This will be a little different then normal. Why? Cause I don´t have any pictures! I can actually write fairly well so I will paint you a word picture of Baby G´s home away from home.
For the second time this year, Baby G has been admitted into Hospital Velga, reported to be the best heart surgery hospital in Cochabamba. The first time he was there it was to run a test on his heart that required he be under anesthesia (sp?). Now he is there for pre-op observation.
I walked in the front door yesterday and went directly to his room, no security was present at the time. The hospital doesn´t look like much from the outside. Just a drab looking building with bars on all the windows. Down a short hallway and there is actually a very beautiful garden area with a winding ramp going up to the second floor. Signs leave you a little confused and it took me a few moments to locate his room which is different then his first visit. Finally on a whim, I walked through an unmarked door and stumbled on his room. This is a double room but he is the only ocupant and there are two twin beds provided for caretakers plus his metal, white crib. He was thrilled to see me and even more excited about the toys I brought for him. At this hospital we are required to bring his bottles and his milk and clothes for him everyday and diapers. Yeah, I know, welcome to Bolivia, its a little different down here! The room is surprisingly warm for this cold season of the year and the best word I can use to describe it is ¨drab¨. Bolivia is vibrant with colors but this room is gray and white and well, its feels like a hospital.
We played with blocks and books for a little bit as nurses zipped in and out. The poor boy has to be on oxygen until the surgery (which at the moment is postponed until Tues or Wed). He is just 1 1/2 years old and doesn´t tolorate the tube very well. So the nurses have to use medical adhesive tape to tape it to his face. He´s not crazy about it but he leaves it be. He needs to have the oxygen to bring up his levels before the surgery. He goes to bed at 7:30 and I got to sit back with a book for a little while. I´ve been struggling with either a sinus or a stress headache for the better part of the week so even when it was time for me to sleep, I couldn´t and needed to take some meds to relieve the pain so I could sleep. Sleep is also dificult because I keep imagining the worst case senarios, trying to prepare myself for whatever may happen next week. The tears come immeditetly. So I keep praying and giving him to God.
He did very well that night and slept just short of 11 hours. The last overnight I did with him he woke up at least 3 times in the night. So I thank God for that. In the AM he was bright eyed and more or less happy. He´s bored and wants to crawl around like he normally does when he´s not attached to oxygen. I wish I had a picture of him sitting on an adult scale as they took his weight. That was pretty comical. At 8AM my replacement came in and I headed home. I will have another overnight with him this coming Monday, hopefully his last night before the surgery. Please keep us all in your prayers during this very emotionally dificult time. thank you.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Park trips
Hello! Its been a while since I updated... again. I really wish I had more time to share what goes on in my life here its just that my life is soooo busy that I don't have a lot of time for internet cafes, much less for updating the blog. So that said, welcome to a photo blog of our once a week trip to the park with kids from Pedacito de Cielo.
Here is our kids, doing their best to walk in a single file line.
And this is me and "my" baby girl. She normally sleeps through the whole park outing in her baby carrier sling thing.
We play on a lot of different things including a VERY big slide and swings. The slide is great fun as long as there is someone at the bottem to do the catching!
We also have snack time.
And who wouldn't want to take a group picture in a great big car?
This is usually a once a week event and gets the kids off the property for a bit. Its a lot of work but well worth it to see the smiles on their faces!
Here is our kids, doing their best to walk in a single file line.
And this is me and "my" baby girl. She normally sleeps through the whole park outing in her baby carrier sling thing.
We play on a lot of different things including a VERY big slide and swings. The slide is great fun as long as there is someone at the bottem to do the catching!
We also have snack time.
And who wouldn't want to take a group picture in a great big car?
This is usually a once a week event and gets the kids off the property for a bit. Its a lot of work but well worth it to see the smiles on their faces!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Happy 1st Birthday Lucas!
Oh birthdays are so much fun, even if they are a ton of work and the baby will never remember it! This last Saturday we celebreated baby Lucas' first birthday. This will be much easier to tell in pictures. This is Lucas and his father, Lucas is wearing the clothes his father bought him for his birthday.
I'm not that familiar with his story but I believe his mother has already passed away from HIV/AIDS. His father is unable to care for him but visits with him frequently. Along with his father, we had quite a crowd come together for this birthday including his grandmother, cousins, and other relatives. This is Lucas with his grandma.
The Tias made a typical Bolivian dish called Pique Macho. And boy did we ever eat!
And of course there was the cake!
And this is Lucas trying to catch and eat a balloon and I couldn't help but add a picture of Lily smiling.
The beginning of the party was a little rough for Lucas. He was very overwhelmed and doesn't know his biological family. If he couldn't see me he flipped out a little. As time went on he relaxed and seemed to be having a good time. And lastly, he pooped out!
Maybe I should have taken a picture of the pile of dishes the Tias and I were left to wash...
I'm not that familiar with his story but I believe his mother has already passed away from HIV/AIDS. His father is unable to care for him but visits with him frequently. Along with his father, we had quite a crowd come together for this birthday including his grandmother, cousins, and other relatives. This is Lucas with his grandma.
The Tias made a typical Bolivian dish called Pique Macho. And boy did we ever eat!
And of course there was the cake!
And this is Lucas trying to catch and eat a balloon and I couldn't help but add a picture of Lily smiling.
The beginning of the party was a little rough for Lucas. He was very overwhelmed and doesn't know his biological family. If he couldn't see me he flipped out a little. As time went on he relaxed and seemed to be having a good time. And lastly, he pooped out!
Maybe I should have taken a picture of the pile of dishes the Tias and I were left to wash...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Like giving birth
"Its like giving birth!" is what came out of my mouth as another missionary friend and I were trying to get my full sized mattress up my 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. We were halfway there and I was on the pushing end, she on the pulling end. She kept saying "PUSH!" and I kept saying "I AM PUSHING!" and it just reminded me of a woman in labor! We all got quite a laugh out of it, including my bolivian neighbor :) This mattress purchase came after two months of waking up with sore back muscles cause my apt came with a very typical Bolivian mattress... foam. And seeing as I'll be staying in Bolivia for some time to come, I thought it would be a good investment. I don't know a single other missionary in Coch that hasn't bought a good mattress! So that was this weekends adventure. I also helped a friend give away one of her 3 dogs at the doggy market.
So my blogging has kinda slowed down, I apologize for that. I don't have internet in my house and I have very little time to sit in internet cafes and generally have a lot of other corresponding to do during that time. My weeks are pretty typical these days as I am working full time at our daycare. The kids are all growing by leaps and bounds and learning new things everyday. I had a missionary friend visit from Sucre last week and it was so good to see her again and catch up on each others lives. I know her from WAY back in the day as we grew up in the same church.
I turned 28 this last week and enjoyed a couple of meals out (and free to me!) and taking a day off of work. I have been very healthy for a couple of weeks now thanks to some new vitamin supplements I have been taking. I attended an AIDS seminar this last weekend and honestly didn't learn anything I didn't know before. But I'm glad there are professionals who are willing to educate people on what HIV AIDS is and how it is and is not passed from person to person.
Baby G's surgery is scheduled for July 3rd. One of the girls from the home has been placed with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. We are looking forward to June and July being very busy months as we host 4 different short term teams. I am plannning to take my second furlough Sept 18th through the last week of Oct.
Last night I saw a motorized cart pulling a kids train with 2 big and 1 small horse trotting along behind it with riders on them. This was on one of the main streets in town. Very very random!
I think thats all the updates for me right now. Look for my email update coming out in June for updates on some of our kids and more pictures! Here are a few pictures of me working with my kids.
So my blogging has kinda slowed down, I apologize for that. I don't have internet in my house and I have very little time to sit in internet cafes and generally have a lot of other corresponding to do during that time. My weeks are pretty typical these days as I am working full time at our daycare. The kids are all growing by leaps and bounds and learning new things everyday. I had a missionary friend visit from Sucre last week and it was so good to see her again and catch up on each others lives. I know her from WAY back in the day as we grew up in the same church.
I turned 28 this last week and enjoyed a couple of meals out (and free to me!) and taking a day off of work. I have been very healthy for a couple of weeks now thanks to some new vitamin supplements I have been taking. I attended an AIDS seminar this last weekend and honestly didn't learn anything I didn't know before. But I'm glad there are professionals who are willing to educate people on what HIV AIDS is and how it is and is not passed from person to person.
Baby G's surgery is scheduled for July 3rd. One of the girls from the home has been placed with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. We are looking forward to June and July being very busy months as we host 4 different short term teams. I am plannning to take my second furlough Sept 18th through the last week of Oct.
Last night I saw a motorized cart pulling a kids train with 2 big and 1 small horse trotting along behind it with riders on them. This was on one of the main streets in town. Very very random!
I think thats all the updates for me right now. Look for my email update coming out in June for updates on some of our kids and more pictures! Here are a few pictures of me working with my kids.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
New Baby Girl
As promised, here are the photos of our newest baby girl.
She was abandonded as soon as she was born, I believe they said that she was born premature. Her mother never even named her. Well, what does a group of mostly women do with a baby that doesn´t have a name? We vote! And we came up with a beautiful name that of course I can´t post. Sorry :) She has a very high risk of having HIV but we won´t know for sure for another 18 months. She just turned 1 month old this week. And as you can see she is TINY compared to the babies we´ve been taking care of for the last 2 months and so so skinny. She came to us with a headcold and is recovering from that. As is normal for a baby her age, she sleeps most of the day. She has her awake times and likes looking around at lights and faces. She´s even smiled a time or two.
Still no word yet on when Baby G will have his surgery. It has been delayed because a certian machine that the doctors need to run a test on him before they can do the operation is broken. So we are waiting for it to be fixed. He has grown SO much since he first arrived. He´s longer, weighs more, has more energy, and can sit all by himself now. Even his hair has gotten darker! I´ll try to get new photos of him up soon.
More updates coming soon!
She was abandonded as soon as she was born, I believe they said that she was born premature. Her mother never even named her. Well, what does a group of mostly women do with a baby that doesn´t have a name? We vote! And we came up with a beautiful name that of course I can´t post. Sorry :) She has a very high risk of having HIV but we won´t know for sure for another 18 months. She just turned 1 month old this week. And as you can see she is TINY compared to the babies we´ve been taking care of for the last 2 months and so so skinny. She came to us with a headcold and is recovering from that. As is normal for a baby her age, she sleeps most of the day. She has her awake times and likes looking around at lights and faces. She´s even smiled a time or two.
Still no word yet on when Baby G will have his surgery. It has been delayed because a certian machine that the doctors need to run a test on him before they can do the operation is broken. So we are waiting for it to be fixed. He has grown SO much since he first arrived. He´s longer, weighs more, has more energy, and can sit all by himself now. Even his hair has gotten darker! I´ll try to get new photos of him up soon.
More updates coming soon!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Happy Easter and Happy Kids Day!
It seems in my life that there are long periods where nothing very exciting happens and then a short period of time when EVERYTHING seems to happen. And when things happen, I'm usually there to take pictures of it.
So this weekend was filled with activities related to both Easter and the Latin American tradition of Kid's Day. The Wednesday before Easter my team had a passover meal complete with some readings. I can remember having the passover meal once before in my life but for the life of me I can not remember when or where I celebrated it. If I was with you would you please tell me? Thanks.
Next was Good Friday. I had the day off of work a the daycare so I went to the girls hope to participate in the activites there. Here it is in pictures.
All of the girls were instructed to think about the sin in their lives and after a time of refection, to write down a sin on a piece of fabric that no one else would see.
Then we all gathered outside and each girl took a turn nailing their sin to the cross.
And when the last nail was nailed, this was the result.
We might never know if this activity really reached into their hearts and minds but they know and God knows, and thats all thats really important anyway.
The next day was celebrated Easter/Kid's Day. We had an easter egg hunt in the park and then some prizes. Here are some pictures from the hunt.
I FINALLY got a group picture, all 22 of the girls!
This is my small group for the hunt.
Searching high and low
And the proud owner of a fistfull of our "easter eggs."
Sunday was Easter. I went to an English speaking International Church and enjoyed a drama and lovely Easter sermon. The preacher for that day was actually the Latin American Director for Operation Harvest, what a nice suprise that was. He is also the man that ran all over Cochabamba with me to help me get my visa. Following the service I hosted a single missionary's potluck in my new apt. There were 8 of us in all and it was a lovely afternoon of food and fellowship. Holidays can be the lonliest times when your away from your family. A small group of us have kinda banded together to be there for each other during those times.
Monday was the Kid's Day celebration at the Daycare. We took all of our 8 kids to a nearby park and let them play on big slides, swings, tire swings, a train ride, etc. The babies were a little less then thrilled but the older kids had a lot of fun.
Check back soon for pictures of baby number 9 at the daycare, she just arrived today and oooooooo she is cute!
So this weekend was filled with activities related to both Easter and the Latin American tradition of Kid's Day. The Wednesday before Easter my team had a passover meal complete with some readings. I can remember having the passover meal once before in my life but for the life of me I can not remember when or where I celebrated it. If I was with you would you please tell me? Thanks.
Next was Good Friday. I had the day off of work a the daycare so I went to the girls hope to participate in the activites there. Here it is in pictures.
All of the girls were instructed to think about the sin in their lives and after a time of refection, to write down a sin on a piece of fabric that no one else would see.
Then we all gathered outside and each girl took a turn nailing their sin to the cross.
And when the last nail was nailed, this was the result.
We might never know if this activity really reached into their hearts and minds but they know and God knows, and thats all thats really important anyway.
The next day was celebrated Easter/Kid's Day. We had an easter egg hunt in the park and then some prizes. Here are some pictures from the hunt.
I FINALLY got a group picture, all 22 of the girls!
This is my small group for the hunt.
Searching high and low
And the proud owner of a fistfull of our "easter eggs."
Sunday was Easter. I went to an English speaking International Church and enjoyed a drama and lovely Easter sermon. The preacher for that day was actually the Latin American Director for Operation Harvest, what a nice suprise that was. He is also the man that ran all over Cochabamba with me to help me get my visa. Following the service I hosted a single missionary's potluck in my new apt. There were 8 of us in all and it was a lovely afternoon of food and fellowship. Holidays can be the lonliest times when your away from your family. A small group of us have kinda banded together to be there for each other during those times.
Monday was the Kid's Day celebration at the Daycare. We took all of our 8 kids to a nearby park and let them play on big slides, swings, tire swings, a train ride, etc. The babies were a little less then thrilled but the older kids had a lot of fun.
Check back soon for pictures of baby number 9 at the daycare, she just arrived today and oooooooo she is cute!
Monday, March 16, 2009
This and that
Things have been going well in the ministries of Niños con Valor. An update on the day care is that our three resident babies are all doing well and almost all are healthly. Baby G came home after 1 1/2 weeks in the hospital to clear up an infection. Baby G still has a pretty nasty cold and has in turn given it to me. There is not a whole lot you can do when a baby sneezes right in your face! He has a good attitude though, much better than mine! Also, all of our daycare kids have returned, praise God! Two of them have been temporary residents as their mother feared for their saftely as she separated from her abusive husband. So on an average day we have 6 babies and 2 older kids to care for. A weight check shows that Pablo has gained weight as well as Raul. Baby G, due to his continued sickness and hospital stay, has not gain any weight.
The girls in the girls home are hard at work going to school and doing homework. They have just enough time in the day to still be little girls and play with Barbies and do other activities. I still hope to start English classes with them as well as a Bible Study for the older girls. But right now my help is more needed in the daycare.
On the Spanish side of things, I continue to take classes 2 days a week at my newly reopened and restructured language school. I really like their teaching style and have been with them for many months. I was happy to learn that I could continue learning there at the same rates I had before. I have a LOT of practical application as I communicate with our Bolivian workers on a daily basis. If I had to guess at my spanish level I would say low intermediate. Intermediate is a HUGE part of spanish and has 2 or 3 levels. Some missionaries never get beyond this point as they have enough Spanish to get by on, I don´t want to be like that though. I still struggle with not knowing proper names for things and verbs I don´t have reason to use on a daily basis. Everytime I get frustrated I have to remind myself how far I´ve really come.
My financial support has had its ups and downs not unlike the US stock market! I had a scare in Feb as half of my suppport didn´t come in for the month. And then March it was almost back to normal. I know that God will take care of me so that I can finish my two year term this coming fall. Thank you always for your prayers and support!
The girls in the girls home are hard at work going to school and doing homework. They have just enough time in the day to still be little girls and play with Barbies and do other activities. I still hope to start English classes with them as well as a Bible Study for the older girls. But right now my help is more needed in the daycare.
On the Spanish side of things, I continue to take classes 2 days a week at my newly reopened and restructured language school. I really like their teaching style and have been with them for many months. I was happy to learn that I could continue learning there at the same rates I had before. I have a LOT of practical application as I communicate with our Bolivian workers on a daily basis. If I had to guess at my spanish level I would say low intermediate. Intermediate is a HUGE part of spanish and has 2 or 3 levels. Some missionaries never get beyond this point as they have enough Spanish to get by on, I don´t want to be like that though. I still struggle with not knowing proper names for things and verbs I don´t have reason to use on a daily basis. Everytime I get frustrated I have to remind myself how far I´ve really come.
My financial support has had its ups and downs not unlike the US stock market! I had a scare in Feb as half of my suppport didn´t come in for the month. And then March it was almost back to normal. I know that God will take care of me so that I can finish my two year term this coming fall. Thank you always for your prayers and support!
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