in Arica, Chile

here i am 14 weeks along...

..with Holly and Michelle...

the first saturday of July

...too many kids to fit in the classroom...

... a typical saturday...

..Joselo in his new favortie spot on the floor... more elbow room...

...Ruth, Valeria, Clarisa and Eduardo...

...Gean Carlos with Ricky. All the kids loved the new look of the room!

CCV paint project

Here's the whole team, content after painting an underwater theme in the kids room. It looks fantastic!

...with fishes...

...dolphins, seahorses...

...and sea turtles...

...and even a crab and a whale (and Victor)

mmmm.... Cuy

Delivering the cage and placing it precariously on a ledge, right where Rosa wanted it.

Mariluz holding her new cuy. this one is fuzzy!

Matt putting the cuyes in the cage

In Ollantaytambo we had a first hand view of the women skinning the cuyes (already dead), and getting them prepared for cooking.

One of the families who received their cuy with the cage in the background.

Danielle, the CCV Global Outreach Director, holding this chubby little one.

Sean and Matt, delivering the cage... carrying it down the steps...
("porque soy hombre")-- as ricky and matt would say...

Ricky really doesn't like these things, but he sucked it up and picked them up anyway! Good man... ("porque soy hombre")

and the final product...

on the plate, ready to eat

CCV 2007 Mission's Team

CCV team with the kids in San Marcos

This one is of the dental hygiene skit; with Capitana Pasta de Dientes and Capitana Cepillo de Dientes. The skit was funny and educational, teaching the kids about the importance of brushing their teeth daily. Afterwards nearly 100 toothbrushes and toothpaste was given out. The kids loved it. We just hope they start brushing their teeth!

Karen from the team was spending time with Anita, a little girl with Down's Syndrome from Hogar Amantani, the orphanage. Anita was crying for seemingly no reason. But soon after, she fell fast asleep on the ground using the cement as her pillow. Sweet girl.

The team had just arrived back from a long train and bus ride from Machu Picchu that same morning. Hardly even getting breakfast, they went off to Hogar Amantani to spend the morning with the kids in the park playing sports. They brought soccer, basket and volleyballs. They also did relays and other fun games. The team showed their dedication to God by pulling together all their energy to play with the children in the hot morning sun even though they were tired and sore from all the hiking they had done in the days prior. They were a huge blessing to the orphanage and I'm sure we'll do something like this in the future too.

happy faces

Margaret and me

Elian

Anita

Eduardo with Heather from the team

Mateo with Victor

3 months and a little....

It's so fun being pregnant, especially now that I am starting to have a tummy! I've been feeling good. Ricky and I are so excited to become parents, it's surreal!

More pics to come soon.. we are with a missions team from my church of CCV (Christ's Church of the Valley). It's been really fun and busy. They are all tired and dirty... the joys of serving God in another country! They have impressed Ricky and I so much by their willingness to do anything and to learn Spanish and to become part of God's work here for 2 weeks. We will be sad to see them go tomorrow...
More coming soon...