but is the word for staff at many homes) piled into my car to support one of their long-time leaders, Graciela, at her gorgeous wedding. They were some beautiful and energetic (as in dancing till 3am) teenagers.

Yesterday, over fifty girls ranging from 8-12 years old from many different organizations and families around Santa Cruz were transformed into princesses. I had the privilege of baking some decadent cupcakes and being a table counselor. My princesas were adorably timid, but really excited (much more than they let on in this picture) to have their photo taken professionally and get to create and decorate a little frame for it, while learning all about being heiresses to the King of Kings.

Each of these homes, and so many more, accept interns and volunteers for a variety of lengths, so if you've got some time or need some hugs, pray about how you could be involved or give to these little people with so much potential. I'll continue to play the part of community jungle gym until you come down to fill in for me, and probably even when you do, I just can't get enough.

I put a few more pictures of these photogenic niños on Facebook as well, in case you want to see more of their smiling (or in some cases smiling-on-the-inside) faces.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -- Matthew 19:14

Resonating

Here are a few thoughts that have resounded with me recently:

I don't really care what your faith does for you after you die, I care a lot more about what your faith does for others while you're here. --Shane Hipps, Mars Hill Bible Church, on what unbelievers thought of his evangelism.

Love God and do as you please. --St. Augustine

She was ready every day and every moment, asking God, “Who do You want me to love for You today?" --Francis Chan, Forgotten God

Faith means you want God and want to want nothing else. -- Brennan Manning,

The Ragamuffin Gospel

I had rather exercise faith than know the definition thereof. --Thomas a Kempis

He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, “Oh, so you have been overlooked? They have placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all?” And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of the dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself, and cease to care what men think. --A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

He had everything, but he possessed nothing. There is the spiritual secret. --A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

No es bueno dejarse arrastrar por los sueños y olvidarse de vivir. --Dumbledore, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal

Despues de todo para una mente bien organizada, la muerte no es más que la siguiente gran aventura.

--Dumbledore, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal

In Him we live and move and have our being. -Acts 17:28. All of us are swimming in God though we may not realize it. Every moment of your life God is pressing against your skin. Every time you inhale God is exhaling and putting life inside of you. --Erwin McManus, Mosaic

If a Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Then here's the story of our two-day trip to see the communities where our new World Concern project is working.

The Road/Riverbed to get there

The Transportation/Our Hero

The reason no other N.G.O.'s work in this area, it's kind of hard to get to.

Being stuck provided a good opportunity for learning to use the winch for future fun with my Land Cruiser.

Homes

The family cow, pigs, dogs, chickens

The Oven

Sadly, Not a Clubhouse

The Church

The Team

(the Land Rover really was the most irreplaceable member, so it couldn't be left out of the photo)

The reason for it all; loving on the people in Christ's name.

Recruiting

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

-John 10:10

"Everything I have learned about foreign missions, I have learned from your pictures. It looks as though being a foreign missionary means that you get to dress up like a fairy princess and go around to a new city every other week and they throw a party for you, let you pet their dogs and swim in their pools."

I know the friend who said these words was just teasing, as most of you are when you give me a hard time for having more adventures and excitement and peace than someone who's supposed to be suffering for Jesus should be allowed to have. But whether there's a hint of truth underneath your quips or not, I thought it was about time I addressed the excessive amount of fun I often appear to be having in my photos.

Two things:

First, I don't want to document in pictures or blog posts the struggles of being far too far from snow, Wal-Mart, English, family, churches that I love, and almost any of you reading this. I'd much rather share the blessings that I'm surrounded by, and in so doing choose to focus on those things. (Philippians 4:8)

Second, being a missionary's awesome! If you were holding back from committing your life and work totally to serving Christ in some way because of the sacrifices you'd have to make, let me be the first tell you, and show you, how "abundant" the life He has for you can be. Even if there weren't Doble Quince birthday parties, salt flats, sand dunes, and fern forests, there would still be a plethora of neglected kids that soak up love like a sponge, students that want to hear more about Jesus, and opportunities to help some of the poorest of the poor.

So, come join us on the field, where ministry and fun are not mutually exclusive.

Still perfecting my recruiting slogan. But for now, gotta run, there's a baby lizard crawling up my wall, I need to let him out...