One-on-One Visits

This summer we have had kids over to our house pretty regularly. Sometimes they sleep over, sometimes it is just for a few hours to make a meal and play. With 50+ kids at Casa de Fe it can be overwhelming, and the kids do not always get the same attention that they would if they were with their families. Bringing them home is our way of getting to spend more time with the kids, and making sure they know that they are noticed individually.

Here are some photos of the visits we have been doing this summer.

  2 year old Esther loved to play and eat.

Tatiana and Boris got to help cook dinner, play games, and go to the park.

Sheyla and Nila came over and helped make pancakes for dinner

Rosita spent the night with us one last time before her adoptive family arrived in Shell. She and Erin have been buddies since the first year we came.

Ester and Sheyla came over together.

Boris and Edison had a blast. Edison was almost giddy!

Adventures in Shell

The past week has gone by in a blur :0) 

We had four days of our regular schedule. Therapy with the babies, games with the big kids, tutoring in English and Spanish reading, and a lot of play time with Legos and dress up clothes.

We have also had some adventures in the last week….

• We enjoyed a whole afternoon (1pm-6:45pm) doing hair cuts and lice treatments for the kids (pulling out hundreds of eggs).
• We leisurely spent an evening cleaning up the lake that formed in our laundry room after our washing machine decided to gush all over the floor and out into the living room. (by 12:30 when we got the last of it cleaned up we were all pretty loopy and exhausted).
• We learned the meaning of the word “fuchi” when we came home to see a fire engine in front of our house pumping out sewer water from our yard (right next to our bathroom).

We also had some really good times.

• We brought kids home to cook dinner and play games.
• We had a big meal with the summer staff followed by blindfolded Pictionary and a goofy game of Signs.
• We had some cool craft times with the older girls. They are so creative! Pictures coming soon.
• We had our official visit with my Sponsored child Wendy and spent the day seeing some of the sights of Shell and swimming at a waterpark. (more about her visit later).

We filled the rest of the week with planning for the next few weeks, shopping, cooking, and cleaning (we have a white floor that always seems to be dirty).

Yesterday we took the day off and went to a nearby city called Baños. It is a small city full of beautiful architecture, waterfalls and lots of tourist shops. It is set in the valley of a ring of mountains and volcanoes with gives it beautiful views and lots of places to explore.

the big Catholic church in Baños

We love to go there at least once every year to enjoy the scenery and to walk the streets. This time we went with the three other summer staff who we are sharing a house with. We wandered around, making a few small purchases and running into other staff members who had made the trip to Baños. We all ate lunch in a small café called Casa Hood. Erin and I had heard about it before, but we had never actually eaten there. The food was SOO good. We enjoyed a leisurely meal with the group, then wandered around for a while more before heading back home to Shell.

taffy pulling in Baños

It is hard to believe that a week from today we will be leaving Shell. While some days it feels like we have been here a looong time (think 50+ cranky kids…) it just seems crazy that it is almost time to head home. Whenever I get to this point I always wish we had made the trip a few weeks longer. It is going to be another busy week as we try to pour everything we can into these last few days.

Prayer Requests

• Energy and enthusiasm for all of the staff as we work with the children
• Health for the staff (the stomach bug keeps making its rounds) and for the the children
• That the kids would enjoy the games and activities that we have planed for them and that their hearts would be soft as we share the good news.

Craft Time!

by sara

While one of the teams was here we decided to have a big craft day.

The boys designed cars…

The girls did scrapbooking with a whole trunk full of supplies…

Even the little boys got to do some coloring…

Some kids just wanted to read…

Janae, one of the staff members, decorated a box to hold the summer reading prizes.

The kids also made duct tape wallets and purses…

Taking a break with some of the kids-

Erin and the youngest baby at Casa, Santiago.

Me and Sheyla

Pijamada!!–Pajama Party!!

by sara

Last week we had a sleepover for all of the older girls. We pulled a bunch of mattresses out on the floor upstairs and stayed up till all hours of the night watching movies, eating popcorn, talking, and taking far too few photos.

 

At one point Julisa and I went up on the third floor to watch some fireworks that were being shot off in town. It was fun to sit up there with her in the dark and talk. Our conversation ranged from Ecuadorian traditions to the Bible to what kind of boys would make good husbands. I think those unplanned moments where I can sit one on one with a child have been some of the most memorable.

The First Week of “VBS”

by sara

Sorry we have not posted in a while. Between the first week of the new schedule, and the two of us getting sick (the stomach bug has been making its rounds) we were super busy….or. well….occupied ;0)  But are now both feeling a lot better and things are staring to settle down a little.

Last Friday we finished our first full week of summer schedule which is basically a 9-5 schedule of activities and a little tutoring. It has been chaotic for all the summer staff -trying to get every where they need to be for each class, but it gets a little easier every day.

Me and Shelya

We start each day with devotion time in each of the bedrooms. All the kids are learning about prayer. We sing, practice a Bible verse, talk about different kinds of prayer, and then have the kids pray with us.

The morning is mostly academic type classes (reading, math/computer, basic skills for the little kids) and therapy time with the babies and toddlers. In the afternoons we do big group activities and outings as well as more arts and crafts and music. Normally we split the kids up by age group, but this summer we also wanted to give the kids a little more of a say in what activities they did. During one of the afternoon sessions we come up with three different activities and the kids can choose whichever activity they want.

The kids have settled into the new routine quickly. Their favorite activities so far have been swimming trips, fishing, crafts, free play with board and card games, and getting stamps on their reading charts (more about reading later).

All of the staff members are finding creative ways to teach the more academic sessions, and the kids have been responding well. In the older girls math class they are learning about money and making a budget. Last weekend they went on a field trip to a local supermarket to price out the ingredients for a meal, and this Saturday they will all be coming to our house to prepare and eat the meal (Followed by some movie watching and girly activities of course).

Working as the organizers for the summer staff has definitely changed our focus while we have been here. While we have gotten to do quite a bit with the kids, between training new staff members, and working on the daily scheduling and logistics we have had less time with them. Erin and I are working on finding the balance between taking care of the admin responsibilities and doing the things that we really want to do with the kids.

We will try to post more picture blogs soon of some of the activities where we remembered to pull out our camera.