Lily's kids

Lily's kids

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Where is my mama?

Giggles and hugs. Wiggles quickly into everyone’s heart.
How could her mother exchanged her for alcholol?
Now she is treasured and loved beyond words.

We entered this world as our mother left it.
A papa’s uncertain promise to return.
Adventurous brothers through thick and thin.

Left alone, her tiny face eaten away at, a night of torture.
The scars still remain but not the fear.
Smiling, laughing, cherished.

Where is my mama?
This is all he has ever known. 
A new last name, a new family.

Malnourished, forgotten, abandoned.
A mama who doesn’t care and always forgets.
Can someone love me please?

Two weeks old and nowhere to go.
My family was in crisis. They forgot about me.
New home and brothers and sisters.

Eyes dark as night have seen a lifetime of pain in two short years
A smile now breaks the once lifeless face
Trust and hope instead of fear and loneliness.

When you hear the stories, you can’t help not being affected.
When you see their faces, you can’t not do anything.
When you love them, you won’t stop caring.

These are not just stories. These little ones have been through so much.
Her mother was 12 years old when she was born. Two years later she commited suicide.
Her parents fought and left her outside overnight where ants ate away at her face.
He was abandoned with no name or last name.
Her mother tried to sell her for $28. When no one stepped up she exchanged her for alcohol.

Each story is the story of one of the children in my home. I didn’t choose the saddest or most heartwrenching stories from the 70 children living here. The 8 precious babies in my home have pasts that make my heart cry out for justice. Each child here has a story marked with pain. But now they have a new chapter in their story. A chapter of hope and love and truth.

So many times we can't give the answers to their questions. 
Where is my mama?
Why did she leave me?
Why me?
But we can give them different answers.
God loves you and will never leave you. YOU! You are precious and loved.


Please love these children. They search desperately for love. 
Please pray for them! They desperately need Christ.

In Christ who will NEVER leave us,
Lily Fluharty


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Picture Post!!!

Picture post!!! Just because they are waaaaayyyyyy too cute!
Peniel (3)… precious and sweet. I don't have words for the love I have for this little one. Blessed every night as she asks me to pray for her heart and as we sing "Jesus loves me" together. 

Eriks (8) and Ariel (14)… Love these two goofballs. This whole week they've been in pursuit of a random cat… I love finding them crawling out of the really tall grass, grinning ear to ear telling me that they ALMOST touched the cat! Oh these  boys!

A couple of my kiddos… July, Javier, Mari Ros, Juanes and Peniel… Tia Time before bed… how many kids can fit in my bed???

Sabina (7 months) and Grace Abigail (5 months)… these two little ones are as precious as can be. It has been a joy having Sabina in my home and both little girlies are growing so quickly!
Josue (11)… LOVE getting my hug from him EVERY single day. 

Ezequiel (15) and Antonio (15)… the older boys here ALWAYS make my day. They are goofy, hilarious and super sweet. aaaaaand you can't forget how cool they are! ;)

Kids, kids and more kids… never a dull moment here! 

Lolina (5)… SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!! Lolina is walking on her own. This is an amazing miracle and such a blessing. This little one arrived with severe special needs. God has done miracle after miracle with beautiful Lolina as she slowly responded to the love and care here. She is now eating on her own and just started to walk! Praise God!!!

Blessings and love from the beautiful mountains of Bolivia!!! God is amazing and I love seeing Him work in the lives here at Casa de Esperanza. Praise His holy name!!!

Much love,
~Lily Fluharty


Saturday, September 6, 2014

Falling in Love

I have a confession… I've fallen in love.

Last night, I sat chatting at night with Tia Nely who is one of the Tias working here and one of my dear friends. I have worked alongside her and learned so much from her in the past two and a half years. I was so blessed when almost almost two years ago she decided to name her daughter after me.
We sat chatting and remembering my first three months in Bolivia.
No Spanish and yet we were able to connect and encourage each other.
I am so amazed looking back at everything God has done and taught me here at Casa de Esperanza


He has blessed me in amazing ways.

I've fallen in love.

I arrived here a young 18 year old fresh out of high school knowing about 10 words of Spanish.
Now I'm (still young) 21 and responsible for 8 precious babies and think more in Spanish than English.

I've fallen in love with a country.
I've fallen in love with 70+ kids.
I've fallen in love with a language.

The other morning we woke up to rain and a lightning storm over on the next mountain top. A half hour later my little guys started calling out to me, "TIA LILY!!! A RAINBOW!!!"  To my left the sky was pink and beautiful, in front of me the rain was drifting away and there was a double rainbow and to my right, a lightning storm and dark clouds. I couldn't get over the beauty of it. As the storm circled away from us I just stared and exhaled at God's beauty.

I've fallen in love with beauty.
I've fallen in love with mountains.

Last night I was tired. More like exhausted. I had spent the morning at the hospital (a very dirty hospital) with two of my littlest so they could get their shots and checkups. The afternoon I had spent with a hoe, getting blisters as we finish our small garden. It went from one plant to a half circle that has JESUS TE AMA (Jesus loves you) written in grass. Beautiful but hard work and blisters. One of my little guys got scared at night from dogs barking so he pulled his mattress into my room and slept on my floor. It had been a long day.

I've fallen in love with working.
I've fallen in love with serving.

There's moments where I've got nothing more to give. There's moments where I can't stop laughing. My life here is insane. But here's what God has been showing me.
HIS love is INSANE.

I've fallen in love with God's love.

In the past two weeks I've been falling in love. I've been falling more and more in love with my Savior. I need His love for me. I've been reading more and more of Psalms and rejoicing in His nearness and love. I see such a dependency on Him.
Without Jesus I have nothing. Without Jesus I am nothing.

I've fallen in love with God's goodness.
I've fallen in love with His grace.

In the good days filled with laughter, I want to be fully dependent on God and give Him thanks.
In the hard days that are tiring and frustrating, I want to be fully dependent on God and give Him thanks.

I've fallen in love with JOY.

I need Him. And like He promises AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.
He will NEVER leave us.

Fills me with JOY.

God has done crazy things in these past 2 1/2 years. He's done crazy things in the past 2 weeks.

I've fallen in love with craziness.

Give your life, every piece and part and hope and dream back to Him. It's His already. My prayer is continually asking God to use me up for HIM. I don't want my plans. They fail. I want His prefect plan for me.

God bless from Bolivia!
The land of beautiful sunrises, goofy kids, the best coca-cola, forever dirty feet from dirt and dusty roads, beautiful blue butterflies, bracelets, smiles and love.

~Lily Fluharty

Love spill over

Two AMAZING quotes that I have been reading and re-reading. God has been doing some crazy things lately in my heart! I need His help daily to love Him but the only response I can give back is everything that I am. I am weak and feeble... but that’s where the beauty comes in. God doesn’t need me to be anything greater because HE is great. He uses the weak and lowly to show just how strong and majestic He is!!! He makes everything glorious because of His unending glory! How beautiful. Literally makes me sink to my knees in praise because His love for us is so great. 
“Be persuaded, timid soul, that He has loved you too much to cease loving you.” -Archbishoph Fenelon
“Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I canot speak! For I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not I am a child; for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee shou shalt speak.” Jeremiah 1:6-7
“What he has in himself must not be mentioned, but lost in the consideration that he was chosen to speak for God. God knows how young you are, and how slender your knowledge and experience; God will magnify Himself in  your feebleness.” C.H. Spurgeon

My prayer each day is this, “All I want to do is love you first and let that love spill into those around me.”
In my own strength… I can't. In God's love, nothing is impossible.
Blessings and hugs from Bolivia!