A Family Thing

My oldest daughter was talking with her uncle, my brother, earlier this year. Somehow they got on the subject of picture taking. By the end of the conversation a camera was promised to my daughter.

My brother made it happen and now Raimy has a camera. She takes it with her when there are events at school. Since the Dreamers go to her same school she blogged about some of the pics she look.

You can check out her post here: “dreamers” by raimy o. washington

She has also began as a regular volunteer with the Pen Pal program we have here at the House of Dreams. I love it that my kids take an interest in the outreach we do. It’s a family thing.

- Angie

Finishing Strong

For most of you, this time of year means getting ready for winter. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching the cold is not far off. Here in Bolivia, it’s quite the opposite.  Here, November actually marks the end of the school year and the beginning of summer.

Jhoselyn hard at work with one of her classmates.

With every day that passes, you can almost feel the excitement in the air. One of the biggest challenges that this time of the year brings with all of the excitement is keeping the kids motivated to finish the school year strong. With final exams coming up, it’s imperative that the kids stay focused until the end.

Please pray that the Dreamers will be able to focus in and finish the school year off right.

Romon

Getting a Head Start on the Next School Year!

Bolivia’s school year starts February and ends in the middle of November. So we’re almost done with 2011 but thanks to various generous friends, we’re getting a head start on next year’s school supplies.

 

If you would also like to take part in getting us ready for next year, we could use some more large notebooks, glue sticks, a few more sets of folders, pencils, and sharpeners.  Or if you would like to take part in a bigger school expense, each year we buy textbooks for the kids (in Bolivia schools do not loan texts) and uniforms.

For detailed instructions on how to send supplies, check out the school supplies of the Projects page.

-Marisol

The Science Fair

When talking about mission work with prospective missionaries my husband shares the illustration of the expanding cup. The cup represents your knowledge base. God can guide us with as much knowledge as we have taken the time to cram into the cup. Our responsibility is to gather knowledge. But it doesn’t stop with more knowledge. We also have the job of expanding our capacity to retain knowledge. This happens when we place ourselves in new situations which challenge our former way of thinking. This requires physically removing ourselves from our comfort zones and widening our experience base.

We purposefully and continually work with the Dreamers to expand their capacity for retaining knowledge. As they grow and get to know God He can remind them of experiences and knowledge they have gained in order to show them a good path for their lives.

A couple examples thus far have been: horseback riding, new foods, volunteers and friends from around the world, and arts.  Now we can add science fair to the list of experiences.

All the upper grades students prepared stands like the bouncing egg, the bending chicken bone, home made ice-cream and blood cells under a microscope. Parents and families came to join the children of the lower grades in visiting the tables. Who knows? One day one of our Dreamers might choose a career in the sciences because of a spark ignited during the science fair.

upper right: Yamil intently watching a science experiment, middle: Bernancio with his classmates at a stand, lower right: Jose Luis with his notebook watching a demonstration by the older kids

 Want to further the children’s education by donating school supplies? Visit the ‘4 Pound Bargain‘ post for instructions on how to do that. Thanks!

- Angie

Photo credit: Raimy Washington

A Special Visit

Over the weekend, a few of the boys had an opportunity to go over to a new friends house to play and hang out. This is always an awesome opportunity for the Dreamers, to be able to get out of the house and experience other types of families, while making new friends.

Yamil especially had a good time. He returned to the house talking non-stop about his experience at his new friend’s home. He actually talked more about his friends parents than he did his friend. He talked about how they laughed and played with the children, and how they made him dinner. They even gave him a hat, that he has yet to take off of his head.

Yamil sporting his new hat. It will probably be fused to his head by the end of the week.

This was a great experience for Yamil. He returned home excited about his experience. He told me every detail of what happened at his friends house, but the thing that impressed me the most was that instead of comparing the two very different living situations, he contrasted them stating, “Their house is fun like ours, but we have a bigger family.” How awesome that our Dreamers have a family and a home that they can appreciate and refer to as “fun”!

Please continue to pray for the House of Dreams, that it continues to serve as not just a house but a home to these children as they grow up.

Romon

Two more October birthdays

Two of our dreamers share that same birthday, but the decided to celebrate on separate days so each can have their own special day.  Emelin went first, she is now seven years old. She chose chocolate cupcakes for her birthday.

Jhoselyn celebrated hers the next day, and is now 9 years old.  Her cake choice, lemon flavored!

Both girls received cards, gifts and candy from Pen Pals, which made their birthdays even more special.

-Marisol

Not for Dummies

The ‘…for Dummies’ book phenomenon began with a focus on user friendly guides to the world of technology. Now the topics addressed branch into multitudinous general interests.

Want to be a Christian? Catholicism more your speed? Or just need to be happy?

On the main site you can find a guide book for a wide variety of hobbies, sports, education and career choices, etc.

But if you want read a Dummies book about ‘How to Run an Orphanage’ your search comes up empty. Some titles are helpful.

A couple more might have invaluable tips on caring for the kids.

But don’t go to that source hoping to find a guidebook about the ins and outs of running an orphanage. At times I wish there were a book complete with an alphabetical index to tell us just what to do when issues arise.

Granted, there are many resources available. The blogs, websites, and books help a ton. What helps the most is brainstorming with people who have experience or at least vested interest in orphan care. Thank God for all that.

I conclude, though, that:

Running an orphanage is not for Dummies.

Prayer points for this week:

• The land purchase
• Emelin and Jhoselyn have birthdays this week
• Our volunteers and staff to have creative ideas, boundless patience and endless love for raising the kids

Thanks!

- Angie

Meet the Holsingers

The Holsingers are a family that came down and spent about a week here in Cochabamba. Dividing their time between the House of Dreams and various other opportunities, they remained quite busy for the week they were here.

We have been extremely blessed to have had quite a few volunteers come through in the last few months, each one having their own unique story of how they came to volunteer at the House of Dreams. The Holsingers were no exception.

Steve Holsinger, and his two daughters Emily(15), and Amanda(13) came to the HOD not because of the decision of the parents, but of the kids. Emily and Amanda had been wanting to visit an orphanage for quite some time. So much so, in fact, that they both saved their own money and paid their own way to come down. Steve, chuckling his way through the story said, “When they did that, I had no choice but to come.”
What an awesome story, that two teenagers would each decide to save their own money to be able to help out a group of kids in another hemisphere. There is still hope for this world yet! It was truly a pleasure to get to know this family and see their hearts for the Dreamers.

Are you interested in coming to the House of  Dreams?  Click here for more information on how you can come for a visit!

Romon

Turning 7!

Yamil turned 7 yesterday!  He’s our always smiling, playful dreamer, and yesterday his smile was twice as big while all the children and staff sang happy birthday.

If you’d like to take part in one  of the Dreamer’s birthday, check out the birthday page under Projects.

-Marisol

Behind Enemy Lines

Can you see the threat?

Walking by the meter you really don’t notice anything aside from the fact it needs to be cleaned.

Closer inspection reveals danger lurking inside.

Wasps! Building a nest! Right beside the yard where the kids play! Danger!

What do we do?

Take a picture, of course.

Take a bunch of nice, close-up pictures to see all the gruesome detail!

Threats immobilize me.

After the initial shock I analyze the full implication of the impeding doom. I fret until I produce a few more gray hairs on my head. My heart beats faster and my gut ties itself in knots. I shoot pictures to display the awful details and gripe about it.

What do you do when a threat approaches?

My husband responds very differently than I do to an attack.

He attacks back!

Our hero!

Paralyzed? No way! Worried? Doesn’t seem like it. Thwarted by the sneak attack behind enemy lines? The poor guys didn’t stand a chance.

My purpose in sharing our Saturday morning battle goes deeper than showing our infestation prevention prowess.

I fully realize our foes view us as enemies. Yes, an orphanage is an enemy. Desolation magnifies the spiritual realm. The good being done at the House of Dreams has not gone unnoticed by the evil powers that be.

Sure, it’s not like a guy in a red suit with a pitchfork showed up at our front door announcing his intent to make our lives a living hell. Nope. The attacks are more subtle. Paperwork mysteriously misplaced as the handlers insinuate an extra donation to help them find it. Grumpy landlords scowling at the imposition of group of children living on their precious property. Neighbors and even church members whispering disgruntled complaints about bad influences upon the fragility of their own offspring from the riff-raff we choose to shelter.

It hurts. But we power through. Greater is He who is in us than those who might play puppets to evil. More are the ones who are for what happens at the House of Dreams than those who would wish for our demise.

The enemy has once again tried to stop the good being done. This time the attack came behind enemy lines. An infiltration began to set up a bit too close for comfort.

I cannot share with you all the detail surrounding this issue. First, because it wouldn’t help anything. Second, because it really doesn’t matter – because I know who will win in the end. Suffice it to say that the matter deals with legal problems with the land purchase, corruption and some people who were found trying to take advantage of us who we thought we could trust. As in the example of the wasps we currently have our finger on the spray can shooting at the nest.

I wish the simplicity of my illustration carried over to our real lives. Not so. The hit came hard. We’ve suffered. The fight’s not over yet.

What can you do?

Please pray for us. We know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the spiritual realm. Still, we have to act. And facing these issues gets tiring and hard. Pray we have wisdom, strength, favor, and whatever else comes to your heart.

Encourage us. I know that each person has their own struggles and I don’t want to sound like a cry baby. But you have to know that voicing your belief in the House of Dreams to those of us in the thick of it does wonders.

Give. Advancing requires funding. Money isn’t the answer to clearing up the whole matter, but it helps. If you have decided to give to the operations here on a monthly basis, thank you! And please continue to be faithful. If you know of anyone else who would be interested in getting involved with the beautiful work of caring for orphans please share with them about the House of Dreams.

Hope is not lost. Good will prevail. Thank you for sticking it out with us. 

- Angie