Adios, Tíos

It is always hard to say goodbye to friends, but we have had a great time with these Tíos and they have made our surroundings a bit more cheerful with their painting and their laughter. Adios, tíos y tías! It was a blessing to have this team from St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas, with us again this year. Hasta el próximo. See ya next year!! :)

Godly Play

Many thanks to Nina for leading the sessions at San Jose. Calm, godly play that engaged the kids was such a blessing.

Smiles

Here are some smiles from Casa Hogar San Jose. Juan Diego, making the most of this photo op, is Marta's (Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia) little brother. And I wish that Arelis, Hermelinda, and Daniela didn't take everything so seriously!

Growing Up

Can you guess who I am? I'm a lot taller than I was last year. I'm Katiuska and next to me in a rare serious moment is my little sister Tamara. Hugs to the Tios!

Here Fishie, Here Fishie

Manuel was the first to check out the new "pond" in the corner of the patio. (Actually it was built for baptisms, but Padre Juan Carlos found out right away how COLD that water could be!) Now we have a rock corner with ferns and a pool underneath. Fish were just introduced and Manuel proudly announced that there were 18 1-inch fish in it. Margot looked mildly interested then said she was looking forward to reading a book this afternoon! To each his own!

Back in the Saddle

Actually, the pictures have nothing to do with this entry! They are three versions of the Peruvian Hairless Dogs sometimes called "Calatos" that I thought you might find interesting.

Padre Ron has met with both directors from the Casas. I think they have him up to speed on everyone and the needs of each house. Of course the falling $$ doesn't help! Padre is working hard to get all the financials done in a timely way as he has a meeting of the ONG (Non-Profit Organization)on the 24th in Lima and he wants to be "up to date" on our funding and expenses. It is incredible to see how generous are the hearts of our supporters. Thank you

P.S. We will be able to use the new van to transport the St.Matthew's team about town this week. A mutually agreeable arrangement. The team will get to their sites and the kids will get some fuel money for the van.

Sunday Hugs

I think our kids always look forward to Sunday and some extra hugs. They enjoyed Lydia Mudge, too. We are hoping to establish more relationships between individual kids and individual familes. Keep this in your prayers, please.

Directors

Our two directors, María Perez and Pedro Huamani are to be commended on their great job! María informed me today at our meeting that Hepatitis B vaccinations will soon be offered free to minors so we will sign up right away. Additionally, we are starting the paper work to get ID cards for each child. This is something new the goverment is allowing and will really help us out. Padre Ron intends to issue employee IDs to the staff. Pedro and María came through vacation time successfully. When the kids are out of school we must have houseparents present so they have arrange extra hours with the staff. In addition numerous excursions need to be planned. I know that some of the kids were disappointed in not going to the beach this year, but we didn´t have all the health issues we´ve had in past years, either! Just like parents everywhere, there was a sigh of relief from Pedro and María when school started up! I really appreciate you both! Thanks, Pedro and María.

Saturdays

Saturday afternoon is when our Cristo Redentor youth group meets. As you can see, it is a solemn and formal occasion for the Casas kids-NOT!