God Saves!

Great Praise! Juanita, one of the PdV missionaries came and shared with Dilma today, using the cube. Dilma accepted Christ! Juanita had her explain it back to her and Dilma explained it all! She said she had heard of Christ but never knew what He had done. Now, she knows He came to the world to die for our sins. Pray for this new babe in Christ

Hats and comfort food

Dilma has taken the ball (of yarn that is) and ran with it.  On Sunday morning, this was the scene I was greeted with.  All three of  them wearing stocking hats that she had knitted.  She is very proud of them and has them wear them all the time, despite the fact that it gets pretty hot here in the afternoons!

Also, I bought some fish for her to cook, she enjoyed cooking it and the girls enjoyed eating it, they have been missing fish.  Aftterwards, I had to clean my kitchen forever, there was grease and raw fish everywhere!  EVERYWHERE!

Other comfort foods for them are yuca, boiled plantain, mango and corn.  These are the foods they usually eat in the jungle, so these are the foods they miss the most.  The good news is I can get all that in town, so, needless to say, my shopping list has changed a bit!

Great Thanksgiving, despite some setbacks. . .

Our Thanksgiving meal.

Well, Thanksgiving came and went.  I must admit it was a bit of a challenging day for me.  Lizbeth was running a fever and having stomach cramps, thus she was crying constantly.  This does not make for a happy time!  I went ahead and cooked the turkey, first one I have ever cooked.  It turned out good, a little dry, but still good.  We ate around 1:30 and you can see by the picture that Mariana loved the giant legs!  She chowed down! 

However, Liz continued to cry and be unhappy, thus making us unhappy, I admit I cried too at one point.  Finally, after talking with a doctor, he decided we needed a stool analysis.  So, after a diaper had been filled, I made the 1 1/2 hour drive to and from the lab.  Turns out she has a bacterial infection in her stomach.  (Don't ask me where she got it from. . . )  Now, she has been on antibiotics for 24 hours and is a whole new child.  Antibiotics are wonderful!

In the end, we had a great Thanksgiving, but I admit it had many ups and downs in just 24 hours!

In other news, I have taught Dilma to knit using the Kniffty Knitter Loom.  She loves it.  She has already knitted 2 hats in 2 days and continues to make more.  She wants to make a hat for everyone in her family.  She likes the first hat she made so much that she wears it all the tiime and when she is not wearing it, Lizbetha and Mariana are fighting over it. 

After she masters the loom, I am going to teach her to use needles.  So, thank you to all that have helped by donating thread and looms.

Finally, I have finally found something cold that the girls like, they love strawberry smoothies at night.  Here is another picture of Mariana, enjoying smoothie.  (She loves to eat)

God blessed me with a turkey!

The Bible says that God knows the desires of your heart.  I believe that but sometimes forget it.  I had priced turkeys here and decided they were just too expensive this year, we would just have a chicken.  Besides, Dilma and the girls don't even know what Thanksgiving is.  Well, today, I had a knock on my door and a missionary couple had brought me a turkey and a can of cranberry sauce!  God blessed me with a turkey!  He truly does know the desires of our heart!

My name is NOT poop!

So, Lizbeth keeps yelling "Caca" when she sees me.  That is "poop" in Spanish.  I decided yesterday she thinks that is my name!   Everytime she sees me she yells "caca".  So, now, I am trying to teach her that my name is Jessi, NOT "caca".  So far, it is not going too well. . .

Dilma's feet are continuing to heal well, she is currently in the camp kitchen helping prepare the lunch.  I think it will help her if she is with other people besides just me.  She will also learn a lot by helping the kitchen - improve her Spanish, learn to cook for large crowds, see how others interect with each other. . .

I think we have gotten rid of the giardiasis that Marianna had.  She continues to take the antibiotic but her little stomach is not so swollen and she is actually beginning to gain weight!

I am also doing good, I have begun to find a good balance in my new life - where I can care for them and still have a bit of alone time.  Things are getting balanced out.  I still clean all the time though.  I think that comes with having two toddlers in the house.

Giardiasis, Many Firsts, Birthdays and Grandparents

Monday was Lizbeth’s birthday.  She turned 3.  We went to a local ice cream restaurant to celebrate with the Murrin family.  This was the first time Dilma, Lizbeth and Marianna had ever been in a restaurant or eaten ice cream!  They were amazed at the restaurant and the idea that a lady comes and brings you whatever you ask for (the waitress).  They did not like ice cream!  It is too cold.  They only drink and eat things that are room temperature or hot.  So, since ice cream only comes in frozen form, they don’t really care for it.  Dilma ate hers but she didn’t act like she enjoyed it.  Lizbeth only tasted 2 bites and the rest melted on the table.  Marianna likes the cookies and cones that came with it.  Oh well.

Marianna has giardiasis.  She has had diarrhea now for at least a week and a half – bad.  The Murrins had a test run and it is giardiasis.  You get this from contaminated water, so I am sure she came out of the jungle with it.  We are treating her with antibiotics now.  She seems to be improving already.  But now Lizbeth has started with it.    It is highly contagious.  Pray that Marianna gets better and that if Lizbeth is sick now we can treat her quickly and stop this cycle.

Dilma and Lizbeth continue to heal and get stronger.  Today they spent the morning outside on a blanket in the shade and strolling around the property.  They seemed to really enjoy it.

My life has really changed in the last week.  They arrived one week ago today.  Before, I swept once a day, mopped once a week, washed clothes once a week and cooked once or twice a day.  Now, I sweep at least 6 times a day, mop 3 times  a day (after every meal), wash a load of clothes every day, carry out the trash every day, and cook all the time!  I am tired!  I was thinking that there are tons of moms out there that do all this every day – BUT the difference is that they start out with a husband –they have time to get used to 2 people, then along comes a baby – they can adjust, then another baby.  The difference is that overnight there were 4 of us! 

Finally, I realized why Lizbeth is so attached to me.  I am old enough to be her grandmother!  Dilma married and had Lizbeth when she was 14.  At my very old age of 32, I am old enough to be her grandmother! 

Dilma did ask me finally, "Where does your husband live?"  I laughed and explained that I was not married, which just left her in silence. . .

Draw Me Nearer Precious Lord

Last night, some missionaries from New Tribes gave Dilma some cd's.  We are listening to one of them right now.  Dilma is really listening to every word.  It is a mix of Romans and hymns in Chimane.  Right now, they are singing "Draw me nearer precious Lord" in Chimane.  It is an awesome thought once again that we can worship the Lord in any language, that He understands them all!

Benefit Concert for Tito, Dilma and Lizbeth

The Cochabamba International Church had a benefit concert last night for Tito, Dilma and Lizbeth.  There were two bands that played.  One was a folkloric band from Bolivia, Alpha y Omega,  (shown in picture) and the other was an America band made up of church members. 

Dilma really enjoyed the music and watching all the lights and smoke.  She had never seen anything like it before.  She had her first emapanada and hotdog.  She like the empanada.  She did NOT like the hotdog, mainly because of the mustard.  When she took the first bite, she made an awful face and shook her head back and forth in disgust.  She eventually just put it in a bag for later.  She also really enjoyed popcorn and coffee.   Many people came and visited with her.  This was  a great encouragement.  She also got to see Innocencio, the native missionary that lives in Oromomo.  She calls him her uncle, so she was very excited to talk with him.

Lizbeth was very intimidated by all the people and noises and general activity.  She was like a leech on me.  She would not let me leave her or put her down.  She sat between my legs on the grass all night long and would periodically look up at me, just to make sure I was still there.  She was a very different girl from the one I see in my apartment where she laughs and plays.  She did not like empanadas but she did enjoy the popcorn.  I didn't even bother to see if she like the hotdog after seeing Dilmas's reaction.  I will make them here one day without ketchup and mustard.

Marianna was just great.  She was passed from person to person until Tony, the pilot, got her, then she was his the rest of the night.  She thinks he hung the moon.  He is pretty fond of her too.

We are not going to church today, it is 9:35 and they are still sleeping.  I think the activities of last night wore them out!

I found some kid's meal toys a team brought down and gave them to the girls.  I had to show the girls how to roll the toy cars on the floor.  After they discovered how to make them go across the tile floor, they were both running and laughing after the cars, having a great time.  They also like a toy cell phone that makes a clicking sound and has a flashing red light.  They don't actually know what the phone is, but they like the noise and light.

Sleepless Nights

Pray for Dilma and Lizbeth tonight. Last night they did not sleep well, Dilma is having a lot of pain in her feet and Lizbeth's elbow still has some raw spots on it. Lizbeth doesn't complain, but it does bother her. You can see on this photo, the right side of her face where it is white now from being burned.

Picnics in the Floor

About a month ago, a house in Oromomo caught on fire.  The husband, Tito, was burned over 80% of his body, his 17 year old wife, Dilma, 20% of her body and his oldest daughter (Lizbeth, 3 years old), 20% of her body.  Mariana, the 1 ½ year old baby, was not burned.  The family has been in Cochabamba for about 3 weeks now in a burn center.  Dilma and Lizbeth were released yesterday and they came to live with me!!

The village they are from is in the jungle.  They don’t have electricity, running water, ceramic floors, stoves, showers. . . the list goes on and on.  Someone said, “They are tribal, tribal”, meaning that I have to teach them everything!  For example, how to get water from the kettle, where to put the trash, and how to turn off the lights. 

Dilma told me they prefer to eat on the floor than at a table, so we have a picnic for every meal.  They love chicken and rice.  They don’t care for vegetables. In fact, I served them broccoli last night with their meal.  Later, I found broccoli EVERYWHERE in my house.  Mariana was throwing her broccoli away because she didn’t like it.  In the jungle, they eat outside or on dirt floors, so if they don’t want or like something, just toss it – Mariana had the same concept in my apartment!

They are staying here until they are well enough to return to their village.  My prayer is that Dilma  and I can develop a friendship.  I hope this friendship will open doors for future work in the jungle.  I also want to learn some Tsimane, one of the languages they speak there in Oromomo.  Finally, and most importantly, I am not sure if Dilma is a Christian, so I am praying for her salvation.

P.S.  Oso, my spoiled dog, was very jealous of the babies last night, but as you can see from this picture, he has learned to see the positive side of the story. . .