new setting...

...er, or need new camera??

Any ideas on why my camera is taking pictures like this all of a sudden?? Well the past couple of weeks, which is one of my excuses for not blogging.

At least the video feature is working fine, as I needed that for an adoption recently.

Any suggestions on a good new camera for me, as I record the memories of so many children?

Thanks! :)

Casa de Amor programs

Those who work in the Christian children-at-risk community will recognize the name Phyllis Kilbourn, founder of Rainbows of Hope and author of the book "Children-At-Risk: A New Commitment", among others.

My Australian friend Janette Pepall, founder of Children with Hope, has resigned from her full time volunteer position of Director of Training and is now training, writing, advising, etc. Currently she is working on a training module for a Crisis Care Training manual that Phyllis Kilbourn is putting together, and she chose us as one of three groups to be presented in the "Successful Model of Care" section.

I asked volunteer/child sponsorship coordinator Denise to jump start me in the filling out of the form, then I finished it up. It turned out to be 4 1/2 pages at the end, plus a couple dozens photos.

For question #10, which asked us to list the "Programs in Organization", it was fun to see how many we really do have now:

1) Casa de Amor I (ages 0-3)

2) Casa de Amor II (ages 3-12; eventually to be turned into the foster family model)

3) Casa de Amor III (ages 0-6)

4) Family Strengthening Program
working closely with family members and child(ren) to facilitate a successful transition back to family life

5) New! Child Sponsorship Program
our goal is to have 3 sponsors per child, most committing to send $25 USD/month and prayer covering

And coming soon...

6) Foster Family Program
recruiting, training, and supervising Christian families to care for children in their home during duration of stay at Casa de Amor


I realize that number of "programs" is NOT the key to success or anything we want to have as a goal, per se, and thus I've never really paid attention to it until I was preparing this info for Janette.

One proof of that is in this blog. Our focus is great care of the kids and our staff, and it shows in the pictures, success stories, and busy days full of ministry!

Adopting

Several of you have asked about the possibility of adoption of Bolivian children.

In a nutshell:

Certain children have adoptable status and others do not because they will return to family members, or for other reasons. As for the adoptable children, three groups of people may adopt if approved to do so by the court and social welfare system in Bolivia:

1. Bolivian citizens living in Bolivia


2. Foreigner citizens living in Bolivia for at least two years (according to date on first visa)


3. Foreign citizens of a handful European countries approved to do adoptions within Bolivia, such as Spain, Italy, France, and Denmark.

Please note: Casa de Amor is committed to the entire legal process and thus CANNOT facilitate adoptions between families and children. We process and present all appropriate papers to the government for our children but beyond that are dependent on their decision.

(*Taken from the new CDA child sponsorship info)

As you can now deduct, US citizens currently residing within the United States are unfortunately NOT eligible for Bolivian adoption.

Theoretically, with the Hague Intercountry Child Adoption Act now up and running in the US, Bolivia-US adoptions are possible. However (and isn't there always a "however" in Bolivia), Bolivia has not granted any licenses to US agencies yet. In fact, they would rather cut down on the number of international agencies they already work with to 20.....although 22 US agencies have their papers in order to open offices in Bolivia. I imagine Canada might be in the same boat.
As for other countries, if no credited adoption agency in your country has a Bolivia program, then I cannot help you either.

Rather than bemoaning the fact that our fellow countrymen cannot adopt, we are very, very grateful that our kids have at least some options, and for the extremely dedicated couples who wait an extremely long time to adopt a Bolivian child.

For example, the couple that is just about to meet their new child at the Baby Home on Wednesday have been waiting for 4 years (5 years is the max allowed), and that's AFTER their papers got to Cochabamba. Sometimes the process before can take 2 or 3 years, depending on the country.

The familes also live in Bolivia 6-8 weeks to complete the adoption, so it's quite the process for all involved. It's hard to fathom the amount of paperwork that goes on at every level and we learn more of it with each adoption: us as a children's home, the couple, their agency in both the home country and Bolivia, the Bolivian court system, the child welfare system, Child Defense's part, the adoption viceministry in La Paz, etc., etc. We all have massive amounts of work to do to carry out an adoption, from start to finish.


So, that's the scoop! Even though adoptions of Bolivian children are not possible in many countries, if you are reading this and have a desire to give a child in need a home, please please do look into the many other options that may be open to you! Thousands of children throughout the world need loving homes with dedicated parents to overcome many challenges to living a healthy, wholesome, productive life.

"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 22:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us...let us not love with word or tongue, but with action and in truth." I John 3:16-18

The "Ask Me (Almost) Anything" Post!

When this posts I'll be on a trip to La Paz with my family, a quick "escape" from the intense, wonderful work in the homes!

As I take a blogging break for a few days, it's YOUR turn. Here's your chance to ask those questions that have been burning inside of you!! About the babies/kiddos, Bolivia, my life, running the homes, whatever. And at some future date....when there are more than 1 or 2 questions....I'll respond in another post. ;-)

I've been so neglectful of the mountainous pile of emails lately, you former volunteers might have to repeat your questions here to get them answered...sorry. You are just so many now!! Which is wonderful, that is not a complaint. (And don't worry about using kids' names since the answer post will not necessarily include pictures.)

So, go ahead, ask away! And wish us well at the dizzying altitude of Lake Titicaca.