New Do

Notice Victoria has a new hair style today. The teens seem to be sporting something different each week. Thanks to the Mothers´Day cards in Plano and the jewelry sales, the kids will begin to get a bit of allowance before long. They need to be able to buy a snack to share with their friends from time to time. Edgar and Giovana now make the trip to school on a "combi" or bus with a houseparent meeting them at the stop. We are still trying to get an official change on Edgar´s birth year to keep him with us for a bit longer. He isn´t ready to be launched out into the world yet! He will begin taking a more intensive computer course in a couple of months. That can lead toward a job later on.

Teens

Our Sagrada Familia teens seemed in good moods this morning. I just heard that Margot is progressing rapidly on the "teclado" or keyboard. Her teacher, Eliana, is going to lengthen her lessons. Edgar also is enjoying lessons. Giovana and Susana like to work with the overhead and the music transparencies. This is very helpful on Sunday mornings. José was acolyte today while Manuel and Diego spread out the Prayer Books. María Perez is preparing some of the San José kids for baptism.

Sunday Morning

Juan Diego leads the pack as the San José kids come in on Sunday morning. Tía Angelica accompanies him. New, reversible coats are on the way for the girls- navy on one side and red on the other side. They should be great for these cold mornings at school. Sweater jackets for the boys that zip up to a turtle-neck collar. Frequently it is 50-51 degrees in the morning and breezy. Padre Ron was afraid Juan Diego might doze off on the front row this morning! Thank you, Zoila, for Sunday school! Rosita taught the lesson this morning. We need someone who can do a second group of the 8-10 year olds. Maybe our intern David who arrives next Sunday can. We´ll see.

Brrrrrr!!!

We are moving into winter here. The weather has really changed. Now we have nights in the low 40's and days in the mid 60's. When one is in the sun, it is really hot. But, just step into the shade and brrrrr! We have bought more blankets for Sagrada Familia. Also, we bought flannel underwear, gloves and scarves for those who needed them at both Casas. Now we are in the process of buying more sweaters and jackets for the kids at both Casas. Thanks to the help of our friends we have picked up shoes for those hard to fit feet.

Our recent visitor from St. Luke's, Denison, TX, Deacon David, felt the nip in the air, and Jonathan was glad to have the mantle for this dance performance !

Are We in Mexico??

Even Martha and Susana were impressed by the hoopla at the church on Mothers´Day. One young couple had brought a group of Mariachis to serenade their mom after church. Of course, life is better for teens with a bag of chips! They musicians were great, but a one point it dawned on Father Ron that they had slipped into traditional Peruvian music which seemed to clash with their outfits.

Encouragement

Diego Armando gets psyched up for his dance. Padre Tony and Tío Alan will give him a hearty round of applause, I´m sure.

Thanks, Luis

Luis, one of the tutors (houseparents) for Sagrada Familia brought by a panel to send back to the States with the St. Matthew´s team. I do think the symbols for the Apostles are even better than on the previous one. Kudos, of course, to Tía Nani. By the way- can you identify the symbols of the twelve apostles?? Try it.

Medals

Medalist this year were Diego and José. There medals were for track in inter-school events. Great job, boys!

New Dance

José was in a new dance this year. Cool! A chance for manly sword-fight.

Jonathan, who I nicknamed "the Runner," shows off his stuff in the dances which were very good this year. Then Maricruz does her dance. Notice how much more mature Maricruz appears now? How can it be? Our little Casas kids are growing up!

Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day is alway one we try to soften for our Casas kids. We encourage them to give a card to a special Tía in their life. This year we had "big doin´s" at San Lucas where our kids really got involved as you can see.

Do You Know the Names of the Apostles??

Well, our Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia kids do. In a creative sewing project our adolescents learned how to hand sew 4 types of buttons, patch tears in clothing, and run our new SEWING MACHINE. Thanks to Tía Nani´s God-inspired project, the teens really learned about the different Apostles. Each one with his own symbol and particular role in the ministry. Boy, did the kids feel loved on!

New Duds

A few Sundays ago I snapped this of the Casas kids in some of their new duds thanks to the "Roof Dog" team! They brought down school shoes, but because or having to reschedule their flight down, they weren´t able to bring everything they had planned to bring. Now we have received the remaining tennis shoes that had to come down via other teams. WOOF!

Muscles

Manuel enjoys exploring in strength with Tía Toni at San José when the Sagrada Familia teens came over. While we have space at Sagrada Familia for the kids to play soccer, and we have a ping-pong table, we still need a slab and basketball goals at Sagrada Familia. Maybe some weights would be good, too. Muscles developing!

SPRUCING UP !

One of the things we greatly appreciated was the painting of the livingroom done by the "roofdog" team. It really helped! We received funds to get the living room furniture recovered and then noticed how in need of fresh paint the room was. We now have a fresh, bright room to receive the kids when they return for school. Thanks, friends!

Special Friends

Having the Christ Church team here was very special. Ron and Vicki also took advantage to spend time just enjoying the kids. They grow so fast and it seems there is never enough time!

New Friends

There were new kids to meet including Juan Diego (4 yrs.) and Ángela (7 yrs.) Currently we have 18 kids at Casa Hogar San José whose ages range from 3 to 11. And, we have 9 teenagers at Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia where their ages range from 12 to 17. Splitting the time up between the two homes takes a good bit of coordination. Many thanks to Vicki Robertson for all the arrangements done BEFORE the teams arrive!

Team

We had a great group this time, but we did miss the three that couldn't reschedule to come down now. I'm sure we'll see them later. Here we have them out in front of Sagrada Familia.

THEY'RE HERE!!

After the great disappointment of having DFW closed on the day of departure for the "Roof-dog" team, we were even MORE excited when the team DID arrive at a later date. Can ya tell?

New Sub-Director

Pictured here is the Casa "San José" director, María Perez and the new sub-director for Casa "Sagrada Familia," Pedro Huaymani. Pedro has been our Saturday psychologist for this past year and now has come on board in a full-time capacity as sub-director. Already, in the first weeks of his new position, we have seen a change in the timbre of the house. A loving, but firm hand is helping our teens move forward. María Perez continues to help with her vast experience in the field and makes sure we stay in compliance with Peruvian laws and regulations. Welcome, Pedro!

SPIFFY NEW UPHOLSTREY

Here is a picture of tutora Mari sitting on our newly reupholstered furniture at San José. We hope to get the livingroom painted soon, too. It will look great when our friends from Texas come to visit in the near future.

Mechanics

Okay, I'm way behind on the updates! But I thought you'd enjoy seeing Edgar and José in action. The two guys have been going three days a week during their summer vacation to a mechanic´s shop. We will see if this is something they want to pursue. It is great for these boys to be able to get out and around some more male influence. Their boss, Nestor, is a really nice guy and the boys are learning about both engines and wiring. Edgar really wants to be truck driver. You REALLY need to know something about auto mechancis here if you´re going to do that!!

Christmas at Sagrada Familia

Well, Padre Ron and Vicki missed it as they were in the US, but we had a great Christmas. We got to open our packages under the tree as well as those sent by friends in the US. We enjoyed a special meal. And, best of all we got to stay up REALLY late and watch TV. Now how cool is that? And a happy New Year to each of you!

Nativity

Thanks to Directora Jackie we have a great Nativity at Sagrada Familia. All the kids were excited and we blessed the figure of the infant Jesus just before Edgar's party. We have a lively assembly of chickens, horses, traditional wisemen, and assorted other farm animals eagerly awaiting the Christ Child. May he be born again in our hearts this year. Feliz Navidad to you each of the twelve days of Christmas!!

Party

The kids recently had a blast at Padre Ron's and Tía Vicki´s. First the Sagrada Familia crew came over and made cookies and played before feasting on hamburgers. Then the San José kids came over for a meal. Both groups enjoyed the giant soap bubble makers provided by Brian and Kimi Shorter of Corinth. Of course Padre Juan Carlos was down in the dirt playing cars with the other little boys and girls! They loved it!

Best Two out of Three....

Here they are! Yasmin and Liz, two new girls for Casa Hogar "San José" just in time for Christmas. We´re thrilled to have these 2 new eight year olds join us. The third one, a boy of 3 yrs., should have come in today. Welcome, kids! That should bring us up to our limit for 2007 with 17 at San José and 9 at Sagrada Familia. Vicki, Martha, Manuel, and Diego will move over to S.F. in February when the Roofdogs arrive from Texas. Yeeehaaaaw!

What´s Next for Edgar...?

That has been the challenging question this last month. A recently discovered birth certificate for Edgar puts him at 17 yrs. old as of Dec. 29, 2006. Legally he can only stay at Casa Hogar for one more year. (We´re investigating options.) We have decided to place Edgar in a "Pronoe" education system where he will attend classes on Sat. only and will have weekdays to apprentice at a trade he is interested in. Right now we are investigating auto mechanics which he and José both like. Maybe a little trial time over the holidays to see if it is truly something Edgar wants to pursue. Padre has assured him that if he isn´t interested, we´ll try something else! Keep Edgar in your prayers, please!

Updating......

Wow! How time flies. Let's see what I can remember. First, we did Simba's shots. He's up to date now until next year. Next, we had the kids over to make cookies, eat, and play at the Robertson's (see http://ronandvickisministry.blogspot.com/) and then we had the BIG EVENT. That was Edgar's "promoción" from Sixth Grade. Quite a blowout. Ron and Vicki went with Edgar and the directora, Jackie, to the evening bash. Music (loud), food (plentiful), and dancing(at first shy) were the order of the event which lasted from 3:30 Sunday afternoon until 9 p.m. Tía Jackie gets the prize for getting the REAL dancing started. Edgar, a bit bashful at first, had a great time.
Also, you´ll notice Estrella in the bright pink dress. She used to one of our kids at Casa Hogar San José. Hasn´t she grown???

Christian Arrives

A new boy arrived today. He will turn 11 in January. Christan has lost both parents and has only an older grandmother who isn't able to care for him. We're glad to have him. As he is a bright boy, we are checking to see if Arelis' teacher who comes to the orphanage can work with him as well.

Maria Perez and Ron discussed some repairs needed and possibly re-upholstering the living room furniture. We'll pray about that. Maria was really excited about that possibility as she wants everything "spiffy" when the Roof Dogs come in Feb.

We'll put a picture of Christian on the blog as soon as we take one!

Simba

Simba at 4 months is the youngest resident at Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia. Coming from a church family yesterday, Simba seems to be adjusting well to his new surroundings. He is nearly full size now. Susana seems the most enchanted with him and even Margot (who doesn't like dogs) was all smiles. Of course, he has made friends with the cook Ana Rosa. Smart dog! Padre took him for shots this morning and will take him back in two weeks for boosters. Welcome to the family, Simba!

Wedding Announcement

Diana, one of the "educadoras" for Casa Hogar San José, got married on the 28th of October. There was much excitement and the wedding was beautiful. One glitch, however, was that the rings didn't arrive so they had to borrow some at the last minute. This week the couple came to church Sunday and Father Ron blessed the rings when he arrived for the service. Full of smiles and excitement, the young couple was fun to watch. Congratulations, Diana and Henry!

Ana Margoth- 8 yrs. old

Daniela- 5 yrs old

Miguel Angel- 9 yrs. old

Julio César- 3 yrs. old

The Family is Expanding

Yes, we are growing. In the last couple of weeks we have added 4 more kids. Each one with a smile to melt your heart! Their backgrounds are sad. We have a couple who, because of the extreme poverty of the mother and her inability to feed them, care for them, or send them to school, have been declared abandoned and labelled "orphans". A couple of others were removed from a mother involved in gangs. She was severly injured in a knife fight and has not taken much interest in the feeding or fate of her kids. Thus, the court declared her an unfit mother. It is sad that there are so many cases of children left to fend for themselves. Finding food becomes the entire focus of their little lives. Often, even at the incredibly young age of 4,5,or 6, they end up as "domestic help"somewhere (i.e. virtually slaves.)

While the directors and I were meeting today, we had a call from a judge trying to place 4 brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, one was too old for us to accept. At the end of our meeting we prayed for God to provide a loving place for those 4. Saying "no," even when one feels led by the Spirit to set perameters, is very hard to do.