The weekend.

Friday was the little boys turn to bake. They love being able to do anything different. Here are a couple of shots of them working hard.

I had visions of this being a really cute picture. Facebook worthy. Sadly, both Noe and Wilfer were mad because I wouldn't let them hold the boxes up in front of their faces. I am so mean!

The concentration on Wilfer's face was priceless.

Pure joy and fun! Antoni.

Cute. Noe often uses this smile on me when he knows he is about to get in trouble. For the most part, it doesn't work. :)

On Saturday we had a group come from Chicago. Ken and Sue are the leaders and they sponsor one of our boys. They brought their youth group as well as some adult leaders. They came and played with our kids and made some amazing spaghetti with lots of meat and parmesan cheese. Yum!

After lunch there was more basketball, soccer, and paper airplanes. The group did some praise and worship and testimonies. Each child also received a new toy. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Teaching how to take pictures.

Noe's perch for most of the morning.

Engler loved running with the bubbles. His face was priceless.

Ken and Sue, the fearless leaders. They made a great spaghetti lunch for us. Thanks!

It always amazes me how groups and our kids alike can quickly get over the language barrier to play with and bless each other. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of love. Thanks for coming to bless us!

Part Three!

Last Saturday the teens came over for their turn at my house. We decided to go to the next town to have hamburgers. Well, I wanted a hamburger and I thought it would be a treat for them to have one as well. When they get a special meal, it is often pizza and fried chicken. But sure enough, we get there and they wanted chicken again! I could have bought chicken at the store around the corner from my house. At least I got my hamburger. :) I forgot to get a picture of that.

Then we hit the Maxi Bodega (grocery store) to pick up popcorn and pop. I was going to get a second bottle of pop but they talked me into buying a bag of chips instead. They even insisted I pick the type. How sweet.

Edgar (on the right holding up the bag of popcorn) was SO excited about the popcorn. He kept double checking with me before the day that we would for sure have popcorn. He told me just now while looking at the picture, that he had been savoring the popcorn and when it was his turn to eat chips there were hardly any left. Angel (to his left) had eaten almost all of it! I had split it into three thinking they could all share. I guess that taught me another lesson.

From left: Jose, Miguel, Angel, Edgar and Felipe in front.

I don't think air mattresses were designed to hold that much weight because the next day it started a slow leak. They have offered to patch it for me though. :)

I now have the littlest boys asking me daily if when they are coming to my house. Unfortunately I am busy this weekend but maybe next weekend. That will be a fun one for sure! I hope you all enjoy your weekend. God bless.

Auntie Naomi's House Part Two!

Well, after the medium boys came over, I figured I would give the girls their turn. It still surprises me at how different boys and girls are. I guess it shouldn't, but it does.

They had a bit of a different menu than the boys. I made Kraft Dinner (Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for those of you in the U.S.) and a pizza I threw in the oven. For dessert we had ice cream and a big bowl of popcorn which has been a big hit with everyone so far!

We only watched a tiny bit of a movie while eating then it was on to the Wii!!! They love playing Mariokart.

I don't have a couch and Lesly had a little trouble with the air mattress. She would be so embarrassed that I put this picture up. Does it make me a good auntie that I don't care?? :)

Ice cream!!!

Next up is the teens tomorrow night. I have been warned they eat a lot more than the others so I will stock up with lots of pop and popcorn for after dinner. Hopefully that will hold them for a couple of hours!

I hope you all have a great weekend! God bless.

Sermons

We have now started recording the sermons every week at New Life and Peace Church. I will provide a new link each week on the right hand side of this blog. They will be labeled with who the speaker is each week. The sermon is always translated into Spanish or English, depending on who is preaching.

Once you click on the link you will be able to listen to it from the site, or download it and keep it. Please enjoy!

Meet the Parents! And Other Staff.

Here at the home we have a core group of people who work for, and with, our kids. Consistency of routine and people in their lives is important for their mental health.

We all want someone in our life who will be there for us in the long haul. These kids are not just orphans, although we have a few who are genuine orphans. A lot of them come from abused backgrounds. Any and every type of abuse. It is hard to trust adults when the most important people in your life, the ones who are supposed to provide shelter, food, clothes, security and love, are the ones causing you the most hurt and damage. It is hard for me as an adult to understand this let alone children who are on the receiving end of the abuse. It has the potential to scar and damage these kids for life. Their bodies as well as their mind and their feelings. It changes the way they see the world, the way they react to others, the way they trust (or never trust), the way they express anger, love, their needs, sadness and any other emotion.

Those of you with kids know how much power you have to change and shape the lives of little ones in your care. This is made much harder when there is pre-existing hurt.

Rodolfo is the main house parent and assistant administrator. He has worked with us for almost 8 years. He is a good role model for our kids. He teaches them respect and how to work hard. He He also teaches a Wednesday night Bible study at our church.

Adrian is the other house parent for the boys. He has been here for almost 6 years. He loves to always have worship music playing for the kids and buys new flowers every week for the table. He isn't afraid to get on the floor to play with a kid or get in on a game of basketball or soccer with the kids.

Graciella is the house mother for the girls and our smallest boy. She joined us just over 2 years ago and brought her three daughters with her. She is married to Rodolfo. They have all become a part of the family here.

Susana has been with us as our cook for almost 2 years now. The kids love to chat with her while doing dishes and some of our kids jump at the chance to help her out in the kitchen. Though she is not involved with the direct care of the kids, her love for them is obvious.

And although you have probably seen too many pictures of me, here is another. :)

I didn't want to be by myself so here I am with Noe. I arrived at the Children's Home in January but I was only here once a week on Friday afternoons to give baking classes. I felt called to learn the administration aspect of running an orphanage and started here full time in May of this year. I am helping out wherever I can. I do administration and computer stuff in the morning and spend the afternoons with the kids. I love being a constant part of their life. I give them love (sometimes a few too many hugs and kisses!) and try to teach them to love God and respect others.

We as a staff are dedicated to serve these kids for God. For all of us, this is a ministry. The house parents live here full time and though they have days off, they go above and beyond for the kids. We want to provide a safe place for these kids to grow and learn and be loved properly. Definitely not always an easy task, but one worth so much and with so many rewards.

My prayer is that these kids will grow up loving God and wanting to serve Him in any way possible. That they will learn how to love and trust and be whole. Please pray with us as we take on this challenge.

Auntie Naomi's House!

Well, I have officially arrived 2 months ago. I have planted myself firmly in these kids lives. I love being with them. I don't have kids of my own so I have happily become Auntie Naomi to all of them. The kids have to call adults in their lives Sister/Brother or Aunt/Uncle. I have seen some kids make a definite change from calling me Sister Naomi to Aunt Naomi and I love it. I want these kids to know I love them and I want to be involved in their lives and show them that I care about them.

One way of showing them is to have them to my house for a fun night. A week and a half ago I had the first group over to my house. It was the "mediums". They are like the middle children of the house. They aren't older with more privileges, and they aren't little and cute. Although, they ARE very cute as evidenced by the picture below. (Please ignore the air mattress-it serves as my couch. :)

First we had to eat pizza. I made a rookie mistake and gave them pop before I gave out the pizza. At least they filled up quickly!

While eating pizza we watched a movie and once they had finished with their food (and washed their greasy little hands well) they were able to play my Wii. They loved Mariocart and played it for a few hours. At one point we broke from the Wii to eat cake and ice cream with a refill on pop, then we continued on with the Wii.

To end the evening properly, we had to eat lots of popcorn while watching the movie again. I decided to not refill the pop as it wouldn't be me changing beds in the morning if they ended up wet!!!

It was a fun night for everyone and they left way past their bedtime and very tired but unable to admit it! I loved having them and plan on having every child have their turn to come over and pig out and not have to do dishes. :)