Niños

Saturday was Children's Day here in Cochabamba, and we celebrated our kids at the center with a carnival (sort of).  All the kids who come to the weekday afternoon activities earn tickets which they can spend at a carnival at the end of 4 months.  This was our first go at the carnival idea, and it went over pretty well.  With their tickets, the kids could buy things like toys, candy, and food, or play games and earn prizes, or get their faces painted.  I put together a basketball game, a ring toss, and a bucket toss and recruited Kim and Ruth to help run the stands.  The games sound cooler than they actually were, but the kids liked them.  If you are interested, I posted some photos on my web gallery.

Next Saturday, it's back to normal at the center, and we'll continue with our theme: "Clean, Inside & Out."  I'll have to figure out a way to pass out tickets so that the kids who can only come on Saturdays can be involved in the next carnival at the end of July.

And then, on Sunday the 27th, the teen girls and I are having a pizza-making party!  

I'm pleased about the open door for weekend activities and outreaches at the center, but I'm resigning myself to the fact that other doors have been closed.  As in all ministries, changes in leadership mean changes in direction and vision.  It's normal, and there is room for many different types of ministries in the Kingdom of God.  And so, as some doors close for me at El Centro de Amistad, God has been opening other doors in other areas of ministry in Cochabamba.  

Since the end of March, I've been spending 3 mornings a week volunteering with another foundation called Ninos con Valor.  Right now, I am just observing/helping out where I can in their project for street girls and women at risk as well as spending some time with the girls in their girls' home.  I hope to get more involved as I cut back on my Spanish classes in the coming weeks.  I'm praying that ITeams will want to partner with them, as they have with so many other ministries in Latin America.  Check out their website, if you get a chance.  Hopefully, I'll get some photos posted online in a few days.