Alesandro- My Little Monkey! (Erin)

Alesandro just started kindergarten this March. He is a bundle of fun and always has twice as much energy as all the interns put together! He and his sister Katherine come to El Bichito regularly and I have loved getting to see his personality shine. One of his favorite things to do with me is sit on my foot and wrap his arms around my leg. He will hold on tight as I wander around El Bichito talking to all of the other kids. He also loves to climb up into my arms and all over the tables-- He is a little monkey! Sometimes he also babbles in his own made-up (hilarious) language. One day while we were working on activities and he started doing his own version of beat boxing. We tried to capture it on video, but as soon as he noticed that we were watching he stopped. You never what to expect with Alesandro because he has so many different sides- sometimes he wants to curl up and have you read a book to him and other times he wants to be in the thick of things trying to do math flash cards and puzzles with the older kids. All his spunk adds a lot to the fun atmosphere of El Bichito!

Alfredo: A Little Ball of Fun (Julia)

February 20 post from Julia:

Alfredo, a 5 year-old little boy, always has everyone wrapped around his finger. This boy loves to show us all his love for us through hugs and kisses even when he gets embarrassed from us. Alfredo is very small and so easy to pick up and hug, which I love because every time i do, he laughs really hard but also lets me kiss him all I want. I don't know what life would be like without Alfredo always playing outside our house and constantly asking us to push him on the swing. He makes life so happy.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child like Alfredo, please click here.

Yenifer's eyes (Cori at the Aldea)

Yenifer (on the right) is simply an incredible girl. There is one thing that I really want to try and describe about her, but I also know that words won’t really do justice. I am going to try to anyways. She has the ability to do something that is pretty rare. When she hugs me, she is able to look up at me with her gorgeous eyes and it brings immediate joy. There is something about the power within her eyes. I wish I could explain, but don’t know if I will be able to, but she has that ability to say a million different things with a look.

She has so much personality and spunk, it is so much fun to be around her. I love how playful she is. When I was eating at her Casa she made me feel so loved. She was always one of the first to give me a giant hug. I can see that she has so much potential with whatever she does because she seems to have a lot of determination. Her ability to make others feel comfortable is incredible considering the age that she is. Seems to me that she is one of those born leaders.

PS - special thanks to Leonie Cramer and Carl Reese for sponsoring Yenifer!!

spunky Luz! (Cori at the Aldea)

This week was yet again packed with so many incredible moments, everyday is such a learning experience, and I continue to feel more and more blessed each day. This week I wanted to highlight Luz Marina.

I actually ate in her same Casa this week, which helped me to get to know her a little bit more. It was one of the first nights eating there and she just made everything so much fun. She was constantly laughing and saying funny things. There was one phrase she kept saying and dancing to, which I continued to laugh with her about, "I love you, I love you, I love you." As she sang this she would shake her hips, and start laughing hysterically. It just made me laugh every time I heard her sing it. I taught her this handshake off of the movie Parent Trap and she learned it so quick and would keep laughing every time we did it. She has so much spunk, it's fun.

The things about Luz is that she is really athletic! She is great at all sorts of things and loves doing it all. I asked her what her favorite things was to do and she listed basically it all. She loves to sing, dance, play sports, is interested in gymnastics too. I had her try a kart wheel, and wow she did an incredible job. It has blown me away how great she did considering it was her first time I think. I honestly think she would be great at gymnastics or something athletic that includes strength. She said she would love doing something like that.

One thing about her too is that she has a very strong personality. . . She is always helping the the Tia around the house cause she is one of the few older ones in the house. I always saw her helping and willing to work hard with anything. She definitely knows how to help and to make others smile and laugh. What an incredible girl she is, and I honestly feel like she will excel in anything that she puts her mind to. I hope to continue to get to know her and continue to learn from her!

A bit about Fredy (Shelisa at Aldea)

Getting to the orphanage I was not sure what to expect, I was blown out of the water at how amazing the children are and how loving they are even to a complete stranger. When our truck pulled up the children came flooding in and they helped us instantly with our bags and carried them to our house. I enjoy and love so many of the children already and it has only been two weeks but they have my heart. The children have been so patient with me and the language barrier. They are also always willing to help out even without being told if they see us doing a chore they jump in and do it for us. I am there to serve them but it does not feel that way they are always serving me with their love and kindness.

The one child that I would like to tell you about today is Fredy, he has stood out to me the most. He is 15 years old, at first he is quiet and does not say much, but really just observes you. He is the father of the orphanage here. He is always setting the example to the children and is very kind to them. When I see a child having a hard time or crying he is there to cheer them up and take care of them. He is always there to help the little ones who get picked on of that just need a friend. He is also a very hard worker with a lot of determination; you can tell just by the way he carries himself and how he works around the orphanage doing his chores. He is now warming up to me, it may have something to do with the fact that we play soccer (football) with them.

I was told a story about him that just made me so happy, it was around Christmas time and he was running around the orphanage yelling "children children…. Come out and play", they created a train of children and played with them that day! He really is like the father of the orphanage. He is also always willing to learn new things. The other day while teaching the younger children to swim he was there watching and learning what we were teaching them.

Alfredo and Ruben (Mitch at the Aldea)

One kid that I have absolutely fallen in love with is 4 year-old (3 or 4, I really don't know exactly) Alfredo. If I was to have a little boy of my own, I would want him to be like this little guy--spunky, happy, funny, strong and super trusting. Every time Alfredo sees me, even if he is 50 feet away, he makes a huge mischievous smile and then starts running full speed straight at me, and right before he reaches me he jumps and for some reason trusts that I will catch him. Sometimes I go looking for the guy just so he will come and jump into my arms--I absolutely love it! He loves sitting on someone's lap and is always curious of what you are doing.

And then there is Ruben. This guy is a little older than Alfredo, but just as much fun. I went to the beach last week with his house and another house and we had an absolutely awesome time together. Along with the help of some of his friends, we were able to bury Ruben completely in the beach, leaving only his head out of the sand. The waves were so good that day and the beach had the perfect steepness that when the waves would break on the shore they could carry a kid 10-15 feet up the sand, not to mention me along with them! Of course Ruben was one of the first to figure this out and it wasn't long till many of the kids all opted to get hammered by these waves and rocketed up the beach. So much fun, and so much fun to watch!

Also at the beach, him and most of the other boys starting playing a game where they would throw a soccer ball into the sea and then wait to catch it as the waves would shoot the ball up on shore. Pretty soon they started asking me to throw the ball out to sea as I could throw it considerably farther than they could. As usual, the ball would eventual make it back to shore and they would scramble to be the first to catch it. The game evolved further to include point values for who ever grabbed the ball first when it finally came back to shore. We would play games up to 500. Ruben is almost fearless and always willing to try new things. If you didn't already figure it out, he loves to swim!

a bag of chips by intern Cori at Aldea

This week has been so incredible- I feel like the kids are teaching me more then I could ever teach them. . . I feel so inspired each time that I am with these kids, there is so much each day that they teach me. It's hard to even know where to begin with it all, but I will do my best. I am still trying to get to know these kids on an individual, more personal level, and with the language barrier sometimes it makes it hard, but I have realized that actions speak so much more then words, so I decided to highlight a moment that I will never forget.

Some of the boys have made me feel so comfortable and so at home, feels like I have a bunch of younger brothers who have become more and more special to me each day. But it started out last week when I was sitting on the court at night after a run, and three boys came up and started to talk to me and Brianna. It was Juan Carlos, Juan Estevan, and Junior. They started talking to us and teaching us different words. They were so patient with us, and really tried to teach us which I thought was so sweet. The boys seem harder to "crack" a little harder to reach, especially at that age, however from the first time I talked I felt there is a way to help these boys feel important to feel special, but they have made me feel that way instead. I just can't get over their kindness.

But this past Monday we were in Truijillo waiting to go to swimming lessons there with the older kids. While we were waiting there, which lasted quite a while, these 3 boys Juan Carlos, Juan Estevan, and Kenny came back from buying some snacks and they handed me a bag of chips. They wouldn't let me turn them down and insisted that I take them. I was so inspired by their kindness. None of them would take credit for who actually bought it (partly because I think they were embarrassed), but I just couldn't believe how giving they were. To someone they didn't really know that well they were willing to give, when they don't really have a ton to give. I was so impressed by their unselfishness. They made not only feel welcome, but cared about.

That's what I wanted to highlight this week was the kindness and generosity of these teenage boys. They help take care of other people, other kids in the orphanage including the volunteers. As the week went on, they continued to talk with me, mostly joke with me cause I have quite a lack of words (poco espanol). It made my week, playing futbol with them was the highlight of a lot of the days this week. These 3 boys brought me joy each day that I was there. . . I am looking forward to getting to know them even more as time goes on.

Flashback Friday (Natalie)

Next Monday my husband and I as well as about 25 other people are getting together to see two special little people. I've been waiting for this reunion for a long, long time.

There are two boys from an orphanage we worked with in Peru who were lucky enough to be adopted by a loving couple earlier this year. Their mom tells me they are adjusting very well. Apparently they LOVED Halloween. But what kid coming from an impoverished third-world country wouldn't? You dress up and then walk around to people's houses and they give you candy??

In fact, I wonder what else they found fascinating about living in the U.S. Once in a while I try to see my world through the children of Peru's eyes. What would they think about Costco? I'm sure they'd love the free samples as much as I do. But what would they think about the giant packs of food? About the Christmas displays already set up? I'm sure they would stare with eyes wide and mouth open at people pushing enormous shopping carts overflowing with food, snacks and a ton of non-essential, non-important STUFF.

As I watch Christmas advertising, I have to stop myself from judging our commercially-minded society. I have to remember that even though a child may have more toys than they will ever need and still want more, that's just how things are here. It doesn't make us bad people - just amazingly fortunate and blessed.

And given the chance, I know every poor child would do the same if given the chance. I guess that's what I want for Christmas - for every poor child to have more food, more toys and especially more LOVE than they will ever need.

to me, this is what it's all about... (natalie)

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to our annual banquet last Friday! I loved seeing friends from past expeditions and meeting new friends.

Thanks to everyone's generosity, we raised money which will be used for the construction of The Little Bug. Right now, The Little Bug (El Bichito) is a drop-in center, but we are helping them convert it to a home.

We had both a silent and live auction. Both fun. After the auctions, we told the story about little Delia shown here. Delia is one of our El Bichito children and she came for a medical exam with the doctors on our summer expeditions. They found a fairly large tumor in her ear that needs to be removed. Telling someone down there that they "need to see a doctor" does no good. They don't have the money so they simply won't see a doctor.

Last Friday we outbid each other for Jazz tickets, for vacation packages, for chocolates and other goodies. But when we simply asked people to help us pay for Delia's surgery without anything in return, several hands went up.

And that's when I cried.

So thank you. Thank you Annette Bell, Morgan Humphries, Ron Steele, Grant Southworth and Wayne and Pam Merrill. Thank you for taking care of Delia.

And I WILL keep you informed of Delia's progress.

give me five (Carrie in Aldea Infantile)

Two new boys came to the Aldea Infantil in Trujillo this past week. One is tall, quiet, nice and his name is Pedro. The other is Christian. Christian is about 8 years old and is missing all his front teeth yet still insists on biting people—myself included. Yes, I was bit by the toothless child and, impossibly, it still left teeth marks. I gave him a hug, and he gave me three red sores on my stomach.
As you can probably tell, Christian and I didn’t take to each other very quickly. I suppose this is understandable considering he had been picked up off the street only days before and may not be very used to affection. I tried to talking to him instead but that was a disaster too. Trying to understand a child that lacks all of his front teeth (very important for articulation purposes) and insists on screaming every word that comes out of his mouth is a struggle for someone who is still learning Spanish. Christian, for me, I could tell would be a difficult child to grow close to.

On Friday Christian, Pedro, and another new girl in the Aldea had to get their shots so we all piled into the truck for the hospital in Trujillo. I wasn’t terribly excited for Christian, the boy with possible ADHD and an anger problem, to sit next to me in a confined space for 40 minutes. That was just asking for a few more red sores, I thought. But, surprisingly, the whole ride he quietly held my hand and smiled as I counted out his fingers, “uno, dos, tres, cuantro, cinco—dame cinco!” (one, two, three, four, five--give me five!) It made me reevaluate the importance of holding someone’s hand. Christian, a boy who may not have received a lot of love in his life, deserves just as much affection as you, me, or the next person. Something seemingly so simple means so much. I’ve learned there is a renewed confidence, a sense of safety, and a feeling of belonging in the simple intertwining of fingers. Why do you think lovers hold hands? Why do children cling tightly to their parents’ palms? Why do best friends take each others’ hands before jumping off of anything?
Living at the Aldea has reminded me that, before we leap into life, we should have open arms and willing hearts because sometimes we ALL just need a hand to hold.
Sort of gives new meaning to giving five.