Journey with God's Precious Lambs

Update.....WOW been awhile....

2009-08-03T22:38:00.002-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,
Wow! Time has flown!! It has been awhile since I have written you and thought I would let you know what is going on in my life. I hope this email finds you doing fantastic! After nannying for a family in Montana for 2 months, I came home due to several reasons. I came home and drove out to do a trial period with a family in Louisville, KY. I loved the children and the family I was staying with, but during the 2 weeks I was there God showed them that they weren't spiritually ready to be a leader to a nanny. It was a neat experience and they were so encouraging to me. It was unexpected to go back home, but it was a great time getting to know them and I still stay in contact with them. Before I headed home, I stopped by to see an old time friend in Nashville and my friend Beth from Wisconsin happened to be in the area too! We had a girls night and it was fun despite the unexpected news. I went back home and started searching for another nanny position. Mid April I started nanny for a single mother of 2 children. It was totally different from the other 2 positions being she wasn't a Christian and I didn't live with her. After nannying for her for 7 weeks, I put in a 3 week notice, and it has gone downhill from there. I am still praying for the children and for Abby. She has been hostile vendictive towards me since I left the beginning of June. God had me in their lives for a reason, and I pray that the seeds I planted in the kids' lives and Abby's life will be rooted. "God, so now what?" I asked myself. I searched for different positions and no luck in this days economy. Mom suggested that maybe it was an opportunity to go back to college and finish my degree. Being that I don't have a desire to teach, I knew that I didn't want to go back and finish that. I realized that I still have a passion for Spanish and God could use me in that area. So after lots of praying and searching, I have decided to go back to Missouri Western State University and finish my degree in Spanish. If I have things calculated correctly, I only have 9 classes left!!! That is REALLY exciting! I should complete a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish December 2010 if I can get into a certain class this fall. Right now the class is full and I have to have special permission from the professor to be able to take it. I won't know anymore information until August 18th at Walk-in Registration. Another thing new in my life is taking up running.....or jogging should I say! I set a goal back in June that I wanted to be able to run a mile without stopping. I thought I was crazy after starting that goal, but after 1.5 weeks of walking and running, I achieved that goal. My next goal is to be able to run a 5K....and that is exactly what I am doing! On October 10, 2009, I will be running a 5K called "Run For a Child". All the proceeds will go to a Christian Crisis Pregnancy Center called Rachel House. If you would be interested in donating money towards this please let me know. Donations are tax-deductible. I will need your name, address and phone number. You can also donate online at: http://www.active.com/donate/runforachild

Some of you may want to know what is going on with the orphanage and my future plans. With the orphanage the kids are doing great. Most of the students/children I taught in Kinder are no longer there. A lot of them went back with their families, which were all good situations! Zuleika is in the process of getting adopted within the next couple months along with her 4 siblings. This has been a LONG process for them, but God knows when they will be with their family! Paúl is sill at the orphanage with his 2 siblings. Ericka is back with her mother and her little brother (who wasn't at the orphanage). Saúl and Lady are back with their mother, and are really happy. She put her faith in Christ during this whole process, which is really awesome! Jhonatan and his sister Nayeli are back with his mother, which was long over due. She visited him every Saturday consistantly and loves him VERY much! Edwin is still at the orphanage and is Miss Aly's class! He still talks about me and tells me that "Tia Mommy" is in the US. I LOVE IT! Maybe someday I will be able to adopt that little boy! Sebastian and Yan Pier are still at the orphanage as far as I know. FINALLY a few days after I left, their mother was located and told us their given names. That is the orphanage and if you are wanting to support them monthly or want the US Administrator to speak at your church, please let me know and I can get you that information.

Future plans.....let's see! I am going back to college in the fall. I am still dating Marc Hawkinson and we are doing well. He is great and I love him very much. God has brought him back into my life and it has been a challenging reconciliation with our families, but God is still faithful and is leading us in the direction that He wants us to go. I have an interview tomorrow with Hy-Vee in St. Joseph, MO, and could use your prayers in the job area. I am still planning to go back with YWAM after I finish college. I am hoping to be able to do translation with them at the base in WA along with nannying for the staff's family. Sorry that I can't give you more information on what is next, but God will reveal everything in time....His perfect time!

Thanks again for all of your support throughout the years! I am truely blessed to have family and friends like you! I pray that God blesses you abundantly as you continue to give towards His Kingdom! Here are some prayer requests:

1. Pray that I will be obedient to God's calling on my life concerning my job situation.
2. I have a court date on August 24, 2009. Pray that God's will be done in that situation and that Abby will turn her life over to Christ someday. Also pray for the children as I am sure they are having a hard time also through the whole situation.
3. Pray that Marc and I's relationship will continue to remain pure and that we will be obedient to what God has in store for us as we seek His will for our lives and our relationship.
4. Pray for the finances to come in for the orphanage. They are wanting to be financially independent from Mr. Miller.
5. Pray that I will be able to get into the class, for it is a pre-requisite to all the other classes I will be taking.
6. Pray for continued health for me. As I am preparing and training for the race, I pray that I won't have any injuries.

Thanks again and God's blessings to you as you continue to serve Him!

Serving Him in Love,
Amy Elizabeth Pitchford
201 E. 14th St.
Kearney, MO 64060
Webpage: http://home.att.net/~greatcommission/Pitchford/
http://hogar-de-esperanza-amy.blogspot.com/

Finale at Hogar de Esperanza

2009-02-21T14:28:00.002-06:00

December was a BUSY month! My last day of working with the Kinder class was December 2nd. I had one day off to finish getting ready to leave the 4th to go and get Mom. I had almost everything packed and gone through so that I had the rest of the time when we got back to the orphanage to spend with the kids. My last day of teaching was really a sad one. Edwin was being a pistol that day and was disobedient. I didn't want him to have to sit in time out, but he had to....even had to send him back to his house for trying to bite me. It was really sad. If you have ever seen E.T., he sounded like E.T. when he screams in that movie! He thought I was leaving that day and was screaming at me saying that he didn't want me to go and get Mom and that he didn't want me to leave. I said I would be back in a bit to talk with him. I went back and then sent the other kids back to their houses.....since it was the end of the day. I went back and he didn't want to let go of me. He is like my child. He has called me "mommy" for a long time, and at times I wondered if he really thought I was his mother. I would LOVE to adopt him someday. He is a needy child, but needs that love that only a parent could give him! It would be awhile and a lot of prayer if God really wants that for us!

After 2 days of relaxation and 2 bus rides (one being overnight) we arrived at Albergue Infantil: Hogar de Esperanza!!! They were excited to meet Mom and I! Abel, who is normally really rough, was quite gentle with Mom! She told him that they had something in common, they both wear glasses! It was really neat to see the kids bond with her! It still makes me teary-eyed! I do have to say that she bonded with Lady the best. Every time that Lady would see Mom she would run full speed and jump into Mom's arms! It was SOOO cute to watch this! We didn't do much on Friday morning, but we took Ericka and Zuleica out for Zuzu's birthday! We had ice cream and cake and they played for a bit inside a store that has a play area! We went back and Mom, Rocio and I made the Christmas cookie dough....well Rocio made it actually! She really enjoyed that one-on-two time with us! It was fun, and she liked the dough too! On Saturday 3 of the casitas helped roll out the dough and made their special cookie that we decorated on Monday night! The other casita had their turn on Monday morning! That afternoon we took Rocio out to get her ears pierced! She wanted Roxana to go with her, so we all left on a micro ( a bus that they cram LOTS of people on!) and headed into town. We then went to Salaverry beach, and then BACK into town for dinner! We ate at Jano's! My favorite place to eat....burger with a fried egg, shoestring fries, bacon, special mayo and aji! YUMMY!!!! Sunday was a special day! We went to church with Miss Aly and then went to her house and had lunch, baked cookies, and a carrot cake! Her family is such a blessing. I have been told many times that when I come back, that is where I will live....with Miss Aly, her parents, and her 2 sisters! I love them so much, and miss them like crazy! The day ended with a picture and her mother giving Mom a special gift...something Mom will treasure forever I am sure! It was a fantastic day, ending with Edwin visiting my room, "helping" me pack! He tried picking me up, which was great, and taking a picture with Mom!!! Monday morning we made the 2nd batch and then in the afternoon made the cookies! Then we iced the cookies late that afternoon into the evening! It was a lot of fun! On Tuesday was my "despedida" which is a going away party! We had cookies and milk, and the kids sang songs and it was a lot of fun! That night we said "bye" to the kids before bedtime. OH YA!!! FORGOT.....on Friday and Saturday nights we handed out the kids' Christmas presents!!!! They LOVED what they got!!! It was so cute on Wednesday morning! Ericka knew I was leaving and ran into my arms and didn't want to let go. She had smiles all over her face! Mom and I's journey back to Lima has got to be the most interesting one! We left on what we thought was going to be an 8 hr bus ride, but that ended up being 10 hours long! Then we got in a taxi, which I thought had a bigger trunk, but boy was I wrong! All that fit in there was our 2 roll-on carry-on suitcases!!! SOOOO we had had 2 large suitcases in the front seat, 2 large ones in the backseat with Mom and I, then Mom and I also.....with our backpacks on our laps!!! So we sat in this taxi with our driver for about an hour. About 10 min before we get to the airport the driver starts talking about needing glasses. Then he proceeded to ask to borrow Mom's glasses while going through the security checkpoint to get into the airport parking lot!!! So Mom is thinking that we have just ridden in a taxi ride for an hour with a guy that can't see! All that to say that he could see, but he now has contacts. His driver's license says that he wears glasses and contacts don't pass as glasses in Perú like they do at home! He left his glasses at home and needed to borrow some! HAHAHA! The rest of the trip home is history!

It was a great year! God really taught me a lot and blessed me. We are blessed to be a blessing to others. I pray that God has made a difference in the lives of the children at Hogar de Esperanza this past year. I pray that God always got the glory for what was said and done by me. I hope that you have been blessed and encouraged through this blog! I know that I don't take credit for anything that has been said and done this past year. I know that it was God working through me to present His character to the staff and children at Hogar de Esperanza and those I came in contact to. May we always glorify God in everything we say in do.....now and forever! I am hoping to start another blog (and keep up better than I have on this one) about what God is doing in my life in Montana while I am nannying for this family of 8! So far I have loved what I am doing here with the 6 kiddos and their parents. Keep in touch!!! I love you and missed all of you. I hope to see all of you in 2009....God willing of course!!

Zuleica eating a mango! What a mess!

Ericka eating a mango!

Lady's so cute!

Sam, Ericka, and Yanpier for snacktime!

Luis Sebastian and Zuleica for snacktime.

Isn't she a doll?

Oh the fun times! Ericka and Zuleica are playing with a bouncy ball and are having a GREAT time as you can see! They are such awesome friends.

Yanpier LOVES blocks. Seeing how high they get before they fall down!

The kids were being sooo cute! Here is Nayeli, Dante, Roxana, Rocio, Lariza, Luis Sebastian and Kevin running together across the field!

My last day with the kiddos. We are learning left and right, forwards and backwards...it was LOTS of fun and they love it.
Clockwise starting with Amy: Zuleica, Luis Sebastian, Yanpier, Lady and Ericka

We are reviewing the parts of our bodies.
Clockwise starting with Amy: Zuleica, Luis Sebastian, Lady, and Ericka

The morning crew! I am Lady, Yanpier, Ericka and Luis Sebastian. Zuleica was upset that she didn't get to sit right in my lap....Ericka stole the spot!

Edwin eating a mango....what a mess though!

I stole his vest! Doesn't it look great on me? HAHA!

Edwin wanted the rest of the Inca Cola (oh how I miss that drink!), so he drank it out of the bottle!

Paúl and I.....I was the horse!

Here Saúl is my little monkey! OH, and this is "Edwin's Car" so he thinks!

I was the horse.....yehaw!
Jhonatan and Amy

I love Hilda! She is a great madre tutora! She was out playing with the girls....volleyball actually!

One of my last nights out with the girls.....and David too! CHURROS (NOT men)!!
Pictured left to right: Laura, Angela and Sam....not sure what the lady's name is or where David is! Probably hiding!

Ericka, Mom (Robin) and Zuleica! This was a great time!

Abel was so gentle with Mom. She said it was because they both wore glasses (and he was told this!).

Jhonatan with Mom! What a great smile!

Luz LOVED her new can opener that Mom brought!!

Luz and Filo LOVED the gifts Mom brought them.....they were so happy (even though their faces may not show it. Peruvians don't like to show a lot of emotion in pictures.)

Ericka with Mom on the way to celebrate Zuleica's birthday. Also, Mom's first ride in a micro! I was so proud of her diving into the culture!

Amy and Zuleica on the way to celebrate her 3rd birthday!

Ericak and Zuzu playing in Wong (a grocery store).

Some of the girls in the Chispas after receiving their Christmas presents from the staff at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, MO! Can you find Mom? Kinda like the "Where's Waldo?"!!

Rocio goes to baking classes and I asked her if she wanted to help make the dough for Christmas cookies! She was SOOO excited and did it all herself! Here she is with Mom getting ready to taste the dough!!

Making Christmas Cookies!!
From left to right: Zuleica, Heydi, Isabel and Yuliana

Alondra and Mom making Christmas Cookies

Mom and Jhonatan rolling out the dough!

Fernando, Jhonatan (rolling the dough) and Piero!

My friend who has a junkfood store! Please pray for her father for he is really sick.

We took Roxana and Rocio to Salaverry beach and to town to get Rocio's ears pierced. It was a fun time for all!

Here are our shadows!
From left to right: Mom, Amy, Rocio, and Roxana drinking her Coke!

Rocio and Roxana eating Jano's! This was Roxana's first time eating a burger! Oh how I miss the food there.....burger with a fried egg, shoestring fries, bacon, aji, and mayonesa! YUMMY!

A herd of sheep crossing the road in front of our taxi.

Amy, Arnold, and Dante after they received their presents!

Lariza really likes her lip gloss! Isn't she a beautiful girl turning into a young lady?

Lady really was ready for her candy, and look at all those barrettes!!

Miss Aly was ecstatic to receive this Precious Moments magazine! She LOVES to draw them! Here she is with her American Mother!

Amy making no-bake cookies at Miss Aly's house!

Amy's Peruvian family with her mother! Miss Aly and her mother designed and made that pillow she is holding! How creative!
From left to right: Rosi, Mom, Miss Aly, (her sister), "Momma", and Amy in front.

Mom's carrot cake that she made. It wasn't quite like the ones she makes at home, but it was still good, and they enjoyed her creations and recipes!

"Momma" gave Mom this reindeer that Miss Aly designed and made with the help of her mother. This was really special for Mom. She treasures this homemade creation!

Mom with Edwin in Amy's room. He loves spending time with Amy A LOT....even calls her "Mommy" sometimes!

Amy and Mom with all her Kinder class.
From left to right: Front - Lady, Mom, Amy, Zuleica, Ericka and Jhonatan
Back - Paúl, Edwin, Luis Sebastian, Yanpier and Saúl.

Amy getting ready to head back to class after taking class pictures!

"Cristo me ama yo lo se........Jesus loves me this I know.."

Yanpier swinging in the dolphin swing Amy brought....with the help of Mr. Miller!

Luis Sebastian swinging away!

Gardening with Laura and Angela
From left to right: Yen, Piero, and Abraham

Yen with Mom....I love this picture! It just shows a mother's love to one who doesn't have a mother physically in his life. I am sure God will send one soon!

Amy working on her "book" with Yamelit, Karina and Milagros.

More Christmas cookie time!
From left to right: Ericka, Araceli, Alisson, and Marita

Making Christmas Cookies with Mom
From left to right: Roxana, Brigitte, and Milagros

Gardening with Laura and Angela

Decorating Cookies!
Clockwise starting with Amy: Deyvis, Zuleica and Dante

Decorating Cookies!
Clockwise starting with Amy: Milagros, Elisa, Yamelit, and Roxana

The girls thought it would be funny to put "lipstick" on their lips! What sweet pink lipstick!

Amy helping Alisson decorate her cookie. Nanci is using green icing!

4 great guys! Alberto (our gardener) with Italo, Fernando and Yen! They had a great time!

With their Christmas presents, some of the girls decided Tracey (the orphanage dog) needed her nails painted too!

This was funny! If any of you know my family, we make special Christmas cookies for members of our family sometimes! Mom has this joke with Uncle Paul about "yellow snowmen". Paúl, one of my kiddos, made a snowman and decorated it his favorite color....yellow! This was printed and given to Uncle Paul for Christmas! What a memory!

Mom "writing" their names on their cookies.
From left to right: Luis Sebastian, Abraham, Mom and Yanpier

Another funny story! Mom told Angela that if she wanted to have her own cookie she had to decorate 10 cookies! Even though Mom was just kidding, Angela thought she was serious and got her cookies to decorate!

Laura with her half eaten snowman!

Oh, Pablo! I love this guy! He is our armed security guy who protects us at night! He is a great guy always wanting to learn more about the Bible and asks to read one everytime he comes! I wonder if he got one for Christmas!

Elias and Amy with his cookie! He is a special friend of mine! We are always joking and he gave me the name "no toci mi" because of my "Spanglish" not long after I arrived at Hogar de Esperanza!

Here I am with the Amigos house!

The kids said nice things and sang songs for my going away party (despedida). This is the Amigos house!

The Luces

Here I am wit all the Luces....and Yanpier!

Oh the Tesoros.....probably my favorite house because my first classroom was in their house and I spent LOTS of time with them!

Amy and the Tesoros! (and Yanpier)

Amy and the Chispas!

Yes, I was crying. Ericka didn't really know what was going on, and I have been her teacher for so long, and she was really sad. She didn't want to let go of me!

Amy with all the Madre Tutoras....and Ericka
From left to right: Milagros (Tesoros), Hilda (Chispas), Veronica (Amigos), and Silvia (Luces)

Amy with all the kids at Hogar de Esperanza!

Liz wanted a picture with Amy too!

For my despedida we had the Christmas cookies and MILK....not evaporated milk, but "real" milk!!!

Eating Christmas Cookies!

Eating Christmas Cookies

Eating Christmas Cookies

I absolutely LOVE this picture of Mom and Alisson! Once again, shows the true love of a mother to a child (even if it isn't her own).

Maria and Mom

Amy and Anabel....what great smiles!

Heydi was doing dishes, and Amy picked her up for a picture! What a cute girl!

This picture is special to Amy. These are 2 of the 3 children she had from her original Kinder class! José David (Diego Alejandro) was adopted on her birthday (7-7-08)!
From left to right: Ericka, Amy, and Zuleica

Oh Tia Mala! This is what Edwin calls Samantha....well either Tia Mala or Tia Manta!! Laura decorated this for her!

My last picture with my best friend in Perú.....Miss Aly.

Amy was welcomed home with a dog on her lap....oh SWAAAAAAAAAY BELLE GIRL!
Amy and Sleigh Belle

Here is a better picture of them! Isn't she a cutie?!?!?!

Trip to the Andes Mountains and Perú with MOM!!!!!

2009-02-07T15:09:00.001-06:00

December was a little bit of a crazy month. I will tell of my last days in my next blog. I left the 4th to go and get Mom at the airport in Lima and then we headed to Cusco! That was a beautiful time.....along with the scariest taxi ride I had EVER been in! It should have taken us 1.5 hours or so to get to Urdubamba but with a stop for pictures and a bathroom break, it took us about 55 minutes! We were FLYING through the mountainous roads...Mom in the back with NO seatbelts. If you know Mom, you would understand that she was NOT happy about that! We got to the seminary where my friend Rachel Tarvin serves at and got settled into our room! It was a relaxing time and that night we went out to dinner and had AWESOME pizza! It tasted almost as good as Mom's home-made pizza! Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Tarvin for dinner! That next day we went to Machu Picchu! This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! They are Incan ruins that have been preserved after all these years! We took a taxi to Ollataytambo, which wasn't far, and then took a BEAUTIFUL train ride up into the Andes Mountains! Some people trek it, but we didn't want to do that! That would have been vigorous for Mom and I and would have taken several days to do! When we got there it was POURING down rain and then took a bus up to Machu Picchu! It was a long trip but well worth it! We then climbed MANY stairs (which I am glad we did at the beginning instead of coming down them.....if you don't know me, I do NOT do well with heights!)!! It was still raining/drizzling at this point and we could hardly see the mountain Machu Picchu which means "old mountain". It was a challenge for both Mom and I and we got to see God's beautiful creation once again! He really amazes me with His majesty! There was one point in the climb that was REALLY scary for me! It was a drop off and we had to walk down these short stairs right on the side of the mountain, but I conquered it! I do have to say that was one of my favorite parts visiting this amazing place! I believe the best thing was that Mom and I were a few minutes short of seeing a llama born right there in Machu Picchu! We saw it take its first steps and hobble around, which was really neat! I hadn't seen an animal born in real life other than on TV! The saddest part of the story was that they took down part of this ruins just to fly the Queen Elizabeth of England there by helicopter. They needed a place to land her and I guess this was the best place for it to happen. None of the tourists walk on the grassy parts, which I think make the grassy areas just a bright green! Well this trip was a great one, and I got to spend it with the bestest mother in the world! I wouldn't have traded this time with her for the world! We did go to Rachel's church, and then headed back to Cusco to visit a few places. We did some touring and then some shopping. We stayed in a really cool hostel, but we had to walk LOTS of stairs to get there with our luggage, but found out there was a road a lot closer that we could have taken!!! Thanks to a nice guy, we didn't have to carry all of it very far! We then headed to another part of the country, the coast! We went to Paracas, which is where there was an earthquake in August of 2007. There was some damage to some of the buildings, but our hotel didn't seem to be damaged at all. We had 2 relaxing days near the "beach" so we thought! It was the beach part of the time, but we had to walk to the beach where you would swim. We took a tour of the Islas Ballestas, which have a lot of marine life! We saw penguins, sea lions, lots of neat native birds, and would have seen flamingos if they would have migrated a bit more north!

Welcome to Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Perú, Momma!!! This isn't how packed it really gets though!

Her flight arrived from Houston a little late, but that was ok! At least she made it safe and with all her luggage!

Doesn't Mom look tired? It wasn't fair that she got to go through and not hit the "button"!!! The "button" tells whether or not you get your luggage searched after going through customs!

Mom and I seeing the Andes Mountains for the first time....other than the foothills near the orphanage! This was our "break" during our CRAZY taxi ride!!

Mom in Ollataytambo before getting on the train! Isn't it gorgeous here??

Amy in Ollataytambo with the train in the background!

Our train with the vendors, which is where we got Amy's present (Mom's coworker, not me!)

Mom and I on our first train ride together! We are on our way to Machu Picchu!! YEAH!!

Look at that bridge!!! And isn't the terracing gorgeous?

Yes, it was raining, but eventually it stopped and you could see the beauty of God's creation in Machu Picchu ("old mountain")!

Here the clouds are starting to clear out.....how AWESOME our Creator is!!!

Look how high we climbed! It was a fun adventure, and yet a challenge for both of us!

Look at the drop-off! Yes it was scary at times being that I do NOT like heights! But Mom and I survived and it was awesome!

We say this little fellar right after he/she was born! Here it is with its mother! What another experience in Perú!

Mom with the Aloe plants she likes....and this one is a small one!!!

Rachel and I! We stayed at the seminary she is serving at! Mom was a blessing to her by filling up one of her luggage pieces full of things for Rachel....packed by her parents! I miss her already!

The cobble road we walked to get to our hotel! It was a long trek! When we first got there we could have taken this road, but instead we hiked LOTS of stairs with our luggage, but a nice gentleman carried our luggage up a lot of the way. What a blessing!!

Why in the world of all this beauty is a McDonald's?? Mom and I were thinking "Why put one in the center square next to all these beautiful, ancient buildings?" Oh well....

What?? A CHRISTMAS tree in Perú?? Yes, they do have that tradition also...even at the albergue this year!

Here is Cusco! It is a colorful city!

A museum we went to that was underground! It was kinda neat!

And this is where you come out of the museum! How bizarre!! It was like walking out of a dug up grave or something!

Oh the traffic in Lima! We are on our way to Paracas.

Our hotel from the pier!

The Nazca Lines we saw on the way to the Islas Ballestas!

A Peruvian penguin! YES.....they do have marine life....YEAH!!!

Some of the architecture that wasn't destroyed by the earthquake in August of 2007.

Mom likes this one, and we wish that it wasn't so blurry!

I loves this picture.....and the shape of the heart! Maybe they are lovebirds! HAHA!

Look at all the birds!

Oh and the sea lions!! They would "pose" for you, which was really cute! You can't "get" on these islands, but rather tour them on a boat!

One of the hotels that is being rebuilt because of the damage of the earthquake. They had a sign that said "No Vacancy", which I thought was hilarious....of course there isn't any!

Damage from the earthquake August 2007

Mom fed the pelican a fish, and then of course they wanted money for it! We gave them some, but they wanted more.....oh brother!

Here I am with our seashells we collected....AFTER I chased the bag, while Mom laughed and laughed, but didn't take a picture because I had the camera!

What a wingspan and beautiful creature! We watched this birds dive for fish! It was fun, and we probably stayed out for an hour or so! What great mother-daughter bonding time!!

What a fantastic sunset!!! How gorgeous our God ends our day!!

November 2008

2009-02-07T14:06:00.000-06:00

November got even crazier! I had 2 more kiddos added to my class! Luis Sebastian and Yanpier (FINALLY we know their real names!!) came with nothing. They were found on the streets with nothing, including no clothes, and their stomachs full of parasites. They didn't know what a bathroom was and went outside to the bathroom. Luis Sebastian was really scared of the bathroom at first, but learned that it was ok after a couple days! They are cute and lovable kiddos! I miss them A LOT! They LOVE cars and books! They aren't as into puzzles as the other kids, but they would spend hours looking at books!

Sam's friends came to visit and we had a Thanksgiving Eve celebration with the Americans and some Peruvians! We played Mofia and a few other Peruvian games, which was really fun!!! We had Chinese food! We didn't "celebrate" Thanksgiving as Mom and I would have at home, but it isn't what we do and eat, but rather where our hearts are and what we are thankful for, and remembering that! This is the first Thanksgiving I have EVER "worked"!! We didn't do anything special, but now that I think about it, we should have had a Thanksgiving party!! They would have liked it!

This month was REALLY busy, I was giving the task of the Kinder curriculum! For about 3 weeks I worked 15 hour days. I spent A LOT of time on the curriculum...preparing the pages that go with their days, and then translating it. I finished 20 of 109 days for them! It was a challenge, but it was a great challenge.

I do have a funny, yet scary story with Luis Sebastian and Yanpier. They LOVED to escape (and it didn't help that I was potty training Zuleica and had to leave the room frequently)!! I was chasing Yanpier because he escaped and was headed for the main door....which he couldn't have gotten out but still! So when I caught him and went back to the room, all the kids were there except for Luis Sebastian! I could hear his voice, but didn't know where he was. I realized what he was doing. He was counting the steps going up to the roof. I ran up the stairs and he was running away from me. That was the scary part! He could have fallen 3 stories if he would have decided to climb over the edge! He cried, and I asked what he was doing, a little scared tone in my voice. He said, "Tia Amy, I just wanted to count the steps." Oh the joys of being the Kinder teacher to 9 students! We decided to split the class not long after this, and now they have a gate, which was a GREAT idea!!! I had the younger 5 (Zuleica, Yanpier, Luis, Ericka, and Lady) in the mornings and the older 4 (Jhonatan, Paúl, Saúl, and Edwin) in the afternoons. It was working a lot longer hours, but the stress minimized A LOT!

Oh, Yanpeir......and Tia Amy! I miss that little booger! He is quite the character.....and runner!!!

Here is Lindsay (Sam's friend) with Luis Sebastian! He always wanted to be held and loved on! He got lots of it before I left!

Paúl is really fast at handwriting coordination exercises and writing his name. He's getting better!

Edwin LOVES writing his name!

Jhonatan working on handwriting coordination! He doesn't like it that much, but he does it without fussing about it!

Saúl working on handwriting coordination! He was doing great!

All of my class, Miss Aly's class, and Lindsay running down the sand dunes....together as a team! It was a great sight to see, but we almost lost Luis Sebastian to the grassy area up top. Thanks to Lindsay we got him before he ran up there alone!!!

Miss Aly running down the sand dunes!

Here is Miss Aly's class and my class for a farewell party for Tia Lindsay! It was fun, and we went to the dunes too!

Lady showing off her painting!

Paúl reading to his "students".....the puppets! How cute!!

Jhonatan working on his letters....so we think! He really does like to put them together and learn them!

Edwin is "reading".....haha! He loves the giraffe the best!

Saúl loves books, especially the Cubbies books! The kids things they are just fun to work will and learn the verses!

Paúl reading "Perro Grand, Perro Pequeño"......I think it is called "Big Dog, Small Dog" about 2 dogs who are friends and do everything together! They really enjoyed this book!

Oh, the Spot books! Here Ericka is reading it to Jhonatan!

Amy working on the Kinder card program with Zuleica. Even though she doesn't look like she enjoys it, she really does!!

Angela and I took 5 boys out (mostly from Kinder) for Jhonatan's birthday! We went to church, eat lunch, then to the beach!
From left to right: Angela, Jhonatan, Yen, Paúl, Edwin, and Saúl

My FAVORITE picture of Edwin.....taken by Rocio!!! What a great photographer she is! She is only 14 years old!

Here I am with ALL my kinder class! Yes ALL 9 of them for a few days was enough for me!

Here I am working on the curriculum in the office.....and Miryan INSISTED on taking a picture!!!

Zuleica "helping" me with my curriculum! She spent the whole day with me and didn't want to go back to her casita!

Angela is holding Yanpier. He is one of the newer boys, but looks A LOT like Jesusito (a previous child who was adopted). Oh how I miss those little ones!

Luis Sebastian is one of new ones, and he LOVES to play soccer (futbol!) He would play it all day if you let him!!!

October 2008

2009-02-07T13:13:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am really bad at keeping up a blog! That is official! I have been home and moved to Montana and still haven't posted anything! So let me tell you about my last 3 months while I was in Perú!

October was a busy month. I was getting used to having 2 new kiddos in Kinder! Saúl and Lady were a handful but quickly learned the rules in the class. Saúl is quite a little boy! I miss him like crazy! He is VERY musically inclined! He loves to sing and make any kind of music with things! Whether it be drumming on the table or shaking things to a beat! He has quite the temper, but really learned how to handle it over a period of time. He is HYPER and I found out that having music on in class really helps him be calmer! Lady is VERY strong-willed! She wants it her way, but she eventually learned that I wasn't going to give into her fits. She spent A LOT of time outside of the classroom screaming to have her own way, but after a week or so of that, things changed. She realized that screaming isn't allowed in class, and neither is disobedience. They both know that they are loved at the albergue! I even had a conversation about that with Saúl one day when he was hurting himself after not getting his way. He also knows that he can forgive his mother for what she did to him....abusing him. After I left I found out that they went back with their mother. They do come back to the albergue so she can have some more counseling, and things seem to be going great! People can change when God works in their lives. I had heard that she had changed, but sometimes people put on an act to get their kids back, but I pray that she allows God to work through her and help her with her problems.

The other Kinder kids did well with the change and they like their new friends in class! Zuleica has changed a lot over the past couple months! She is learning how to express herself, which is really neat! She would go around just saying "Tia Amy" for hours! She just loves being around and helping me with anything. One Saturday she spent the afternoon with me, just helping me with whatever I was doing, whether it be laundry or working on the curriculum, or just looking at pictures on my computer! She loves to have one-on-one attention....just like most of the kids there! Ericka and Zuleica are becoming quite the friends! They laugh and play together VERY well! Paúl and Jhonatan are learning the letters of their names and the LOVE to show you them when they make them with play-dough or write them, or find them in a book! Edwin is still his crazy self! He dances and is a pistol, but I love him a lot! He still calls me "Tia Mommy" and it drives me crazy sometimes! He like to write letters also! His favorite thing to do is work with play-dough! He will make animals or letters in his name with it....and sometimes the vowels! We worked with play-dough a lot in October and November! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!!! (I just realized that I used some of the pictures in the previous blog, but there are some new ones on here.....sorry!)

Here is Paúl praying. We pray every morning before we start class, and then before snacktime! He enjoys praying

Zuleica praying. She is so sweet with her prayers!

And then we have Edwin, the screamer when it comes to praying, but isn't it the heart that matters most when praying?

Jhonatan and Zuzu praying. He is really quite, but when I forget to pray he is the one who reminds me! What a great student!!

Here we are heading back to their houses....in a line of course!!
From left to right: Saúl, Zuleica, Lady, Ericka, Paúl, Edwin, and Jhonatan

Lady made a ball of play-dough! She loves to make shapes with play-dough!

Saúl LOVES to sing and make music. Here he is with his "microphone" singing some song that I didn't know! He is SOOO funny, and quite the cute little guy!

Here is Paúl, with his new creation! I think he wore that one for a few days until it broke....then he cried and made a new one!

Jhonatan LOVES to make jewelry. It is a good fine motor skills activity for them!

Edwin heard Tio Elias outside, and was like "OH"! If you could only see his cuteness on video!!

Even Zuleica makes jewelry! She is really good and does use the small ones sometimes!

I LOVE this picture! Lady loved going to the beach, and there was NO stopping her of getting into the water! Of course, that is me...look how I am "swimming" in my pants!!

Here is my Kinder class when we went to the beach with Miss Aly's class! It was a fun trip!
From left to right: Saúl, Paúl, Ericka, Jhonatan, Edwin, Zuleica, Lady, and Tia Amy in the back!

Ericka LOVED getting in the boat. She didn't want to get out. She actually sat in it for awhile with the fisherman, Oscar. He brought us some fish and then took Rachel, Amber and I out in it later that afternoon!

Rachel Tarvin, my friend who is a missionary near Cusco, Amber who served with Rachel for a short period, and myself out on Oscar's boat! What a fun trip!

New Volunteers!!!

2008-12-04T01:29:00.000-06:00

Before Robyn and Joel left, we had the arrival of several new volunteers! Samantha (Tia Manta as Edwin would say), Page, and Angela. Samantha is our new volunteer coordinator. She is from Virginia and went to Liberty University. She is great. She does her best to fill Robyn's shoes, which are big shoes to fill! (no pun there Robyn!!) Lindsey is from Florida and is here for 2 months. She worked with Miss Aly's class and taught English to the children. She also was in charge of language therapy, which was a great help! She was great to have around! Page and Angela are friends and are from Oregon. Page was a madre assistant. She ended up leaving early and went to work on an organic farm, which is was best for all of us....except the kids. This was in God's plan even though it was a hard time for some of us. Angela was helping me, but after Page left, she became the madre assistant! She LOVES it! Then Laura came not long after Joel and Robyn left. She was part of the team that built our new playground! It was soooo good to see her again and become a part of our team! She is the other madre assistant. She has taken up sewing, which she seems to be doing all the time! The madres are always having her sew and mind the kid's clothes! Roles are starting to change though since I am leaving soon (even though I should have posted this in September ....which is when they came!!). Here are a few pictures of them serving here at the orphanage!

Here Sam is with Danni....Actually we were making pancakes, and he decided to join us!

Lindsey with some of the students in Miss Aly's class.
From left to right: Roxana, Isabel, Marita, Lindsey, Dante, Kevin, and Yuliana.

This is typical of Angela! She is always having fun with the kiddos! Here she is swinging with Jhonatan! Looks like they were both having a fun time!

The other volunteers hosted a girls night and here is Page (Pagina...) giving Yuliana a facial! They had a blast!

Here is Laura with Dante on the field trip to Simbol. I was back at home organizing the presentations I am giving in December and January. They had a great time....and AMAZING Peruvian stories!!!

Volunteer Fun!!!

We ALL (yes Lindsey came too!) went to Salaverry to eat chicken with the honey mustard we just made....from scratch! So we met up with David and his brother José and had a great time, including a game of spoons....which I was the photographer NOT playing!! HAHA!

Here we are headed down the road! Thanks to Pablo (our watchman) we got a picture will all of us in it!!
From left to right: Amy, Angela, Laura, Lindsey, and Sam (Page had left already :(..)

This was before we left. Aren't Angela and Lindsey cool??

My how Kinder has changed!

2008-12-04T00:56:00.000-06:00

Kinder has changed in the past 10 months! I started out with 3 littles ones. Then after Erin left to go back to the US, I had 8! Gradually over the next 7 months, I went down to 5 students! Then I got 2 more little ones! It was VERY stressful for awhile, but then we got the bright idea of splitting the class back up like it was with Erin and I. Since there wasn't another person to help out with that, we decided to have some go in the morning and some go in the afternoon, but that would mean less time off in between to work on the curriculum. The curriculum is almost finished though! I have Zuleica (2), Lady (3), Saúl (5), and Edwin (6) in the morning and Ericka (3), Jhonatan (4), and Paúl (4) in the afternoon. This makes teaching SOOOOO much easier. I can actually teach them and work one-on-one with them! Here are a few pictures of how our new classes are going:

Here are all the little ones right before we split the class!
Left to right: Saúl, Zuleica, Lady, Ericka, Paúl, Edwin and Jhonatan

Edwin praying....even though he looks like he is screaming.

Jhonatan and Zuleica praying....all the kids want to lead prayer in the morning, especially Jhonatan and Paúl.

Paúl praying....

We work on fine motor skills with jewelry and the LOVE it! Here is Jhonatan with his creation!

Saúl making houses out of letter blocks!

Zuleica after she made a square out of play-dough! Look at that smile!!!

Ericka was laughing so hard at her face! She wanted to have the same color as her sweatshirt...aka in Perú...chompa!

Lady after she made her "face" out of play-dough! How cute she is!

Paul showed me his "P" and I didn't even ask him to write that! We were working on the letter "E"!!! I will miss him!

Edwin started to write his name!

Saúl says, "LOOK! 2 triangles, Tia Amy!" Of course in Spanish, but isn't he clever!!

Our Anabel.....

2008-12-04T00:21:00.000-06:00

The day Anabel arrived to Hogar de Esperanza

The day Anabel showed any interest in me! I was SOOO excited I had tears in my eyes!

Anabel's Story

What a beautiful little girl! Anabel came to us while I was sick a few weeks back. She is 5 years old. She had a rough childhood including physical abuse, like most of the children that are here. She also had a fear of school. It really broke my heart for a week or so. Every time she would see me she would scream and throw herself in a rage. We didn't know what it was at first, but found out it was a fear of school. While I was in Lima voting, she decided she wanted to go to school with Miss Aly, and has been there since! She LOVES going to class now, which is awesome! I came back and on that following Wednesday she came and sat on my lap with a huge smile on my face. I was so happy. She wanted me to take pictures of us, so I did. This is the amazing transformation God has done in this little girl! Please pray for her as she is continuing to heal from her past. Here are some pictures of her and the ones she wanted of us:

She is a happy girl now!

She wanted these pictures....and now she is always hanging all over us! We LOVE that!!

Isn't she "wonderfully made"? She is definitely another one of God's beautiful creations!

The arrival of 7 kids in less than a week!!! WOW!

2008-12-04T00:03:00.000-06:00

What a challenge, but more of a blessing to receive 7 new little ones in less than a week! We had a sibling group of 3 come, then a sibling group of 2 and another sibling group of 2!! Our first group of 3 are Roxana, Lariza, and Dante! They are a fun group of kids. I was a madre of the girls' house not long after they arrived and got to spend quite a bit of time with them. They weren't all smiles at first, but they are now! Every time Dante sees me, he runs and gives me the biggest hug with the biggest smile on his face! The 2nd set of siblings that came are Heydi and Isabel. They are always laughing now. Heidy ALWAYS is wanting you to tickle her! Their favorite thing to do is ride bikes! They both learned to ride here with the help of the others kids! The last set of siblings are Saúl (5) and Lady (3)! They are both in my Kinder class. They were both severely beaten, especially Saúl. After spending day after day with them, they have learned to trust me and know that I will never hurt them. They know that I love them also! I just had this talk with Saúl yesterday. He is a great and SMART boy. He only has a bit more to learn and he will be able to enter 1st grade! That really excites me! Lady is always smiling now! It was hard at first with her in class with being obedient, but that is every new child! They love it here and LOVE coming to class. Sorry I haven't blogged like I should, but I will try to do a better job my last few weeks here. Here are a few pictures of our new blessings:

Roxana with her friend Yuliana out on a fieldtrip.

Lariza digging for crabs! At least the kids didn't come home with crabs this time!!

Dante was at the beach! This was their first time to the beach with us! It was a great time!

Isabel digging for crabs! She is really ornery....reminds me of me when I was younger! I am sure you can only imagine!

Heydi has to have the most contagious laugh ever! I wish you could hear it!

Saúl made a triangle out of play-dough! He is really smart!

Lady playing at the beach! She got so wet this day!

Trip to Ecuador with Miss Aly!

2008-11-22T23:50:00.002-06:00

For the last time, I had to leave Perú and go into another country. I chose to go to Ecuador again. I invited Miss Aly, our on-site school teacher of The Miller School! She is great and it was a great time for us to take a vacations as the teachers here at the orphanage. She was so excited to go and was on a countdown over a week before we left. We stayed with the same people that I stayed with the last time. This time was A LOT different. There wasn't as much as a language barrier since I am pretty fluent in Spanish now.....even to the point where I have started to think in Spanish more than English at times!!! We spent time in Machala and Guayaquil. On our way to Guayaquil was one of my favorite moments! I translated my first sermon from English to Spanish. There was one word that I just didn't know how to translate. That would be "gospel" which is "evangelio"! It took the whole time to figure it out, which was really interesting! But when we came back, one of our volunteers, Lindsay, knew what it meant! We spent one whole day in Guayaquil and learned to use the bus system which was fun. I was really excited to eat Taco Bell.....then realized what American food tastes like....and at times it isn't what I think it is going to taste like! She enjoyed it though! We went and walked the strip next to the river which was GORGEOUS! IT was definitely a beautiful day to go to Guayaquil. We also climbed 444 stairs to get to this lighthouse at the top of the hill. The house structures reminds me of San Fransisco. It was a beautiful walk up! We also took LOTS of pictures! Being that have a fear of heights, I didn't walk up into the lighthouse, but she did and took pictures. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

This was a bridge on the way to Ecuador that they were working on above a river. So instead of doing one lane at a time (like they do in the US), they put a bunch of dirt in the river and made a levy for us to drive on.!!

This lady was working with hemp, which is common here.

This is the fountain in the Plaza de Armas...well that is what we call it in Perú! It is the center of Machala, Ecuador, where we stayed! It was BEAUTIFUL!

Ok, so I knew that they have A LOT of western restaurants and what not, but come on....Cinnabon! I had a friend who worked at one of these stores in Wisconsin, and I am sure he will get a kick out of seeing this picture!! This was in a mall where I just HAD to have Taco Bell!

Amy in front of Taco Bell.....it wasn't really worth it! But Miss Aly enjoyed it!

Here is a huge waterfall....man made of course!

Not sure what this totally is, but there are several flags on it from different countries!

What a neat waterfall huh? This is my favorite picture of Miss Aly and I!!

The lighthouse where the Spaniards used to watch for the enemy coming in. We climbed 444 stairs to get there. Miss Aly climbed to the top...not me. I am sure most know that I am scared of heights!

A view from the top of the lighthouse!

The view from the stairs....and me walking down!

Pictures of Kinder...

2008-10-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

August 2008

About time I am sure you are thinking!!! Well LOTS has happened over the past month with the kiddos! Right now they are working on writing their names and their numbers. Most of them know and recognize off their shapes and colors still which is great! We are finishing up the Ten Commandments this coming up week! It is so great to hear them say them. Their favorite is "Thou shalt not steal." I am not sure why, but they say it all the time! They also have made a book where they had to color correctly what I had previously colored. We are in the finishing process of making the book! They are SOOOOO excited to have their own book. We have just memorized Genesis 1:31 from the AWANA Cubbies handbook! They tend to really like the program so far. Starting sometime in the next week or so we will have a NEW curriculum that will last for all times! I am so happy for this. It will help so much since I don't know exactly what to teach sometimes. They still like to do puzzles and the newest things are the train and bowling! They love to bowl....Thanks, Heather, for bringing this! Here are a few pictures and I am sure I will have more soon!

Jhonatan writing "Jh".

Edwin writing "d" A LOT of times!

Ericka writing "E".....she is doing so good!

Zuleica playing in the blocks!

Jhonatan and the new train!

Paul and his legos.....not sure what he was building!

Edwin working on drawing his shapes then cutting them out!

Fiorella's Despedida......Bon Voyage with her new familiy!

2008-10-20T17:50:00.001-05:00

August 28, 2008
Yet another child who has received a new family! What a blessing to see a child go from having no parents to care for her to two loving parents! She went to Lima first, which I didn't know about, and then came back a little disappointed. She didn't get to see her new parents or spend time with them when she went there to do paperwork or something of that sort. Her father is disabled from a military accident a long time ago, so it was hard for them to come and see her.....but they did! They came and spent almost a week here at the orphanage. They roomed and got to bond with her in apartment 6, which is another reason that Mr. Miller had them built! It was a great time of bonding for them. Being that normally we don't get much time to talk with the families, this time we did. While Fiorella and her new mother went shopping for new things, her dad would stay back and talk and tell stories....kinda reminded me of Uncle Elbert when it comes to story telling! They had a BIG party the night before they left to go and live in Lima! Here are some pictures of the party and of Fiorella and her new family!

Fiorella with her new family!

Partying in the Comedor!

The tables of treats....look at those 2 cakes! One was for Robyn's birthday from Fiorella's parents! How sweet of them!

Some of the boys with Araceli playing a game!

Joel and Yamelit playing a game!

And there isn't a party without singing!!

Fiorella with Samir! He gave her a card!

Mirian's Baby Shower!!!!

2008-09-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

Mirian, our social worker, is going to have a little boy in October! I am so excited for her! She got married while I was here, but didn't have a big wedding though. On August 22, Robyn and Kristi threw a baby shower for her. It was a little different from those back home.....there were SEVERAL men there, and the games were different, but fun! We did a game where things were in a bag and we had to guess what they are without looking in the bag....things that you would need when having a baby. Then we drew a baby with the paper on our head, which was interesting! We had her change a diaper blind-folded, which was fun for all to see! We ended with treats and coffee, along with stating one word for her being a new mother....mine was "paz", which means peace. Here are a few pictures of the baby shower and all her gifts (I am sure my family can guess what she got from Robyn and I)!!

Yes, Mirian "changed" the diaper, but in the end it was on backwards!

Kristi, Mirian and Robyn observing the baby!

Mirian with her box of gifts....the box was made my Miss Aly's class!

Amy, Elias, Sarita, Hugo and Liz drawing "babies" on our heads! (well on the paper of course!)

Joel, Nanci, Alex, Miss Aly, Silvia, and Veronica

Nanci, Alex, and Miss Aly

Joel and Nanci

Now you know what Mirian got from Robyn and I! (It was Robyn's idea though!!) Mirian was really excited to get it! It has polar bears on it.....red with a brown backing! Other than the strawberries, this is my favorite fleece here in Perú....so far!

Hmmmmmm....Jammies!!

The Winnie the Pooh mobile!

Mirian with all her gifts!

All of us with our "bottles" that Miss Aly made!

Well Mirian and Elias TRIED getting all the gifts into the new diaper bag, but couldn't get it all. They asked me, and I got it all to fit.....not breaking a thing!

Alisson's first day of Pre-K and Rocio and Yuli's first day of baking class!

2008-09-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Alisson is 4 years old and got a chance to go to Pre-K at the Christian school (Betania) in Salaverry. Being that we already had paid for Isaias to go to school, we could send another after Isaias got adopted back in June. So here she is on August 4, 2008, in her new uniform....well Isaias's uniform....ready to head to Betania for the first time!!!

Here comes that new school girl!!!

All dressed up in uniform!

Alisson with her "muchila"....backpack!

Is she scared? No!!!! Just a cute face!

Alisson in the van!

Also Rocio and Yuli started going to baking classes! They have come home with LOTS of new and delicious cakes which they sell to us at a small price. This is a great program. They are learning a trade which will help them in life. Most likely they won't get a valid high school diploma but they do get an education here with Miss Aly. Here they are with their first cakes!!

Rocio and Yuli with their first cake!!!

My Kinder Class while I was gone to Huaraz!

2008-09-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

While I was gone to Huaraz for my birthday with Sara, two volunteers from New Mexico (part of the 5 Amigas) took over my class! It was great to see what they did when I returned! They decided to read "El Arca de Noé"....."Noah's Ark"! They did 2 art projects with them, which was awesome to come back to. One was making the ark with popsicle sticks, and the other was a HUGE rainbow with tissue paper on it! They said that the kids did test them and that they were firm and followed through with things, which was great to hear! I missed them alot, even though I was only gone for 3 days. While I was in Huaraz we did have a transportation strike, which was a bummer, but I think I already mentioned that in another blog....sorry if I did....that is really bad!

The kids being "animals" of Noah's Ark

More animals in the class!!

Emily telling the story of Noah's Ark

The kids eating their "refrigerio"...snack time!

Another nice day in Perú.....

2008-09-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

We don't have too many nice days to go up the sand dunes. This was a nice day, so Joel and I took the kids up along with a worker's cousin for a fun time!

Rocio, Zuleica, Yamelit, Joel, and Yuli

Kristi's cousin, who visited us from Lima, jumping in the sand!

Ericka, Maria, Joel and Yamelit jumping together with Zuleica and Rocio watching....and me too I guess since I am taking the picture!

Zuleica enjoying the sand.

Edwin burying his feet....."Tia...pies? No hay!!" That is him asking where his feet are, then saying they aren't there! How cute he is!

A train of people going down the hill being pulled by Maria. Not totally sure how it started, but I think it was Joel being ornery trying to pull others down the hill, but I could be totally wrong!

Maria and Zuleica....not sure what Zuzu thinks of going down the sand dunes!

Carrying Alisson up the sand dunes!

I can't believe he carried Fernando all the way up the hill!

Joel and Yuli!

Desfile....aka Parade!!!!!

2008-09-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

What an exciting day! Almost the whole orphanage was in Salaverry on July 27th! The kids were marching in the parade! This is VERY traditional here to have a parade around their Independence day. They have 2 full days of celebration for their Independence Day which actually was Monday, July 28th and Tuesday July 29th. We were off those days from work also. It was a neat experience. It was just the officials of Salaverry, the Marineros and the kids in the surrounding schools who marched in the parade! Here are some pictures of the parade:

A little boy who is going to march in the parade

The bleachers where people sit during the parade

Paúl waiting for the parade.

Los Marineros.....Marines/Navy

The government officials of the city carrying Perú's flag

A Kinder class in the parade, but not my class.

Kids dressed up in clothes in different parts of the country.

The kids here at the orphanage in the parade!!!

Yen and Brigette

Franklin, Elisa and Jhonatan in the parade.

Alondra and Karina marching.

Piero and Davis marching

Brady's Group!

2008-09-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

Brady, Trish and his family brought their youth group to Perú for a week. Other than Yessenia's Quinciñero, they painted our main building here at the Albergue, pulled LOTS of weeds, played with the kids and did 2 dramas 2 different nights in Trujillo. It was a lot of fun and many came to faith in Christ those 2 nights. First our building....it was this blue and orange color, but now it is similar to the casitas! It is lighter blue (almost if not the same blue from before) with the stripes painted a darker blue! I LOVE it, and so does everyone else! They also painted 2 of our signs, which was really neat....It is so bright now and we can see it so clearly from the road! They played as much as they could with the kids and lots played with my Kinder class! They also performed 2 dramas. One only to music and dancing and the other was a form of Redeemer, but I think called Doors. I have a few pictures of the drama, but they aren't the best! They were performed at the Plaza de Armas in the middle of Trujillo and then at a small mall that their translator was the manager of. They invited me to come along and help translate if people want to talk or be prayed for! It was a great time and I could feel the Spirit moving throughout those nights! Here are some pictures, and I hope you enjoy them!

The Dancing Drama

Man being created......Drama called "The Doors

Dancing and looking at the creation that God has given man.

Man pushing away God and His love for us

Man says "NO" to what He has to offer.

She chooses 4 doors (partying/drugs, materialistic things, relationship which leads to pregnancy and abortion, then suicide)

Still nothing made man happy

Man and God reuniting. Then he shows her what He has done for her sins....gets crucified...

Christ being crucified

The end where Christ has conquered the grave and man and Christ dance!

The crowd of people that wanted to know Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives! What an awesome experience and blessed time it was!!

Brady's Group from First Baptist Church of Platte City, MO

Orphanage giving their "despedida"....going away party!

The group giving their "despedida"

Pedro singing a song for the group!

Abel and his new best friend!

Eliza and Yuli.....best of friends....and "sisters"!

Josue presenting his paintings to his US Father figure!

My first Quinciñero to attend....

2008-09-05T19:15:00.000-05:00

On July 15, Yessenia turned 15 years old. She was adopted by Brady and Trish Testorff in 2006. A girl's 15th birthday is VERY special here......like her Sweet 16th in the States. It is where she is turns from a girl to a woman and is given a new pair of shoes for this resemblance. Brady gave a small speech and Trish changed Yessenia's shoes for her. It was a touching moment. We had cake and empañadas! It was a great time of fellowship and a great experience for Yessenia, her family (biological and adopted), and friends (from church and the albergue)!! Here are some pictures of this celebration!

Preparation with Luz and Betsy

The cake and bouquet!

The entryway where Yessenia walked down!

Brady and Trish

Now entering.....Yessenia escorted by her father, Brady!!

Her small bouquet was given by our director Liz.

Maria and Yamelit sang "Friends" by Michael W. Smith accompanied by Hugo on the guitar.

Her new shoes put on by her mother Trish but given by her friend. (Wedding shoes of a friend)

Robyn and Joel singing.

Testorff Family (Yessenia is on the left...you can't see her.) From left to right: David Fohn Jr.(translator), Paul, Brady, Bailee, Emma, Eliza and Trish.

Trip to Huaraz for my birthday!

2008-08-31T16:02:00.014-05:00

Well it has been awhile but I can still remember exactly what happened while I was gone. Sara, our secretary, and I left all excited to spend some time in the mountains! She had never been to the mountains before so that was really exciting for her! We left on Saturday night by bus and got there early in the morning on Sunday. Surprisingly I didn't get bus sick this time and I slept almost the whole time...that sure was a blessing!!! We got to Huaraz and our taxi wasn't there waiting for us so we called the hotel and asked them to send a taxi to us! It wasn't far and we could have walked if we knew where we were going! So when we got there we found out that there was going to be a transportation strike starting tomorrow (Monday)!!! How horrible! So they gave us 10 minutes to shower and get ready to leave for a tour to this BEAUTIFUL lake. That is what we thought!! HAHA!! So we got ready in 10 minutes and left for the lake. It was a SCARY ride up the mountain. A gravel/dirt road with no guard rails.....and I was sitting by the window......those of you who know me and my fear of heights can imagine what I was going through! But it was a beautiful ride up the mountain to the lake. Sara and I took a boat out on the lake and then got something to eat. It was a high altitude, similar to Pike's Peak in Colorado. We went to LOTS of places that we didn't know we were going to go including a place where they make pottery! It was a great time. We just walked around town on Monday (my birthday) because there was little transportation and I thought if we left town we might not be able to get back. We ate at "El Horno" where we got Pizza for lunch and then walked to the river thinking we were going to sit and just gaze at God's creation in Perú! We got to the river and no way to get down there and then the river was full of trash....that is when I realized I was really in Perú again. It is so sad how they leave trash everywhere and don't have trashcans to put things in. We did do a little shopping while in Huaraz that afternoon. So after finding out about the "paro" (strike) we tried leaving that night to head back to Trujillo. We left on time and then about 30 minutes later we had to turn around and go back. We had to stop once to have people move the rocks that were in the road, and the 2nd time we had to turn around because people were throwing rocks and breaking out windows because people were mad about the strike. It was kinda scary at first, but then we knew that when we got back we at least had a place to stay because we had to pay for that night even though we didn't stay there. We then slept a lot of the day on Tuesday which was nice. I did wake up around 7AM hearing people yelling and screaming due to the strike, but we were safe. We didn't go anywhere, but stayed put until dinner. We went out for dinner and I found a place that had burritos. MMMMMM I thought...until I got it. It wasn't the same as they are back home, so I ordered a peanut butter and banana sandwich.....YES it was on the menu!!! How crazy! We blessed a mother and her kids with the burrito and went back to the hotel. Then the next day was to be the worst so we didn't even leave the hotel except for lunch and dinner. We knew they were going to be burning tires and things could be dangerous, so we stayed put. God knew exactly why we were to stay another day in Huaraz. We got to talk with an Aussie ( Australian)! His name is Ross. He was a nice guy and between Sara and I we helped him with his Spanish. I also had an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with him. I pray that God will send another person alongside to tell him more about Jesus. Sara and I invited him for lunch and then we went shopping with him. We helped him buy a new hat and some other things before he left on his mountaineering trip the next day! We got back that night, gathered our things and left for the bus station. We made it back safe and sound back the albergue on Thursday morning! Here are some AWESOME pictures of God's creation..including Sara and I!

A stream on the way to the lake between those 2 mountains you see!

Oh the Andes Mountains!!!

Amy and the Andes

Sara and the Andes

Getting closer to the lake!

The "Welcome" sign

Here it states our altitude!

Amy and Sara on Lago Chinancocha

Here are some ladies that sold us some food. I ate a delicious piece of bread with some cheese on it. MMMM I can taste it right now while thinking about it! HAHA!

This is similar to "Christ the Redeemer" in Brazil. This was one of the few things left when a avalanche hit Yungay, Perú, back in 1970.

Not sure if you can see me, but I am sitting underneath the statue on a concrete wall.

This was a bus for transportation before the avalanche came. How tragic!

What a sunset on the Andes Mountains!!!

This is where my pizza was cooked for my birthday at "El Horno" which is translated into "The Oven".

The view from our roof/eating area!

The fireplace/sitting area upstairs with a gorgeous view of the Andes Mountains!

Amy, Ross, and Sara....our new Aussie friend

Olaza's Bed and Breakfast, where we stayed!

Independence Day/Amy's 28th Birthday

2008-08-31T15:24:00.004-05:00

Well I am SOOO behind on posting things. Well this was actually on Independence Day, July 4th, but we celebrated 3 occasions all in one! Our Independence Day, Perú's Independence Day (July 28th and 29th) and then my birthday (July 7th). It was so much fun. We sang our national anthems, including England's since Joy felt a little left out! We sang different songs like God Bless America, My Country Tis of Thee, and so forth. Then they sang happy birthday to me and we ate cake, apple crisp, popcorn, and drank soda! They TRIED to surprise me, but not sure if it was really a surprise or not because of them being a little sneaky on things. Then Elias surprised us with buying fireworks!! Him of all people found us fireworks! It was a great time to celebrate the births of our countries and me. I didn't get an egg cracked over my head, which was perfectly fine with me!!! I don't have a picture of the Peruanos singing their national anthem because I have a video of them singing it! Sorry!! Here are some pictures, and I hope you enjoy them!!!

Decorations of our flags and my head!

United States of America's flag and my head

Apple Crisp......they enjoyed it, not me!

The Americans singing our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner"

My Birthday Cake!

Katie and Liz....yummy...cancha...aka POPCORN!!

Reina, Melva, Mr. Miller, Luz, Betsy, and José David!

Elias, Sara, Gretchen, Amy, Liz and Joel!
Yes we enjoyed the cake!!!

José David waving our flag...I love that boy!

Joy singing her national anthem, "God Save Our Queen"....or maybe that isn't their national anthem but a song of theirs....sorry Joy!! We loved hearing it!

Saying "Goodbye" to Diego Alejandro...aka José David!

2008-07-08T12:27:00.002-05:00

Well time has really flown and I never thought or even imagined the little one that I am so close to was going to be getting a few family while I was here! José David and I have been close buds from the beginning.....meaning June of 2007! Yes he was REALLY ornery at times, but I love him so much! He is a precious little one with LOADS of energy. He loves to sing and play futbol....aka soccer back home! He sure can dance too, as I am sure you know from previous videos I have posted! He is leaving today for Lima and then on to Norway. This is so great for him. He doesn't do so well in the sun since he has some allergy to it. His skin really blisters at times! I got a chance to meet and spend a lot of time with his new mother and father! They are really nice people, and have waited for a little one for 3 years now. As some of you are probably wondering...why Diego Alejandro? Well, all I know is that since his new parents got word of having a son, his name has always been known to them as Diego Alejandro, and after coming here, they really were wondering why they were calling him José David! I would be wondering that too!!! After talking with them, we just came to realize somewhere along the line something was mixed up on his name, but he will be known as Diego Alejandro from now on....what a cute name! They sat in on Kinder on Friday, which was really cool neat, but my favorite part of them arriving was Diego's reaction! He saw them get out of the car and his face lit up! He got a HUGE smile on his face and said, "Momma.....Papa!!!!" He wanted to run and see them, but they had to go to the office first, and then sat in on our class! I did have to say "bye" to him on Saturday though, since Sara and I left for Huaraz that night and he is leaving today (before we get back). I thought it would be really hard, but after spending time with his family and knowing the love that they have for him, it is a lot easier! He is going home to his own bedroom decorated in Winnie the Pooh, and LOTS of cousins and other family members! There is so much more to this that makes it great....if you want to know more, don't hesitate to ask! Here are some pictures of his last days and with his new family:

Hugo, Diego, and Sarita....his "parents" at the Albergue!

Diego at McDonalds....so weird to call him Diego, but that is his name now!

I got to take Diego out one last time.....to McDonalds! He LOVED his fries and chicken nuggets! He is sure a piggy!! He ate almost a whole value meal all by himself! I am sure he will go out to McDonalds with his new family!!!

One more last climb up the sand dunes!
Amy and Diego

Diego playing futbol with his father and Paúl.

Alisson, Diego, Erika, and Diego's father on the see-saw!

They all loved the see-saw! At one point we had probably 15 people on it!

Diego with his new family!!

He did celebrate Independence Day and my birthday with us!

Not sure what we were talking about!

Our last photo together! He will always have a place in my heart, just like all the kids here!

Here he is playing "caballo" with Nayeli!

This is a typical face of him.....having his tongue sticking out with a smile on his face!

Joy and Diego going down the slide! Oh how he loved that!!

Last, but not least....."mi avion"....my airplane!!

June Birthdays!

2008-07-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

Paúl and José David were born on the same day, June 2, but a year apart!! José David is now 3 and Paúl is 4! Joy and I decided at the last minute to throw them a birthday party! We went to town and got several different kinds of cake and other goodies! It was a special time for them, and all the kids enjoyed it....even when Jhonatan kept feeding Jonah cake!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Happy Birthday banner...actually made for Bonnie, but we recycled it!

Paúl and Zuleyca with their goodies!!

José David eating his goodies....pausing for a moment with Tia Amy!

What a sweet birthday boy!

José David getting more cake with Tia Joy!

Zuleyca is finally NOT scared of the "cocodrilo"...crocodile!!

Bubbles!!!!!!!

Recent Volunteers.....sorry this is REALLY late!

2008-07-08T11:34:00.001-05:00

Well, the month of June was filled with LOTS of volunteers! When I came back from home, I met up with Joel's brother, his family, and 2 neat guys at the airport. Then at the bus station the next day, we all met up with Travis and Bonnie, friends of Robyn and Joel's! So there were LOTS of gringos on the bus ride, and to top that all off, a missionary's wife who goes to our church was on the bus with her little one too! I haven't seen so many gringos on one bus, other than coming with Robyn's youth group!!! When I arrived, Joy was still there from England! YEAH!!! She was such a blessing to take over my class for me! A few days after getting there, Travis and Bonnie left for Cusco, and then Darrel came. A few days later, Bonnie came back after seeing Travis back off to the States. He had to get back to work. Then a few days after that......Joel, Robyn, Joel's brother and his family left to go to Cusco while Ben and Bryson went back home. Then while Joel and Robyn were gone, Darrel left, then Bonnie left the day after the Hansons got back!!! SOOOO this is just part of our volunteers! We now have 5 girls from Hillsdale College with us for a total of 5 weeks, and then we had Heather (a previous volunteer) for a little over a week. We have had a full house at the orphanage.....oh I can't forget another special person! Mr. Miller came to visit us for a couple weeks!!! It was great to see him again! He did do a little bit of work on the water project in Alto Salaverry while he was here. He left yesterday, to my knowledge! Here are pictures of our recent volunteers (I have pictures of everyone but a close-up of Heather and Mr. Miller.):

Joel's Family and friends....with Bonnie and Milagros (a step-in madre)
From left to right: Joel, Laurie, Micah, Milagros, Bryson, Jeff, Jonah, Ben, and Bonnie

I just have to say that these two boys look a lot a like!!
Tio Ben and José David

Micah and Jonah were great helpers with Kinder while they were here!!!
From left to right: Jonah, Edwin, Alisson, Paúl, José David Erika, Jhonatan, Micah, with Tia Amy and Zuleyca in the front!

Bonnie covering all the books that Laurie brought!!!

Tia Joy and José David! He LOVED going up the ladder to the slide and coming down with Joy!

The kids really enjoyed Joy being their "caballo", which is a horse!
Here she is with Dani and Paúl!

Here Darrel is fixing our screens and our doors! He even put a new handle on one of the doors! He was a great handyman for a couple weeks! I do have to say that Darrel and I had some great adventures into town on micros, taxis, and an interesting lunch!!!

Darrel was LOVED by all the kids! He fixed ALL the bikes! They were so excited to have them to ride again! He spent a lot of time in this workshop with Elias!

The 5 Amigas!
From left to right: Katie, Gretchen, Betsy, Kristina, and Emily

Back to the Kiddos!

2008-07-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

While I was at home another volunteer took over my class! Her name is Joy and she is from England! She had a blast with them and did an WONDERFUL job with them. She painted with them a lot, which I don't tend to do a lot of because I am not an artistic person.....as Mom would LOVE to tell you about my childhood and art! They made guitars with string and paper, painted with their hands, created their faces, and I am sure much more! In the afternoons we have an art project of some sort with Joy or go to the sand dunes! They REALLY enjoy climbing the sand dunes, and it gives us exercise and releases A LOT of energy the kids have!! Zuleyca hasn't made it up to the sand dunes with us, but hopefully by the time Joy leaves in 3 weeks, she will have gone up part of the way! (Being that I am posting this REALLY late, Zuleyca has gone up the sand dunes with Joy and rarely wanted help! What a little trooper!!!) Here are some pictures of us going to the sand dunes:

Oh the trek!! Where Edwin is standing, is the hardest and steepest part of all the sand dunes! José David kept saying "owww" because it is kinda rocky. So I led the way and Joy helped him as I made soft sand for his cute little feet!!
From bottom to top: José David, Edwin, Heather, Erika, Paúl, and Alisson.

The view of the orphanage from the top of the sand dunes!

Tia Joy and Edwin

Tia Amy and Edwin at the top of the sand dunes!!!

The kids climbing the smaller sand dune.

José David and Amy

Kinder at the top of the sand dunes....except Zuleyca wasn't able to go:(
From left to right: Jhonatan, Amy, Paúl, Erika, Alisson, José David, and Edwin

Jerson's Last Day!!!

2008-06-28T22:57:00.002-05:00

Jerson came to us the end of November. He was in the custody of his father and was handed over to us. After being with us for 7 months, he gets to go and live with his mother! We all pray this is a great situation for him! He is a crazy kid, but full of love!!! He will be missed a lot!!!

Jerson getting ready to go home to his mother!

Jerson and Tia Amy....I really love this picture of us!

Tia Betsy, Italo and Jerson....she is also known as Tia "Pepsi"!

Jerson and his mother!.....reunited again!

Adoptions!!!

2008-06-28T21:36:00.001-05:00

Well there have been 3 adoptions since I got back! What an awesome event in these kids' lives!!!

CAROLINA...aka Carlito!!

"Father", Carolina, and "Mother"

"Father," Carolina, and "Mother"

Carolina was adopted before I got back, which was sad because I didn't get a chance to say "goodbye", but then we saw her with her new family in town a few days later! That was a lot of fun! Carolina is 10 years old and has such a great little chuckle. She is headed to Italy soon, and I believe she is an only child, which is different with LOTS of "brothers" and "sisters" here at the Albergue!

ISAIAS....a very cute boy!

"Father," "Mother," and Isaias

What a cute family!!

Isaias was adopted Friday, June 20! He is 5 years old and full of energy. I didn't even see this coming so fast. I knew when I was at home that Isaias was in the process of being adopted by a Peruvian family, but I didn't know when this would take place. The Kinder class, myself, Joy, and Kristina (another volunteer here for 5 weeks) were at the Ranch for a "paseo" (fieldtrip)!!! While we were baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Isaias was being adopted. I found out the next day by the other volunteers. Normally we would have been told right away and given some time to say "bye" to him. That is ok though! He is with a new family living in Lima, and that is what we really want for these kids. To have parents who love them and will take care of them!

VANESSA....a smile you couldn't forget!

"Tia," Vanessa, and her "Sister"(I think!!)

Vanessa was adopted Saturday, June 28! Her aunt(tia) adopted her. I am not sure where she will be living, but she was SOOO excited! I pray that if she isn't living in a Christian home, that she will still continue to read the Bible and be Jesus to that family. I don't know if she made a decision to accept Christ as her Lord and Savior, but if she hasn't, I pray that she will someday! She is 10 years old and will need some speech therapy, but has so much love to give you! She has such a desire to learn English also! She did what she could to learn English all the time. She always asked questions, and if she will just put the passion she has for English towards Christ, I can't even imagine what impact she will have on her new family!

Presentations!!!

2008-06-19T12:41:00.004-05:00

Most of you knew that I was blessed to present what God has been doing through me at Hogar de Espernanza at 3 different churches! Even though I was a little nervous, it went well! On Sunday, May 18th, I went to Rayville Christian Union Church in the morning, and the evening I went to Mt. Calvary Baptist. I can't express how much it means to me that I got to speak at the churches who has supported me throughout the journeys God has led me on. Just to hear how Mt. Calvary started with Grandma being an answer to their prayer, and how she has been an example in my life......teaching me to go into all the world telling the good news of Jesus Christ! And then getting an opportunity to carry out her seed and tell the ones who was with the starting of Mt. Calvary....it was so exciting!! I really enjoyed sharing to RCUC, for they have been there every step of the way since 2004 when I went to India with YWAM! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share what God has been doing through me over the past few months! Also my neighbor mentioned to the leaders of his church, First Christian Church of Kearney, MO, that I was coming home and what God has been doing through me over the past years, and asked if I could speak at their church. On May 25th, I shared at their 8AM service, which was a blessing! I knew a few of the people there because Kearney is my hometown. Thank you so much for those who gave to the kids by buying jewelry, and to the orphanage by buying cards! They were really blessed! I did give a short informal presentation to some of Mom's coworkers while I was home! They have been such a blessing to these kids here from providing clothes for the garage sale, to buying them Christmas presents, and then providing them an opportunity to learn to play piano by buying a keyboard.....and of course helping them by buying jewelry and cards! If anyone is interested in more jewelry or cards, please let me know because I can send some back with a group that is coming in July! Thanks again! May God bless you abundantly!!!! Here are a few pictures of the presentations:

Amy at Grandma's church,
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Richmond, MO

Amy speaking at Grandma's church

HOME!!!

2008-05-14T10:50:00.002-05:00

Dear family and Friends,
I am home for 3 weeks and while here I will be spending time with family and friends and doing 3 presentations at 3 churches. I am excited for this and blessed to be given the opportunity to share what God is doing through me at Hogar de Esperanza. I will TRY and keep up on my blog, and will be adding more about what has happened and such! Have a great day and God's blessings to you!!

Serving Him in Perú,

Amy Elizabeth Pitchford

Alisson

2008-04-28T15:13:00.007-05:00

Alisson is 4 years old. She is really smart and loves to learn. Right now she knows all of her colors in Spanish and English. She knows most of her shapes, including drawing a circle and square. She writes her name a lot, which she is very proud of. She can count to at least 50 in Spanish, and 20 in English. She knows how to write and recognize 15 or more letters of the alphabet. Her favorite part of the day is her "cuaderno", which is a notebook that they do all of their studying in. She is wanting to have homework just like all the girls in her house do. In the afternoons while the other girls do their homework, I have her work with me on different things so she thinks she is doing her homework while they are! She knows sequences of shapes and different things.

Alisson does like to sing also! She knows "Jesus Loves Me", "Deep and Wide", "Zaccheus", "The B-I-B-L-E", "This Little Light of Mine"(aka...Let it Shine...according to her!), and "If You're Happy and You Know It" all in English. We do sing a lot of songs in Spanish too, but she really likes to learn them in English. I don't know all the songs that they sing in English, but if I do, then we learn them in English also.......as they teach me in Spanish sometimes!!

As some people here know....like Erin and Hayley....Alisson LOVES to tell stories. She is known for cute phrases such as:

"Jesus died on the wall" because that is where the picture is!
"Jesus died for the fish" because pescado is fish in Spanish and PECADO is sin.
"You can't go to Heaven because you are too big," said to Tia Erin because she is tall(?)...not sure where she got that idea.

But, Alisson is also understands a lot about the Bible. She knows that Jesus came to earth as a baby, grew up here, lived a life with no sin, died on the cross for our sins, was buried, rose again, and will come back to earth someday. This is A LOT for a little 4 year old, but she understands that. She knows that when she lies or does something wrong that her heart is dirty. She knows that she needs to "talk with God" and say "I'm sorry" and "forgive me for my sin". She knows that afterwards her heart is clean. She knows that God still loves her even though she sins too! What a blessing and example she is to the other kids!

Alisson has a brother, Davis. He is older and is here at the Albergue also. Her mother comes to visit them every Saturday. She isn't adoptable. This is just a little bit about an awesome 4 year old learning about the love of Jesus. I am glad that God has her here at the orphanage! If it weren't for her being here, I am not sure where she would be right now! Keep praying for her and that she will come to know Jesus at a young age and serve Him with all her heart!

Our Schedule

2008-04-28T15:02:00.002-05:00

Well this past week has gone pretty good. Here is my schedule with the kids:

8:30-8:45 - Come to class, pray, and have a time of greeting in Spanish and English.
8:45-9:00 - Music
9:00-9:15 - Story and Bible Verse
9:15-9:45 - Cuadernos/craft time (using scissors, drawing, coloring, writing names, etc.)
9:45-10:00 - Clean up
10:00-10:30 - Pray/Snacktime/Bathroom (After they are finished with snack, they sit with a puzzle.)
10:30-10:40 - Clean up
10:40-11:10 - Playground or with the older kids
11:10-11:40 - Counting/educational toys/colors (I have 2 kids at a table while the others are playing. We rotate ever 10 minutes where I can spend time with 3 sets of kids a day)
11:40-11:55 - Letters of their names/Stickers for their behavior/Pray
11:55-12:00 - To the Casitas

In the afternoons we also have a time with educational toys and learning activities one-on-one with me. They are learning so much, and they LOVE it! Over the next few blogs I will tell you a little bit about each kid. I did have 8 kids, but on Friday Jesusito left the orphanage with a new family! It is similar to the foster-care system at home before they can be officially adopted...at least this is how they do it with the Peruvians here. We are sad that we won't see him on an everyday basis, but glad that he has a family to love on him and give him the home that each child is in need of! Today was a little hard because they didn't understand why Jesusito isn't coming back, but they do know that he is with a new family and that is what is best for him. We pray for him though.

My New Kinder Class!!

2008-04-14T13:07:00.009-05:00

My Kinder Class!

From left to right: Jhonatan, Jesusito, Paul, Erika, Alisson, Zuleika, Jose David, Edwin, and Amy in the back!

What a blessing it is to have 8 kids in my class now! It has been a challenge to take on 4 more kids, but I am loving it! We have a schedule, which the kids are getting used to. They love to sing, work in their "cuadernos"(which are notebooks), put puzzles together, play with educational toys, and EAT! They are learning how to pray also, which is awesome! I love it when we come into class and I forget to pray....I know that sounds crazy, but here is why I love it. Our first thing we do is pray, then I greet them, they greet me, and we introduce ourselves. This is all in Spanish first, then English. But I don't have to get to "My name is...." before they say, "Tia Amy we need to pray!" It is great to see them grow to know God more and more. This past week we were reading the story of Jonah. They love to tell the story, but they know that I read it to them, then they tell me the story along with naming things that are on those pages. Alisson amazes me sometimes. She is 4 years old and can tell me everything that happens in the story. She tells me why Jonah ran away from God, why he was thrown overboard, what he did inside the big fish's stomach, and what he did after going to Ninevah. Well that is a portion of what I see on a daily basis. Yes we have days where we don't want to come to class and learn, and we spend time in the corner, but I hope that those days become fewer and fewer as time goes on! I love to hear them recite Bible verses too! I am going to try and put a video up of them singing "Jesus Loves Me" in English. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Here I am with all my kids! Aren't they cute???

A day of painting with Tio Steve! Our story this week was Noah's Ark! We made the sea!

Alisson, Jhonatan, Jose David, Zuleika, Edwin, Erika, and Jesusito. Paul hadn't arrived yet!

Can you find the octopus?? Can you fine the fish??

Edwin and Tio Steve.....Steve came with the Coast Guard, but stayed an extra week along with 5 other volunteers. They all go to the same church though!

Alisson, she is so photogenic!

We are in our "fila"(line) headed back home! We take turns leading and the person in front goes to the back the next day. From their houses to class and class to their houses we sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Spanish and English.
From front to back: Jesusito, Jose David, Zuleika, Erika, Alisson, Paul, Edwin, and Jhonatan

Paul with one of the educational toys!

Yes, Zuleika is STILL eating her crakers! She takes the longest to eat.....and she is the first one to get snack and the last one to finish it!!

Jhonatan putting a puzzle together.

Erika and her "galletas"(crakers/cookies).

Jose David singing, "I like swinging on the swings. I like swinging with you!" Thanks to Hayley and Erin! He swings high now!

Edwin swinging.....his favorite thing to do outside!

Alisson on a huge fruit or vegetable....maybe a squash??

The New Playground!!

2008-04-02T12:05:00.009-05:00

What a week! 30 people from the Coast Guard and a church came and built a whole new playground in 4 days! What a blessing! The following week 2 others came along with the 4 that stayed behind.....and of course Hayley and Erin.....they painted the playground! It is beautiful now!! Here are some pictures of the new playground! Here is an article that was written about the Coasties time here!!

Erika, Junior, and Alisson helping paint the tires!!

And look at Robyn enjoying the playground! Well she was climbing to take the picture you will see next!!!!

Amy and the Kinder class! From top to bottom: Amy, Jhonatan, Edwin, Alisson, Paul, Erika, Jesusito, Jose David, and Zuleika! The group put fresh paint on the see-saws and fixed one of the handles!

Jesusito in the new dolphin swing.....he loves it so much!!!

Milagros on the tires!

The Monkey Bars!!!!......not yet painted, but they love them!

Alisson going down the slide of doom!!!

This slide is steep as you can see, and is painted now too!

Rocio on the slide!

Paul, Jhonatan, Alisson, Jose David, and Erika....swinging away!!!

Jhonatan, Alisson, Jose David, Erika, and Paul on the tire swing! ALL the kids LOVE this new piece of equipment!!!

One of my favorite pictures of Jesusito! He is just relaxing in the dolphin swing!

Paul, what a sweetheart!

And the finished product!!!! Thanks USCGA and those who came with them!

Trip to Ecuador!

2008-04-02T10:29:00.005-05:00

Well, now to talk about the trip to Ecuador! It was a great time, even though we had a lot of challenges along the way. It all started with Cristian and I waiting for the bus, which arrived at 2AM. We were supposed to leave around 11:45PM. We watched a movie though. After getting to Tumbes, we met up with Violeta and her husband. We took their car to their house, but stopped at the border, and then for lunch. I didn't know that they put the amount of days you can stay in the country in your passport! So I was overdue my stay by 18 days. In the end I had to pay $20, which wasn't too bad, and ask for 90 days the next time. We got there safe and sound even though the road was a little rough....haha! I will put up a video of it! It was HOT....but it rained almost the whole time. It was great though. I mean down-pouring rain! We went to an island our first day there....Jambeli. We took a boat across the water....30 min....and during it, it started to rain! It was a pretty beach, but we didn't get in the water. Cristian is an artist, and he drew a picture in the sand with his feet, which was awesome to watch! We went to a big mall that night, which the things were more expensive there than at home....well most things! We saw a movie that night, and went back and hung out with Violeta and her family! We had to walk part of the way back, in the pouring down rain though!!! The next day we decided to take a trip to Guayaquil, which was interesting! It should have taken 2-3 hours, but due to the rain and a bridge partially collapsing, it took us 9.5 hours roundtrip! We drove through a flooded town, which was really sad. While we were there, we had McDonalds......couldn't find the Taco Bell!!! We visited a history museum, art museum, and walked the river, which was beautiful. They had need things along the way. We also visited the Iguana Park....which was cool! While on the way home, there was a bus in front of us. Right in front of the bus lightening hit a tree and fell right in front of it! It was really interesting. There was a truck that came and pushed it out of the way....which took an hour or so. Finally making it back to our place, we packed and got ready to leave the next day. Due to Violeta working and her husband doing surgeries, we took a bus back, which was fairly decent. We were the only ones to go all the way to Tumbes! All the others got off along the way, which was cool. It was really safe though! We got back to Tumbes, and stayed at a resort for the afternoon....which was $7 for both of us. I did get sick on the bus ride home....which was NO FUN! It was a great trip over all. I hope you enjoy a few pictures that I am posting! Sorry that this is SOOO late! I did go back in February.

Leaving Peru and going into Ecuador!

The ride in the car.....for at least 1.5-2 hours!

Flooded streets in Machala

Cristian...what a goober...on the way to Jambeli!

A boat similar to the one we took to Jambeli

Amy....me....at the beach in Jambeli

On the road to Guayaquil

The bridge they were fixing!

The flooded town we drove through!

Amy at the Iguana Park

Cristian and Amy at the Iguana Park....no we aren't a couple, just friends!

The lighthouse in Guayaquil

Look at the storm a comin'!!

It was a beautiful sight.

The tree that fell in front of the bus in front of us....make sense? I hope so!

Week 6-9 of Summer School!

2008-03-22T12:05:00.008-05:00

WOW! Sorry I haven't written for awhile. It has been really busy here at the orphanage. We have had a lot of groups come over the past month. We finished up our Summer Programs, which was awesome! The kids can now sing "Jesus Loves Me" in English and Spanish! We sing "Deep and Wide" or as Erika puts it, "Deep and Whych"! I have worked with her on staying wide, but she still isn't getting it, but someday she will! It is cute though! Jesusito is A LOT better and is still in the process of potty training, even though Robyn had a "not-so-fun" experience with him this past week! Things have changed now from having 4 kids to 7 kids since school has started up. Erin handed the responsibility of her kids to me, but Yen went to school this year, which is really exciting! I really didn't take a whole lot of pictures the last weeks of school, but I do have a few with my last project of Juegos! They made a watermelon picture frame. They enjoyed that a lot!

Making our watermelon picture frames

Danni

Franklin and Amy

Jose David and Erika putting their toys away!

Jose David and Erika putting puzzles together with Tia Amy

Week 5 of Summer School

2008-02-22T10:09:00.000-06:00

This has probably been the hardest week to get through with me. The kids were testing my patience a lot this week. Other than that, it was a great week. Sorry this is so late!

Kinder

This week I don't have a lot of pictures. I spent a lot of time re-enforcing rules. Jesusito has been a challenge this week. He constantly wants to hit and disobey, but what 2 year old wants to obey and follow the rules?? Zuleika was sick.

Amy and Jose David....he is being all lovey on me!

Amy and Jesusito....and of course since Jose David was "lovey" on me, he had to be!!

What expressions!

Juegos....Game time!

We are still on games this week. I don't have any pictures of them playing, but we are still working on Memory and UNO.

Manueldades....Craft time!

We are still learning how to crochet. Josue learned how to change the colors of yarn. It is going great so far!

The Mural!

2008-02-11T22:01:00.000-06:00

Here is the mural that Cristian painted! It is great because people actually know where we are if we tell them we are on the way to Salaverry. It is painted on the outside part of our wall by our gate. Vickie is there as a memory of who helped with the starting of the orphanage.

Cristian painting rainbow and people.

Cristian, Dorcas and Elias painting the beginning of the mural.

The kids in front of the mural.

The mural!! We LOVE it!!

The Water Project with the 3 Mr. Millers!!

2008-02-04T22:24:00.000-06:00

Mr. Miller....well David Miller, is known for starting great projects. One being the orphanage...but he also has a heart for the people who are the poorest of poor. He has many water projects going on here. We are living on a land full of water (which is why the mosquitoes are so bad!!). He has made it available for people in Alto Salaverry to have water. They barely have electricity, but for them to have clean water now is great for them! His brothers came with him to visit. They started and completed this project in less than a week!! I believe they dug about 1000 feet of dirt with the help of the people of Alto Salaverry. They received clean water for the first time on January 26, 2008! Enjoy the pictures!

Dr. Miller and Chuck Miller digging....and digging...and digging (kinda like the engergizer bunny)!!

The view from above. How blessed we are in America....even at the orphanage we are blessed!

Look at all the workers!!! Dr. Miller is in the white t-shirt with the white hat.

What a trench!

Waiting for the water to come out!

Yes it is clean and running!

The finished project!!!
From left to right of the brothers: Chuck, Tom, and David

Women tend to work harder here in Peru. Look at the lady carrying her first bucket of clean water home! What a picture of who Jesus is.....Mr. Miller (Dave) bringing clean water to them!

A great Sunday with a trip to Huanchaco!!

2008-02-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

Sundays are always great! We normally don't have much planned, so a lot of rest. We go to church at 10AM.....which it normally starts at 10:15....remember it is Peruvian time which is whenever they feel like starting!:) The past 2 Sundays have been really full. The weekend before we went to The Elliot's (missionaries here in Peru; the brother of Jim Elliot, who was a martyr for Christ in the late 50's early 60's). Then to a service in English, which was ok. Well this week, we went out to eat with Cristian (but we thought we were going to eat at his house), then to his house, to Huanchaco, and then back to his house to find out that his family has "cable". We watched the Super Bowl! It was great! Cristian is an artist here in Peru. He goes to the church we attend (Centro Biblico, which the Elliot's started). He also painted the mural on the outside wall, near our gate, at the orphanage! He creates all different types of art. He does use the talent that God has given him. Here are some pictures from that day. I hope you enjoy the sun setting!!

This would be his pet turtle, Duda!

Erin juggling mini mangoes from the mango tree.

I am not sure what Hayley is thinking!!

Cristian getting ready to show Erin how to juggle....haha!

Oh, the taxi rides! See all the traffic coming back from Huanchaco on a Sunday!?!?!?!

A surfer at the beach!

The sun setting....how beautiful!

Hayley, Erin, and Cristian playing on the beach!

Erin wanted the camera for a bit, and took a picture of me looking at the sun setting.

Cristian and Amy.....yes a wore a skirt to the beach.

I like this one!

What a sunset!

Crisitan's mom, Mili.

Week 4 of Summer School

2008-02-02T07:57:00.000-06:00

This week has been a busy one, yet an exciting week. We just finished up our first half of Summer School. It has been great so far.

Kinder

This week has been a great one. We have another child in my class. His name is Jesusito. He is 2.5 years old. He has no discipline, but is getting a lot better everyday. This week's theme was David and Goliath. It was great! They are learning how to count. Most of them know how to count to five now. Zuleika was sick so she wasn't here much, but she is better now. We are still learning the color red until all of them recognize it.

Erika with her cheesy grin!

Jesusito and Jose David sharing blocks!

Jesusito smiling!

Jesusito after finishing his puzzle. He really loves them! He got his hair cut!

Our wall of coloring! How beautiful!!!

Zuleika singing....even though it doesn't look like it!

Erika bulding her green blocks

My class eating their snack.
From left to right: Erika, Jesusito, Jose David, and Zuleika

Craft time!

We are still learning how to crochet. Josue took some video of us crocheting. It isn't the best footage, but he enjoys helping any way he can. Robyn is teaching the kids to make jewelry. Eventually she wants to be able to sell it on the internet to teach them how to manage money.

Yamelit in a hat that Nanci made.

Rocio concentrating on crocheting.

Caroline

Carolina....aka Carito!

Milagros loves crocheting!

This is my work so far! I never thought I would come to Peru and learn crocheting!

Rocio and Josue....he is a smarty pants!

Mirian helps us when Nanci isn't there or is late. She is really neat to be around!

Maria and Robyn working on making jewelry.

Robyn teaching Maria to make a different kind of jewelry using seeds I think!

Juegos....Game time!

They are are still learning how to play UNO and Memory. They are really enjoying it!

The Older Group

We are learning how to play UNO. They have caught on really well and they know their numbers well too! Even though they are VERY energetic, they have been very obedient with me. Also, it is a rule when the children leave my class and go home, they need to ask permission if they can play outside. They have learned it quite well!

Junior, Danni, and Davis playing UNO.

Franklin and Italo playing UNO.

The Younger Group

We have been playing Memory. They really love this game. Abel has a hard time with it, and Yerson doesn't want to play by the rules and cheat sometimes, but they are doing great! Brigette is really smart and has a great memory. If they choose to look at more than 2 cards they aren't allowed to play 2 rounds, but they still get to watch it.

Yerson, Abel, Brigette, and Isaias playing Memory.

Abel's turn....will he look at 2 or 3??

Brigette's turn....will she find another "caja"? (a box)

Isaias found a torta (cake), but where is that one I saw the last time?

Yerson......and why do you want a picture of this cute face??

Musica......aka music!

These are Joel and Hayley's students learning guitar. There are several students learning guitar, and most love it!

Joel and Abraham......jamming!

Hayley teaching "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine".
From left to right: Maria, Caroline, and Hayley

Buying the Keyboard!

2008-01-31T07:42:00.000-06:00

This was such an exciting evening for Hugo! There is a story behind the keyboard. Hugo started praying for a piano or keyboard for the orphanage 3 years ago. He wanted the kids to learn how to play and for Christmas programs. He didn't tell me this until we got back from buying it. A prayer answered! Yes a small thing in some people's eyes, but an exciting thing for Hugo and Sarita. They are VERY musically inclined. So if I can find books here, I will start lessons next month. If not, then I will either have a group bring them, or I will bring them back in May and start lessons in June. Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

Josue on the mico to get the keyboard

Hugo on the micro to get the piano

Amy and Josue after buying the keyboard, stand, and tambourine

Hugo after buying the keyboard, stand, and tambourine

Chito's Last Days

2008-01-29T15:36:00.000-06:00

Chito with Joelito....our puppy. Even though this wasn't a last picture, but it reminds me so much of Chito. He LOVES dogs...especially Joelito.

Chito left us on January 19, 2008. He went to be with his parents. This is a great situation! His parents are together and can afford to have him back. They have to have stable jobs, a place to live, his own room, and schooling for Chito. He has a neat story, and if you would like to know about it, I would be more than glad to tell you about it. We took Chito and his best friend Isaias out for dinner and then to have ice cream as a farewell to him. He was sad, but we know that he wants to be with his parents. His mother did visit every Saturday that we know of. They have visitation times on Saturdays from 9-12. Here are some pictures of his last days at the orphanage and some with his mother! Enjoy them! (I guess I should have more pics taken of me with the kids, huh??)

Erin and Chito!

Joel, Robyn, and Chito!

Isaias and Chito eating chicken!

Isaias eating his 1/8 of a chicken!!

Chito eating his mintchip ice cream! He likes what Mom likes!

Chito and his mother.

Me...aka Tia Amy.....and Chito before he left!

Hugo, Sarita, and Chito. Hugo and Sarita have been his parental figures for the time he has been here. It has been hard, but it is best for Chito. They got to visit where Chito lives, and they say that this is best for him! We showed him the love of Jesus and how to share Jesus with others. He loves to sing and to say Bible verses! I pray for him everyday hoping that someday he will come to know Jesus at a young age and grow in Christ.

Lazaro's last days with us!

2008-01-29T13:33:00.000-06:00

Lazaro went to another orphanage. It was a great thing for him, but sad for those here. He will get the individual care he needs. This summer Angela took him to the Sand Dunes. He loved it a lot! I decided to take him with us to the Sand Dunes the last day he was here. They had a party that night, then he left the next morning. It was a bitter sweet goodbye. He is now in Arequipa with another orphanage. When Liz left, he seemed happy to be there with new people! The Sand Dunes pics have already been posted, but here are some of his last days! He left on January 17, 2008.

Lazaro and Davis

Lazaro loving the sand. His friends in the background. From left to right: Junior, Italo and Franklin.

Lazaro and his Madre "Tia Veronica"

Deisy and Lazaro. She has helped him from almost the beginning. She is only here a few hours a day and then has 8 days a month that she helps the Madres.

Lazaro and his "bros" at the orphanage.
From left to right: Back: Franklin, Abraham, Piero, Davis, Jhonatan, and Italo; Front: Yen, Jhonatan Lee, Lazaro, and Yerson

Some of the kids with Lazaro.
From left to right: Davis, Carolina, Franklin, Abraham, Rocio, Jhonatan, with Lazaro in the middle!

Deisy and Lazaro on the way to the airport!

Week 3 of Summer School

2008-01-26T10:25:00.000-06:00

Wow! Once again time has flown! This week was great, but not as exciting as the others....for some areas! I have FINALLY caught on with crocheting, which is helpful since I am helping them when they need help. Which I haven't been able to help the past 2 weeks....haha.

Kinder

This week's theme was Moses. We read the story, and put a small mural on the wall. It was fun though. Erin had my class for one day because I had a back spasm when I woke up. I was doing a lot better by the afternoon. They really enjoy putting puzzles together and playing with hand eye coordination toys like the shape ball and blocks (cubos).

This is Moses in the Nile River!

Good times with the kids! They are having LOTS of fun playing with each other and singing songs also!

Jose David being all lovey.....which doesn't happen often!

Zuleika putting a puzzle together...she is also learning her "formas"....aka shapes!

Erika putting a puzzle together....she is also learning her numbers. She can count fairly high in English and Castellano(Spanish with a Peruvian twist!)!

Craft time!
We are still learning how to crochet. I have finally caught on to crocheting which is awesome! We are trying to teach the kids a trade so that they might be able to make some money and learn how to manage their money. This is mostly for the older children. Hopefully I will be able to bring some of their work back with me when I return for a visit in May. I don't have any pictures again for this week but I will for the next week! I am not helping with Nanci's son, Nehemias anymore so I can help more with the kids and their crocheting!

Juegos....aka game time!

The Older Group
This week was a little different with the game time. We learned how to play UNO. Some of them knew how to play, but some it was difficult. It was difficult to take pics this week. Part of the time was me not having batteries!

The Younger Group
This week we learned how to play Memory. Brigette is really good at this game, but it is VERY difficult for Abel. Next week we will have the same games though! I will take pics next week!

Brigette and Isaias playing Memory

Brigette, Isaias, Yerson, and Abel

Isaias and Yerson

Isaias, Yerson, and Davis

Davis helping Abel

Musica .......aka music!

Hayley and Joel are leading this program. They have 9 kids learning guitar....I think!

Hayley...I am sure you can tell who she is...teaching Maria and Caroline how to play guitar!

Vidoes of Kinder!

2008-01-25T21:18:00.000-06:00

I have a video of Erika bobbing her head to "The Wonderful Cross" in Spanish, but it is too big to upload! She loves it, and does sing part of the chorus!

This is Jose David and Erika singing "The Lord's Army". They love music. We have music playing the whole day in class except during story time and prayer time. I hope you enjoy some of the videos I will be posting.

This is Zuleika, Jose David, and Erika singing "Deep and Wide". Or as Erika says, "Deep and Wi.....ch". We are working on her saying wide though. They LOVE this song!

Here are pics of the Playground...

2008-01-25T08:05:00.001-06:00

This is more for Megan, who is part of the Coast Guard. We were having problems getting pics to her and she needs some to understand the areas she is working with. There is a group of them coming to redo the playground and add stuff to it!! We are excited here about it!!

Week 2 of Summer School

2008-01-19T10:06:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that I have been here 7 weeks! Time has flown by so much. It has been a great time so far. Here are more pictures of this weeks time during Summer School. The kids seem to love it, and like the more direct attention.

Kinder
This week's theme was Noah's Ark out of Genesis 6-8. Our Bible verse for the week was Genesis 6:22. This week Zuleika was sick with some stomach problem, but she is better now! We are making a mural each week, along with coloring pages. They love putting the stick tack on though!

We made the boat, put the animals in, and closed the door!

Here are Noah and the animals in the ark. Of course Noah's family is in there too, but you can't see them!!!

Erika LOVES playing with the blocks!

Jose David loves them too!

The rain came and the waters rose!

The dove brought back an olive branch, so Noah and his friends got out of the ark.

After Noah built an altar and gave an offering, God put rainbow in the sky as a promise to us that He would never flood the earth again!

Erika, a caballo??? I don't think she is a horse, but Jose David does!

A half smile out of Zuleika!

Craft time!
We are still working on crocheting. Sorry but I don't have any pictures for this week. I also help with Nanci's baby, Nehemias!

Juegos....aka Game Time!!
This week our theme was Teamwork. We did a 3-legged race....kinda. They learned that they needed each other to be able to walk. They did a great job! After spending some time on the first day of practicing, we went to the sand dunes. It was VERY hot, but they were troopers and did a great job of it. Afterwards we played in the sand dunes. We also took Lazaro, which was another lesson in teamwork. He can't walk that great, let alone climb. Davis, Franklin, and Italo did a great job of helping me get him up the dunes! The Younger Group didn't do this. It was too hard for them, and we just played on the playground.

The Older Group

See them helping each other??? Franklin and Italo are in the front, and Davis and Danni are behind. Junior wasn't able to learn how because he missed the first day, but he tried with Kevin. It was very difficult in the sand, but they went to the dunes with us.

There they are again!

Italo and Fanklin

Danni and Davis

Some of the kids helping with me with Lazaro.
From left to right: Kevin, Franklin, Davis, Lazaro and Amy
Amy and Lazaro going up the sand dunes!

WOW! Look at that teamwork!!

The Younger Group
Instead of the 3-legged race, we learned that we had to help each other if we wanted to see-saw! They love playing on the playground though! Isaias and Abel were sleeping, so I didn't wake them up, since normally they don't get a nap at all.

Yerson

Brigette

Summer School begins!!!

2008-01-12T08:03:00.000-06:00

Wow, time has flown! We started the summer school program January 7th. I still have my Kinder class with the pequenitos from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Then I am helping with a craft class, which WE are learning how to crochet. Then I have a class of different types of games and activities. It is used for socialization and learning team building. We have had beach and team building themes already, but more to come. Here are some pictures of the programs I am apart of. We have 14 programs in total, and Robyn is in the process of putting more on her blog if you would like to read her blog.

Kinder
We have a theme each week with the Kinder class. This week was Creation. They learned Genesis 1:1, and we sang LOTS of songs! Erika is the one who learns the most. Jose David and Zuleika still have a hard time talking, but they are getting better. Jose David has a much larger vocabulary now!!

Erika learning her colors with the blocks, counting them as she puts them on, and learning to stack well.

Zuleika using her fine motor skills with this toy. She loves to make patterns and also put alike colors together.

Jose David putting the shapes in the shape ball. We learn our "formas" and our colors with this toy.

Craft time!!!
We are learning how to crochet!

The girls learning how to crochet.

Italo may not be able to communicate well, but he LOVES to do things with his hands. He is very artistic and loves to crochet also.

Nanci teaching Vanessa to crochet!

"Juegos!!!" Game time!
We climbed the sand dunes and talked about things as the beach. They have a word that the need to remember every week. This week it is "Oceano Pacifico," which is the Pacific Ocean. That is the main body of water that is near here! They loved climbing the dunes and talking about the beach.

The Older Group during Beach Week

Climbing the sand dunes, and helping each other out!
From left to right: Danni, Davis, Franklin, Junior, and Italo

Having fun! Running with each other in the sand.
From left to right: Junior, Italo, Danni, Franklin, and Davis

This is Franklin and Italo. I had them fill buckets of water and take them to the sand because we were going to make sand castles.

They are all helping each other dig to make their castle.
From left to right: Junior, Italo, Franklin, and Davis

Finishing up their sand castle.
From left to right: Italo, Davis, Franklin and Danni

Finishing up their sand castles.
From left to right: Franklin, Danni, and Junior

The Younger Group during Beach Week

Climbing the Sand Dunes!
They don't get to go often to the dunes because they are smaller, but they do just fine and listen the whole time. They know that if one misbehaves then we go back to the orphanage and no more going to the dunes.
From left to right: Brigette, Isaias, Abel, and Yerson

Here they are having fun running in the sand.
From left to right: Brigette, Isaias, Abel, and Yerson

Hayley's Blind date.......

2008-01-08T03:32:00.000-06:00

Well today (January 7) is Hayley's 22nd birthday! She had a blind date......yes a DATE.....with us volunteers! It was a great time. We took her out on the town, blind folded, and led by Erin. We went on the Micro (our bus system here in Trujillo), took several taxis, went to the Plaza de Armas (which is beautiful!), made her do silly things, then took her out to eat. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. I am sure that Robyn has more on her blog.

Erin, Hayley, and Amy

On a Micro!! Hayley, Amy, and Erin, with Joel in the back in a hat! Robyn is taking the picture.

We thought this would be great since Hayley is in the Coast Guard!

"Where is Baby Jesus?".....that was the question during Christmas time because Baby Jesus is placed in the manger at midnight!

Hayley got arrested on her birthday! Just kidding!!! This was just another fun part of the game! Beforehand we had her stand on a bench, say "Today is my birthday! Who will sing to me?" ALL in Spanish, which is ok for her since she has been here since June!

More pictures at the beach

2008-01-04T14:30:00.000-06:00

Allison playing in the sand

Erika playing in the sand

Maria making mudpies

Alondra and Blanca searching for small fish

Another beautiful view!!

The older girls playing ball!

Erika and Alisson "cooking" in the sand

Yet another view!

More pictures at the beach

2008-01-04T14:22:00.000-06:00

What a view!!!!

Taking some girls to the beach!

2008-01-04T13:50:00.000-06:00

The walk there....through a beach what they call a "landfill".

A Small pier of rocks?

A Boat!!

Alondra with Erika, and Maria with Allison

Blanca

Doll pictures.

2008-01-01T13:26:00.000-06:00

It seems very odd and somewhat morbid, but in reality I didn't sense Satan's presence at all, which is good. We also sang a couple songs while doing this. I hope all of you had a great New Year's and I hope to see you sometime this year! Love you all!!!

Journey with God's Precious Lambs

Update.....WOW been awhile....

Finale at Hogar de Esperanza

Trip to the Andes Mountains and Perú with MOM!!!!!

November 2008

October 2008

New Volunteers!!!

My how Kinder has changed!

Our Anabel.....

The arrival of 7 kids in less than a week!!! WOW!

Trip to Ecuador with Miss Aly!

Pictures of Kinder...

Fiorella's Despedida......Bon Voyage with her new familiy!

Mirian's Baby Shower!!!!

Alisson's first day of Pre-K and Rocio and Yuli's first day of baking class!

My Kinder Class while I was gone to Huaraz!

Another nice day in Perú.....

Desfile....aka Parade!!!!!

Brady's Group!

My first Quinciñero to attend....

Trip to Huaraz for my birthday!

Independence Day/Amy's 28th Birthday

Saying "Goodbye" to Diego Alejandro...aka José David!

June Birthdays!

Recent Volunteers.....sorry this is REALLY late!

Back to the Kiddos!

Jerson's Last Day!!!

Adoptions!!!

More Videos of Kinder!!

Presentations!!!

HOME!!!

Alisson

Our Schedule

My New Kinder Class!!

The New Playground!!

Trip to Ecuador!

Week 6-9 of Summer School!

Week 5 of Summer School

The Mural!

The Water Project with the 3 Mr. Millers!!

A great Sunday with a trip to Huanchaco!!

Week 4 of Summer School

Buying the Keyboard!

Chito's Last Days

Lazaro's last days with us!

Week 3 of Summer School

Vidoes of Kinder!

Here are pics of the Playground...

Week 2 of Summer School

Summer School begins!!!

Hayley's Blind date.......

More pictures at the beach

More pictures at the beach

Taking some girls to the beach!

Doll pictures.