Tie Dye Good Bye (from Janel)

Janel shares an awesome activity the interns did with the kids at La Aldea:

This week we tie dyed shirts with the kids. We bought shirts and taught them how to tie them with rubberbands so they could do their own. Let me say I have never seen the kids this quiet or interested. They loved this activity and the shirts turned out great.

Maribel (from Janel)

Janel introduces us to Maribel:

Maribel is a sweet girl who loves to be around others. She loves to play basketball, soccer, and volleyball as well as paint, color, and make bracelets. She is an active girl who unfortunately rarely leaves the Aldea. She has special needs which requires a special school. When the Aldea's funds were cut, she had to stop going to school. Instead, she stays home all day helping the Tia and watching the younger kids. Maribel is always smiling and shows a good example of sportsmanship. She has fun playing games no matter what the score. One day I was walking to a small store nearby the Aldea and asked her to come with me. She was so excited to be able to do something different! It was a simple trip - we marched over to get diapers for a Tia and came right back, but she was smiling ear to ear the whole time.

Pilar's Quincenera (from Janel)

Janel, Pilar, Amanda and Hao

Janel tells us more about Pilar's Quincenera:

Pilar recently had her big 15th birthday party. Over 50 of her classmates came over to the Aldea on a Friday night to celebrate this exciting event! She looked beautiful and had a lot of fun dressing up and feeling special. Pilar is a friendly girl who loves to play volleyball. She is responsible in completing her homework and is known for being a good student. How exciting to share this special event with her!

Miguelitto (from Janel)

Janel, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, introduces us to Miguel:

Miguel is accompanied in the Aldea by his older brother, Victor. The two have lots of fun with the other boys in house 2. Some of the boys are a few years older and do not always include the younger ones like Miguel, who is 7. One night after dinner, for English class, I made homemade word finds for the boys. The older ones loved this and raced to get done first. Miguel wanted to be included also. I gave him a word find and he was determined to finish it! It was well after the older boys had finished, but the smile on his face showed his satisfaction. Miguel is an active boy who loves to color and pull pranks. He races to be the first in the truck on the way to school so he can lock the others out. He loves to sit in the driver´s seat and act like he is driving. Everyday after lunch he practices his writing and is getting better everyday. Miguelitto participates in art class and loves to paint. Miguel is a kid who loves to laugh and have fun.

The brothers of house 5 (Janel)

A post from Janel at La Aldea Infantil:

"House 5" is a house full of 8 boys ranging from ages 1 to 16. This week I received three large packages full of goodies from a family I consider my own in Missouri. The packages were filled with books, small toys, arts and crafts, school supplies, and candy all for the children. I haven't seen the kids more excited! The small toy cars immediately caught the boys´ attention. They did everything from racing, trading, and even bartering them. The most interesting and humorous to me was the game of "Where is Obama?" Caesar (16) would line the toy cars like they were parading down a boulevard and Ruben, Jhonatan, and Jose would guess which car President Obama was in. The creativity of these boys is amazing. They make so much out of what they have that when given more they immediately jump at the opportunities.

I am impressed at how well the boys listen to the Tia and are willing and proactive in completing their chores. They have been taught well.

The boys watch out for each other and consider one another family. I asked Miguel if he had any brother or sisters. He told me he had 7. I found out later by talking with the Tia that he has no biological siblings.

Guadalupe the Artist! (Janel)

Janel, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, gives us a peek into Guadalupe's life and talents:

Guadalupe (in yellow) not only likes to joke around and laugh, but loves to color and paint. Unfortuantely, she does not have materials of her own. I brought a couple of coloring books to her house and she immediately grabbed extra paper and began tracing the pictures. She wanted to have pictures to be able to color when I left. She even traced enough to share with the younger girls. I encouraged her to color the pictures in the book and that I would draw pictures for her to color. She loved my drawings! I looked at the pictures that she especially enjoyed and drew similar glamorous girls with over sized eyes and altered them a bit to resemble her peers.

She couldn't get enough of it and was sad when it was time for me to go.

Although her test scores might not be up to par with the average 17 year old, her love of crafts and creativity level surpasses that of any teenager. Upon being questioned, she confirmed that she will be continuing her work when she leves the Aldea. Make a note of her name because you could someday be buying her artwork.

Daniel (Janel)

Janel, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, gives us an update on Daniel:

Daniel immediately had my heart.

He has an outgoing personality and loves to be in the middle of the fun. Daniel is the best example of not caring what others think.

He loves to dance. For the Mother's Day presentation at the Aldea, Daniel performed to a song in front of everyone. Not that it's credible coming from me, but he is a pretty good dancer!

Daniel once had a bad fall and is missing his two front teeth, but this does not stop him from smiling constantly. Because of his missing teeth, he talks different and it can be hard to understand him, but he sure does hold his own and does not let anyone get to him.

He always wants to help out and loves to assist us push the food carts.

Daniel has so much love to give. He brightens up my day simply by being himself.

Read more about Daniel here and here.

Renso, Sulie and Sara (Janel)

Janel, one of our interns at La Aldea introduces us to Renzo, Sulie and Sara:

Lorenzo, Renzo for short, is 19 months. He is a quiet and carefree stud that enjoys a good book every now and then and loves to take walks around the Aldea. Renzo's favorite activity is watching the cars pass. His head flows smoothly left to right 180 degrees as he watches the cars zoom past the Aldea.

Sulie, your average 15 year old, loves to dance! Sulie is outgoing and friendly and loves to be in front of the camera. Being older and more mature, she is the mediator and leader of her house. Sulie is an intelligent girl and told me she someday hopes to be an architect. She is internally motivated and naturally takes her school work seriously. In my attempt to help her with her homework, Sulie showed her personality of being hard working and persistent in her efforts. She is on the right track to doing good in the world.

Sara, 17 years old, is opinionated and clever. Sara is always willing to help, quick to correct my poor Spanish pronunciation. She asked me for my help with her English homework and we learned side by side. With an English/Spanish dictionary in hand, we successfully finished her homework, a team effort. I helped her study for an oral reading comprehension test, which Sara reported she did very well! Sara enjoys photography and is quite good at it. Sara wanted to trasnfer images from my laptop to her flashdrive. She was eager to learn and I was able to teach her how to do this. She quickly got the hang of it and soon after did not need my help. Sara shared her Spanish music with me, slowly translating each line as the song played. Recently at her school is a recycling contest. Sara has taken initiative and collected a truck full of bottles, with the help of her Aldea family. I helped her carry the large bags into school, where she proudly brought them to the back of her classroom. Sara is loyal and independent and helps the Tias care for the younger girls of the house.

Happy Alfredo (Janel)

The following post is from Janel, a new intern at La Aldea Infantil. We appreciate interns like Janel who write these posts and wait for the slow internet connection to upload photos! (These took 3 hours for her to upload! Thanks Janel!)

Alfredo is one of the happiest kids I have ever seen. He is ALWAYS smiling or laughing. He is so much fun to be around because he has so much energy. Alfredo loves to give hugs, but never wants to let go! When we (the interns) were leaving the Aldea for the weekend, he walked us to the gate and gave me more than enough kisses to last the weekend. He kept asking WHY we had to leave. He wanted us to stay with him and was so persistent with his request, he almost sold me. I am convinced Alfredo will someday be a successful business man.

Meet Our New Interns: Janel

My name is Janel Glidden. I am a junior at BYU still searching for a major.
I grew up in a small town in southwest Missouri. I transferred to BYU from Missouri State University - WP where I played volleyball for the Grizzlies. I would say I am caring, competitive, easy going, considerate, and friendly.
I love working with children and have always held a calling in the Nursery or Primary in my church. Being in a student ward, I have missed working with children!
I was not raised by my biological parents and have been so blessed to be taken in and loved. Because my life has been so blessed by those that give, I pray to be able to help by giving what every child deserves; love.

*Check back in the coming weeks for posts from Janel when she arrives at the Aldea!