It's the holiday season (the best time of year !!), and while it has brought a new wave of homesickness, it has also been the reason for many fun and unusual happenings here at Familia Feliz!! I feel so blessed to be able to share this happy season with my new family and people I love deeply.
Many SM parents came to visit a couple weeks ago and were here over the Thanksgiving holiday. Their presence and help made it possible for us (SM's) to all go to town together for brunch one morning. They also made it possible for us to celebrate American Thanksgiving with all of Familia Feliz. It was quite the undertaking, but it was absolutely amazing and a Thanksgiving I will never forget and always look back on with a full heart. Seeing the kids' reactions to traditional American Thanksgiving food was pretty funny, and the time together was so special. I was extra reminded of all I have to be thankful for and all that I've been privileged to see God do since I've been here in Bolivia.
Our Thanksgiving meeting place
One of the little Leones
Another of the little Leones
This salad was sooo good!!!
It was chaotic fun!
So fun to hang out with all of campus together!
Our group brunch
On our way back in the truck :)
The day after Thanksgiving was my birthday and that was full of amazing memories too! I was able to go to town late morning with my fellow houseparents to get brunch. It was a nice little break. I returned to campus to experience the inevitable eggs and flour ambush. It is a Familia Feliz tradition to throw eggs and flour on the teacher having a birthday. I felt like my Bolivian birthday was complete after I had experienced that. It was amazing!! I also enjoyed celebrating in the evening with my girls as we ate the traditional birthday meal of pizza and cake.
On our way to brunch
Love them!!
Roots is probably our favorite restaurant in town and we are frequent customers on our days off. Laney told them it was my birthday, and the owners were so sweet and gave me a brownie and sang to me.
Eggsssss and flourrrrrr !!!
So fun and memorable
It took about 45 minutes to get it all washed off and out of my hair.
Celebrating with my girls
Cake !!
As we saw the end of the school year quickly approaching and the departure of most of our kids looming closer, we wanted to do some special activities with the girls before many of them went to be with their families for the vacation. We had a spa and movie night, and the girls had a blast!! They did facemasks and each got a new hairbrush. We also were able to take them all into town to go to the pool! They absolutely LOVED it!!! It was so much fun to watch the joy on their faces that day! It was so much fun, and we made so many happy memories!
Ready!
All smiles
My girls are all so beautiful!!
Pinkie with her mask
They're so cute!
What a cutie
<3
Pinkie having a blast at the pool!
A wet and happy Nirza
Sleepy Zeinet
Recharged Zeinet!!
Something I've been working on is being more intentional about living in the moment with my girls. I don't want to look back on my time here and have regrets. I want to take advantage of the seemingly insignificant and mundane moments of the day and create beautiful memories with my beautiful girls. It can be harder at times when I am extra tired or they are being extra difficult. But I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will miss everything about being here the moment I get back to the United States. It is an overwhelming privilege and responsibility to care for these girls and share in the highs and lows of daily life with them at Familia Feliz!
The biggest beetle I've ever seen
"Teacher!! Put on my sunglasses and I'll take pictures of you!"
I put some ribbon I brought from home in Nirza's hair for church.
She's so cute!!! <3
Soap beards
Church smiles
Ready for culto!!
Nirza <3
Christmas decorations Mom sent from home :)
Hanging some decorations
Finished product
Our entire SM family...I love them so much!
Goodnight!!
The sweetest package came from a college friend with so much yummy food--including a pumpkin pancake mix!! It was a little taste of fall!
The most difficult part of the last few weeks took place about a week ago. This school trimester finished and summer vacation began. Because Familia Feliz is a boarding school and not an orphanage, many of the kids have families that they can go to during the break. The great majority of them left this past weekend. It was very difficult to say goodbye to my girls, knowing that there's always a possibility that they don't come back. It was also difficult knowing that many of them were going home to environments that are anything but ideal--the reason they're at Familia Feliz in the first place. Many of their parents cannot provide for them properly. Please join me in praying for the kids of Familia Feliz who are home for the vacation in less than ideal and even dangerous situations. They are in God's hands and we can trust Him with them completely.
I took a photo with each set of sisters right before they left. (pictures below)
I can be an emotional person, but I had been able to hold it together until Nirza left. She was the last one to go. It hit me hard when she went home. She was my "baby." And God used her to teach me so much. She was the girl that frustrated me and gave me so many problems in the first month or so of being here. But she is also the girl that called me "Mama" the most and consistently expressed how much she loved me or missed me when I had been gone. I miss and love her deeply, and was so thankful for this adorable picture I was able to get with her before she left. <3
Taking Nirza to her Dad when he came to pick her up
Next Wednesday (Dec. 18), the SM group is going to be leaving for a trip to various countries in South America. We will be traveling til January 13. I am looking forward to some time to rest and recharge while making memories with my fellow SM's and having once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I will be sharing about that trip in a blog post when I get back. See you then!! :)
Psalm 121:4-7
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Soli Deo Gloria
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