Finally walking

Emanuel is FINALLY walking!!!! Enjoy this really short clip! I lost my voice from screaming I was soooo excited… 18 months and finally walking! He loves it! All the "big kids" (all under 5) in my house were almost more excited than Emanuel was. It is so cool to see them all cheer each other on. They definitely have their' moments of not getting along and tattling on each other and every once in a while there are tiny fist fights between the twins… But I love seeing them learn to get along. It definitely isn't the easiest to live with lots of other brothers and sisters all the time. But when they come alongside each other and root for each other it is absolutely precious. Moments like this make all the craziness worth it. :)

~Lily

My babies

Love these kids. Enjoy a few pics from this week! 

July! Love seeing her smile!

Love this goofy guy!!! 

Trust

Trust.
Surrendering my everything to God.
My hopes, dreams, self, fears, frustrations, sorrows, joys…
Lifting up my soul to Christ.

"Take it. All of it. It's yours'. Here I am."

Why do I worry? Why am I afraid?
If God is for us who can be against us?
His plan is perfect and loving.

Rejoice my soul. Pick up your cross!
Looking to Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
Run with endurance!!!

He will sustain us.
He will set our feet in safe places.

How beautiful.

Rejoice tired soul.
Sing to Jesus.

Trust.

Starry night

Late last night I climbed up a mountain and laid under a dark, cloudy sky. One by one, stars began to shine through the clouds. Beauty is too small a word to describe the night sky here in Bolivia. Silence and God’s amazing creation. 

How small we are! How easily we forget this. 

How great His love is. How easily we forget this too.

Don’t get overwhelmed with the world. Get overwhelmed by how GREAT God’s love is for us. It’s beautiful to think that we can drop the heavy burden of the world and run to the outstretched, pierced hands of Jesus. The creator of every star who loves us in a way we will never grasp. 

Don’t forget. Don’t let business and life overwhelm you. Don’t forget to look at the stars.

~Lily

Intense Camping

Crazy doesn’t even BEGIN to describe the past two weeks. 

Heading out with ALL the youngest kiddos and all the bags

I’ve been camping before... but not in Bolivia with 95 kids, over 30 adults, 2 dogs, and a team of 35 from the States. 5 days, lots of tents, a river to wash everything needing to be washed, three sick toddlers... it was an adventure. A very tiring adventure. We had a blast though! 

Every day there were games and TONS to eat with the final stragglers in the food line having to wash the big pots and pans. “LUNCH TIME” always followed with a STAMPEDE to the make shift kitchen. All the big boys strategically placed themselves next to the little ones who wouldn’t be able to finish their EXTRA large plates of food. Plus there were always seconds and thirds. Oh those boys were happy. 

Those kids LOVED the river! I haven’t uploaded my pics yet but they had a blast floating down the river on inner tubes and exploring and jumping off of rocks. We had a soccer tournament and for the girls the team of Tias won! YAY! I got 2 goals!!! :) 

Ely and Ismael riding on the mountain of bags

At night there was movie nights, late night tea, the kids played volleyball and everyone just enjoyed being together. Sleeping with 3 toddlers in a tent is very interesting... especially with 3 sick toddlers. Let’s just say we didn’t sleep much! 

On the last night before the rain came and soaked most of the tents (It’s gotta happen sometime) one of the Tios went and shot a Capybara! I had ALWAYS wanted to see one and it was HUGE!!! The next day for lunch the menu changed from chicken to Capybara. It was definitely a weird experience. It tasted like chicken and fish. :) 

Matteo, Tia Carla and Tia Ana 

On Saturday we rolled up the tents, washed the rest of the clothes by hand, ate Capybara, loaded EVERYTHING into the 3 trucks and piled into the cars and headed home. Everyone was happy but tired. 

Getting home late at night meant getting as much dinner into my little ones as possible before they fell asleep and then unpacking. We had TONS of clothes to wash and we still have blankets to wash. 

This past week most of my house (including myself) ended up getting sick so 100 things I had to do got reduced to 1 thing. Rest. I find it funny sometimes that God uses stomach bugs to slow me down. I push myself HARD here. It’s a nonstop/ 24 hour job and honestly it can be exhausting. Wonderfully exhausting. But this week I put too much pressure on myself and wore myself out. When I try to do everything in my own strength I see so quickly that I just can’t. 

I’m weak. God’s strong. 

I can trust His strength and His plan each new day even if I don’t cross everything off on my to do list. I want to take time to wash a sunrise or to just sit and watch my babies play. 

Life is short and fragile and I don’t want to waste a minute of it. I want to use up every moment reveling in God’s amazing glory and His love. He delights in His creation. He delights in us. 

Let God use you. Slow down and listen. Just wait on Him. Because when You hear His whisper you’ll be blown away. 

Peniel gives a thumbs up for going home :)

We make so much noise. In our heads, in our hearts, in our lives... Be quiet little heart. 

Isn’t that what God tells us? “Be still and know that I am God.”

In the midst of the craziness STOP and laugh. In the midst of rainy nights in a tent with 130 other people around you and a dead capybara in the back of a truck waiting to be cooked for lunch and a sick toddler laying pretty much on top of you be filled with joy. 

We are His! We aren’t going anywhere!!! Not one thing can seperate us from His love!

Much love and blessings!!! I’ll be posting more pics soon!

~Lily

New faces

Time has been flying lately. Or is that what usually happens here? How has it been eleven months already!?

With Belen and Juan Gabriel

Jessa, Ellie and my sister Maddy just left last week which was hard because it was such an amazing time that we shared together. Love those girls! We made some awesome memories! Eating the m&ms that Maddy left me... THANKS MADDY!

This year we have welcomed 5 new children into our family here at CDE.

Sabina

Little Sabina is now getting so big and is such a happy and smiley baby!

Grace Abigail (Elizabeth’s baby sister) is growing almost as much as her hair is. We think she looks like one of the baby monkeys from Tarzan ;)

Grace Abigail

Two brothers, Elvis and Alex, ages 13 and 9 came a few months ago and are transitioning well into living with this new giant family. Such sweet boys!

Alex

Elvis

And the newest little one joined me in my home. Little Mari Ros is so precious and has the sweetest giggle. She calls everyone “Mommy” which breaks my heart because her own very young mommy didn’t care about her, whether she ate or not, where she slept and Mari Ros was left abandoned many times in her short two years. She has been adjusting very well and it is so sweet watching her play with July and Peniel. 

Mari Ros

Winter break started this week and we are Lord willing heading out to go camping all next week with all the kids except for the babies. It should be a blast! Were praying for NO rain!!! Sleeping in tents with my little ones should be an adventure! But I’m all ready for it! Can’t wait!!! 

Can’t believe how much I love these babies. Every day they teach me more and more about how to be a better “Tia” and “mommy”. How many times do I just sit watching them amazed at how much they’ve grown in these two and a half years. God is doing amazing things! 

Me with my kids

Thank you so much for all your prayers, love and support. Every “like” and comment on Facebook really encourages me and all the messages and emails blow me away. Thank you all for continuing to follow this little old blog and my facebook messages. I know that they aren’t very regular but life can be crazy with 9 under 7 and a teenager too. Plus add in another 60 kids that run around your house all day. Joyous noise! Laughter here is contagious! 

Much love from Bolivia!!!
~Lily

Mommy

“Tia Lily... she’s my mommy.” I’ve heard her say it multiple times. Does she know her own mother exchanged her for two bottles of alcohol?

“Mommy!!!” she calls me all day every day. She’s only been away from her own mommy for two weeks. She loves her “wawa” the stuffed animal doll that was the last gift her birth mom gave her even though her health and well being never even crossed her mother’s mind.

A small raggedy pajama tshirt that her aunt had given her. “Mommy” she would always say as she put it on. A small connection to the young mother she is already forgetting.

How easily are these women judged. How could she? We think. We forget so easily the results of prostitution. How many abortions do these young girls and women go through? And what happens to the little ones who do get the chance to live? Are they left in some dark corner while “mommy” has to go to work again? 

How sad it is to see a lack of love. Young teenagers having to finish growing up in a matter of minutes as they realize that they are pregnant. Pressure from their lovers and friends to go out dancing and drinking every night so you leave the baby somewhere for a night... or two... or three... Sometimes it’s easier to forget about the problem than deal with it... right?

Constant fear and running from an abusive home. Not even a teenager and now a mother. More abuse and not only fearing for yourself but this baby growing inside of you. You’ve only just started puberty and you have to deal with this? A death certificate that only whispers the truth... suicide by venom and also physical abuse. Will my little baby remember me?

My heart breaks for these young mothers. For their babies. Their babies now calling me mama. I look down on their little ones sleeping tonight and pull the blanket up under their chin. Kiss tiny cheeks, pray a silent prayer of protection. God has taken them out of dark situations and I pray that by God’s grace they can change their stories. From rejection to a college education. From neglected to a steady job. From orphaned to a mama with children. These are the dreams I have for my three little girls. This is the prayer I pray for them each night. That God would keep them. 

They aren’t mine. I can’t change their past. I can love them now though. I can show them God’s love for them. Because His love for them makes mine invisible. 

These aren’t just sweet faces. They’ve been through too much already. But God is at work. He hasn’t forgotten them. 

Please don’t forget these little ones. They are far too precious to be ignored. Please pray. Please share! 

With much love from Bolivia,

Lily Fluharty