Growing up in the Orphanage

"BFFs Estefani and Gabrielle" (my daughter's idea for a caption)

I asked my nine-year-old daughter Gabrielle how she would describe Estefani to someone who has never met her before. Her answer:

Well, I would say, she’s nice. Confident. If you were her friend she would be very helpful and very nice. I like her as my friend. And she’s intelligent and I like her very much. She is brown. She has black hair. She’s very cute to me. And she’s an orphan. And she’s in Bolivia.

Not only are these two girls neighbors and classmates they are good friends. Estefani is one month older than my daughter. They both turn ten this year. Every day after homework and chores are done the question I hear without fail is, “Can I go to the orphanage to play?”

Musing with my own mother we talked of how this friendship will influence our Gabrielle in her life. Personally, I grew up in a foster home. Let me clarify, my parents accepted children into our home and us five Houtz kids had an extra brother or sister, or two, pretty much all the time. My parents stopped counting how many kids they helped when they got to one hundred. Usually the children only stayed for a few weeks before they were adopted. I cherish this element of my growing up years.

Now my own daughter is being shaped and molded by this friendship in her life. I look forward to watching the two of them become young ladies. I am grateful that they have each other.

Be a Dream Maker; become a monthly sponsor of a Dreamer.

- Angie

Extended Vacation

For school-aged children, some of the best days are the days where classes are cancelled.  Whether it be due to snow, power outages or some other rare occasion, kids love to hear the announcement “No school today.”

This has been the case for the better part of a week here in Cochabamba.  For various reasons, the city has been overwhelmed with protests and blockades and schools have been cancelled almost every day.  (For more detailed info on some of the protests read this.)

The first day the city cancelled schools, which was about a week ago, the Dreamers were ecstatic when they heard the news.  They spent almost the entire day outside climbing things and playing soccer.

Now, boredom has struck. The Dreamers have been almost begging to go back to school just to get out of the house.  They have resorted to tickle fights and doing push-ups to see who has the biggest muscles.

Some of the Dreamers trying to make the most of their days off.

Hopefully, everything will be back to normal so the Dreamers can return to school next week.

Pray for the country of Bolivia! Pray for a peaceful solution to all of the city-wide conflicts.

Romon

The Great Imitator

“Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.” – Anonymous

Joel imitating my pregnant belly

This is Joel. Some of you may recognize him from previous posts. He’s a funny kid. He likes to mimic people in real life (like in the picture to the left) and characters on tv.

After watching the kids show,  “Power Rangers”, he would begin kicking and punching the air, imitating his favorite ranger. If he has just watched “The Lion King” you would hear him roaring like a lion. He’s presented himself to us as  Spiderman, a Fireman, a Musician, and a dog. Needless to say, Joel likes to imitate and he is great at it.

Children are natural mimics. Impersonation occurs in every child and is a process of learning.  I’ve seen some actions and heard some words repeated by the Dreamers that have made me wonder, “Where did they get that from?” Based on some of their actions, I knew exactly who they were mimicking. I began to think about how much the children learn from me, my good and not so positive actions, or reactions.

The question is not whether or not they will imitate us, the question is what will they choose to imitate? It’s our responsibility to teach our children through our actions and give them something great to imitate. Let’s do it!!!

“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Please pray for the House of Dreams and the staff/volunteers, that we challenge ourselves daily to be people we won’t mind the Dreamers imitating.

Do you want to play a role in teaching/training the Dreamers? Come visit!

- Melinda

She Wears Beads

“That’s a lovely necklace you have there,” I start. Matronly sighs from both of us preceded my attempt at small talk before we began the task of decision making and all things meeting related. We sat in the stale calm of the office. The quiet enjoyed maybe a bit too much by us who spend our days caring for children.

She looked blankly at me trying to recall what jewelry she had chosen that day. Her fingers reached in reflex to jog the memory. Touching the plastic bobbles draped gaudy down her chest a knowing look comforted the weary features. She settles back, the Bolivian cue that a story is coming. Not disappointed when I hear the opening, “Ah..” I settle back too. Business can wait.

“Ah… this? Yes. My assistant asked me about this not too long ago. She asked me why I wear this necklace when it never matches my outfit.” We share a chuckle.

“I told her that I keep this necklace here at the home,” by which she referred to the House of Dreams which she directs, of course, “and I put it on when I start working. I wear these beads to remind me that I am with small people and small people need extra special treatment. When I start to get frustrated or short tempered my beads remind me to be patient and take a breath.”

I smiled and nodded in great approval at the simple wisdom of donning beads to be with the small people.

“…don’t look down upon a single one of these little children.For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access to My Father.” (Matthew 18:10)

Please pray with me over the staff and volunteers who care for the Dreamers.

- Angie

City Life

As most of you already know, the House of Dreams has changed locations.  The kids have settled into the new place and are absolutely loving it, especially their bigger rooms.

As we all have experienced once or twice in our lifetimes, the house isn’t the only thing that changes with a move, but the neighborhood as well.

At the old place, the Dreamers were in a secluded, slow-paced neighborhood. Most of the neighbors were older couples. Some were retired and cherished the Dreamers as if they were their own grandchildren.

At the new House of Dreams,  the neighborhood is more fast paced. It’s a half of a block away from one of the busiest intersections in the area. The kids absolutely love looking out of the window and watching all of the cars go by, and calling everybody to the window when there is a motorcycle.

During the day while the older kids are at school, the younger ones go for walks around the block or to the park.  Every day as they walk, they are fascinated by all the cars and towering apartment buildings.

The youngest Dreamers pausing for a picture on their way to the park.

The street vendors and police officers guarding the bank light up with excitement every time the kids walk by.  It’s good to know that not only do the Dreamers welcome the new environment in their life, but that their new environment welcomes them as well.

Interested in getting to know the Dreamers better? Fill out this form to get more information on visiting!

Romon

Carolina Returns for Her Birthday

Carolina was adopted a few weeks ago by a lovely family. (You can read about her adoption here). She and her family are still in Bolivia and won’t be returning home to Spain for another few weeks.

Yesterday was Carolina’s 7th birthday. She celebrated her birthday at the House of Dreams with all of the children and workers.  Carolina’s parents brought cake, snacks, drinks, games, and a piñata. The children especially loved the party favors, which were small boxes full of toys and candy.

After they were sugared up, they danced to the music playing on the radio, chased each other around,  played catch, picked up the left over confetti on the floor and threw it at each other, etc. I kept looking at Carolina, her older sister, and her family. I could not help but notice how happy they truly are. It was such a beautiful sight.

I was reminded that, as much as I enjoy spending time with the children, loving on them and teaching them, re-insertion or adoption is the ultimate goal for each Dreamer.

Please join us in praying for our Dreamers. Pray over the re-insertion/adoption process for the Dreamers.

Also, if you are interested in adoption, click here for information on how it works here in Bolivia.

- Melinda

Three Turn Three

First of all, thank you so much to all the people who helped pray over our most recent adoption. I feel very strongly that the prayers made a huge difference for the life of our little Dreamer and her new family.

Along those same lines I would like to invite you to join me in my next prayer project. This one has been on my heart heavily since the good news for Carolina. I feel like this is my focus and that prayer will make all the difference in the world for these guys like it did for Carolina and her family.

There are three Dreamers who will turn three this year. Two of them are ready to go at any time and are just waiting for assignment to a family. We know there are many families waiting for children so the in between people need to move things along so that an adoption connection can take place. For the third little one we are facing issues of paperwork. We are submitting (for the third time) paperwork and forms that were “lost” by social services or the courts. Without going into too much drama suffice it to say that this round of papers need to stay found so that this little Dreamer can be found by a family.

All three of these kiddos turn three this year. My hope is that this year all three of them are adopted. Would you join me in praying for them? Maybe you would like to print out this picture and keep it in a prominent place so that whenever you see them you can pray that they would be adopted. Thanks.

- Angie

Happy Valentines Day from the House of Dreams

With much love from the Dreamers and we who care for them we hope you have a great Valentines Day!

- Angie

Who Needs Training Wheels?

Classes are in full swing and summer vacation is in the rear view mirror. All that’s left of summer is the memories: a trip to the pool,  a few water fights, and the most memorable, learning how to ride bikes!

During their summer vacation, the Dreamers were blessed to have multiple volunteers coming to their home on a daily basis.  Some of the volunteers took it upon themselves to repair some of the broken bikes in order to teach some of the older kids how to ride.

Every morning the Dreamers would go out in front of the House of Dreams and practice. One learned how to start off but couldn’t figure out that stopping part.  Another figured out how to start off and stop but was scared to turn. Another only knew how to turn but not start off.

It was a comical sight to say the least, as some of the neighbors would come out to witness the event and get a chuckle.

Jhoselyn riding around the house.

After two months of practice most of the school-aged Dreamers are now officially bike riders. Bernancio was so inspired by seeing the other kids ride, that he taught himself how to ride!

Bernancio showing us how he can stand up and ride.

Have something cool in mind to teach the Dreamers? Consider coming to volunteer!

- Romon

No Place Like Home

For the most part, most of the children have  been adjusting well to being in the new house. The only one’s still getting used to the idea are the 3 youngest, Bridgit, Alicia, and Vladimir.

Bridgit is the youngest, but is learning to verbally express her feelings quicker than the other two. So she doesn’t cry as much. I spoke with Cristina, the director, this morning and she told me Bridgit asked when they we’re going back home? Cristina, of course, explained that they were home.

The workers stated that the 3 youngest have been extremely disobedient, having to be placed in time out 4-5 times in one morning. I didn’t believe it until I caught Vladimir in action.

Here is Vladimir at the old house:

Photo taken at the old house just hours before "The Move", before he understood there was a move.

And the Oscar goes to:

We know that with time, the children will get used to their new home. We are grateful to have been able to get them settled in quickly. They are happy with their bigger rooms, which means they’re less crowded.  The younger 3 are no longer in the “baby’s room”, but have graduated into sharing rooms with the big kids. This move has brought about good change. We are looking forward to a great year in this home.

Thank you, again, for all of your prayers in our time of transition. I’d like to remind you that some of our Dreamers are still in need of monthly sponsors. Please let us know if you are interested.

- Melinda