59. I'm a Shorty!

Tuesday, 12/4/12

I played cars with Edwin today. That was fun. Moises cooked plantains with diesel fuel. That was funny!!! I almost felt bad throwing them out. :)

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

58. Dinosaur Births

Monday, 12/3/12

Today jetted by due to all the nonstop work and fun. I like it that way.

It was Chad’s day off in the morning. So, the boys and I made food all morning. Halfway through cutting the veggies for the pasta soup, I treated them with one of the goodies my mom sent down. You know those colorful pil-shaped things that expand into spongey animals in hot water? They were amazed!! They then resumed working after the little half-time show.

Dinosaurs!! Cool!

They are waiting intently for the dino "birth"

Playing doctor

Chore schedule

A side not: my previous nephews are calling me “Papi”. Weird. Yet, cool. My favorite though, is when they call me “abuelito”. Never get tire of that one.

Before lunch, I cleaned everyone’s wounds with alcohol, bacitracin, and band-aids. They like the band-aids. Muppet themed. Edwin has a deep machete wound that is always filled with flies and fly larvae. Hope you aren’t eating now. haha. I wonder if this counts as medical experience for my resume for medical school. Doubt it. But, if I ever go into pediatrics, I feel well prepared to deal with the children...but then there are the parents--they are always more difficult.

I rested, played soccer, and had a man-talk with Brayan. I then made a chore schedule for the boys. The kids were impressed with my doodles for the kids who can’t read yet.

Then, Davidchito made my day. I was watching him as he held a mushy banana in his hand and headed out the door to a group of kids. I knew what he wanted to do, but he didn’t ask permission. I said his name, and he knew exactly what I meant. He walked back, and solemly asked permission as if I would say no. He wanted to smash that banana in some kids face. I said yes. He was brilliantly delighted, said gracias, and ran out the door. That kids got leveled with a banana. Chad and I couldn’t stop laughing. Sorry, Missy, I think it was your boy, Ephraim. He was already covered in mud though. :) Let’s just say Davidchito has been asking for permission for everything these days.

After supper, I taught Brayan a few praise songs on the guitar. He is a bright kid and learns fast.
And then...Chad copied my parenting moves. Jose’s bed was wet during the banana and mud war, and Chad granted him revenge. Jose had the option of switching beds with the perpatroter or he could wet his bed too. He obviously went for the more fun one...but the 17 year-old got carried away. He allegedly wet all the beds! I’ll have to investigate further tomorrow. I’m too tired now. A long, but great day.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

57. What Didn't the Kids Do Today?

Sunday, 12/2/12

Chad and I wokeup ready to be parents. We were surprised by a few things.

First off, we thought the girls were going to cook for us. Nope! No problem, I don’t mind fine-tuning my spanish cooking skills. I just want to know what’s going on ahead of time so we can plan our cuisines. I then confirmed with the director that we will be cooking all the meals for our boys. Sorry boys...hope you can chug down our sad excuses for food. That is the main problem with having two dads! haha. We’ll do our best.

Well, I made some eggs real quick and served them with bread and oranges. After eating, it was time to concentrate on lunch. I wanted to make a truck load of food to suffice for both lunch and supper! Lazy, but smart! I wanted to make Mahalito! No easy meal for a first time. Bring it on!

Chad had to leave to change a tire again and oil, so it was just me and the boys...but I put them to work! Some boys cut the potatoes for the french fries. I put Brayan in charge of the vegetable cutting boys. All four of them cut a lot of veggies. Guillermo and Jose sorted the rice. Edwin and I cut wood for the fire. Everyone was working well...except Davidchito, he went fishing...without permission...for four hours! More on that later.

They were busy axing, sorting rice, playing with a tire...

...cutting veggies...

...washing dishes with a smile (rare)...

...catching, cooking, and feeding fish to the dogs...

...taking pics of me...

...again...

...growing a bigger moustache than me...

...and catching bats!

 
After everything was done, we just had to wait an hour for the water and rice to boil. In the meantime, they swam and I played UNO with Guillermo. Then we ate our masterpieces. Well done gang.

After lunch, Davidchito returned. He is known as our trouble maker. I don’t mind him having fun, but I need to know where each kid is at all times. I decided to use my most effective punishment; either hugging a tree or sitting in a corner. I sat him in the corner for 1 hour. However, he would get up and fight the other kids so the punishment went up to 2 hours.

 He would not sit still until I reaffirmed his character and said that what he did was bad, not him. He then cooperated perfectly, and has been obedient and friendly since. The same works on Edwin really well. I always reason with them at the end of the punishment and they seem to appreciate this. Now they come and talk to me more often and cuddle when I am sitting down. They both trap me with smiles and jump on my lap. Edwin more the Davidchito.

Edwin making a face after his discipline in the chair behind us

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

56. Daddy Day Care

The new pops

Saturday, 12/1/12

Happy December! There is no snow on the ground, but I'm feeling Christmasy already. Time to spread the holidays. Presents are already being given out! The kids each got two new Daddy's today!!!...Let's see if they will want to return them anytime soon.

We had a short and sweet Church service today. I loved the sermon the most. Melissa read Uncle Arthur’s Bible Stories for the sermon. It was the one about the shepherd and his lost sheep. One of my favorites when I sat on my grandfather’s lap back in the day.

Oh! Jose, a 17-year old from the boys dorm, moved in last night. I think I will appreciate his company. I think I will put him in charge of watching the boys at night. Hopefully, we will all sleep sounder that way. He is a good guy, and now I can tutor him in English easier. Which he is excited about.

Not Jose!...Ahhh! (haha)

After lunch, little Juan went fishing and got a hook in his finger! Pretty deep too! Emy came over and we tried to gently coax it out. No luck. We looked at each other, and without saying anything, we began to execute our plan. She put alcohol in his wound. He screamed. I held him down really tightly. He screamed. Emy yanked with all her might. He REALLY screamed. I might be deaf for a bit. But!...she got the hook out!! I don’t know why, but I then told him, “See, that is how the fish feel...but in their mouth!”. Emy and Chad both laughed.

Excited to go on vacation!

Juan and Emy left around 7 p.m. to Santa Cruz for a well-deserved 1 month vacation. They will probably return around January 4th. Until then, it’s Daddy Daycare Time!! Chad and I will be the sole parents for these 8 boys. Oh boy! This will be fun. My parenting and spanish skills better be amazing after this baptism by fire!





All prayers will be gladly appreciated! :)

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

55. Care Package and the Trailer

 Friday, 11/30/12

Two fantastic things happened to day. My parents demonstrated their enormous love for me, and we finished Juan's baby!

Chad and I had some errands to run in town. We were in town for 4 hours, but I do not remember much of it. I am distracting by the huge package that was waiting for me at the sad excuse for a post office. I showed my passport, paid 1 1/2 dollars for the fee, and embraced the package as if it was my own. I brought it home as soon as possible and peered inside.

It was better than Christmas! It had a cards from my family, a Christmas tie from my grandma, toys for the kids, my favoite snacks for me, Bible stories in spanish, and other meaningful sentiments. Take a peek yourself. It means a lot when you know your family in the States still remember you. I'll admit it like a man: sometimes, usually when I think of my mom's food, I get homesick. Thankfully I have God and my parents package to take me through.

Merry Christmas!

When I got back, the trailer was almost finished! We worked for a bit more and voila...the superb artwork was completed. Juan almost cried out of joy. Check out these pics.

Before...

...after!!

We were quite proud of our handiwork

One project down, a thousand left.  We then promptly began on fixing the mower...

That's usually how it works. Chad and I just watching Juan do his thing.

It started to pour...so we did the common sense thing...played soccer!

Then, an hour later, it was hot and sunny. So Chad and I took the kids swimming while Juan and Emy finished packing.

I treated them with Mango juice and we went to bed after I showed Juan and Emy how to work their camera.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

54. Painting

Thursday, 11/29/12

Juan and Emy make me feel guilty. They work on their days off!! I rarely do. That was the case today. He spent the whole day helping me with the trailer.

While Emy packed for their month long vacation starting Saturday night. We took paint brushes to the body of the trailer. After much discussion about the paint (I wanted to paint it green and yellow with red flames...the colors of Bolivia!), we decided to go with the original colors and go with red on top and grey below. We painted for four straight hours, ate, rested an hour, then painted for another three hours. Chad wanted to help, but had to get gas and fix a tire in town. He ended up waiting 3 hours in total for those services. Poor fella.

I slept smelling like paint. Obviously...my dreams were quite colorful! haha! You bet that pun was intended.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

53. Broken Bed

Wednesday, 11/28/12

It's a record! We all didn't wake up until 7:30! That'll never happen again. 

Today, as always, was filled with changes--we changed the look of the trailer, Chad changed from his room to mine, and I changed the outcome of our soccer game with my Superman skills! :)

We spent the whole morning sandpapering the trailer. Hopefully, we'll be done with the thing tomorrow. 

My kids now have to uncles, because Chad is now my roommate! Let the fun begin! I will soon appreciate his company when Juan and Emy leave for vacation. The kids will have two Daddy's. Nothing wrong with that, right? Unfortunately, that is becoming more normal these days, but we'll make sure not to confuse the kids...

While moving Chad's bed for him. I broke a board trying to scare away cockroaches. I thought that was funny so I decided to share it with you. Chad didn't think so! Now he has nothing to support his tailbone when he sleeps. Sorry, bud!

As the sun started to hide over the horizon, we played a little soccer. It was my favorite game so far this year. Things were balanced and in my opinion, I was a regular superstar!! Sorry, my ego flies when it comes to soccer! It's a big deal for Bolivians. I scored the winning goals and celebrated (jokingly of course) like a lunatic. The others loved it.

Then...what the kids were all waiting for...a movie!!!! With my new computer, I showed them a dog movie. Don't worry, I am careful to show only clean moral-filled movies, nature films, and Bible stories.

I love it when I show a very childish movie (almost directed for infants), and Juan and Emy are enthralled. This just shows their purity and the beauty of the lack of television in Bolivia.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

52. Today's 3 Presents

Tuesday, 11/27/12

I was given 3 gifts todays: Chad, Mac, and Edwin.

Chad came home today! Now I'm not the only jokester at the orphanage. Yes!

I woke up. Bread and I made bread. I chopped A LOT of wood. Melissa and I plotted on collecting all the cashew fruits in Bolivia, extracting the cashew nuts, and selling them to make a fortune...maybe one day. Then, I went with others to town and then to pickup Chad.

We arrived just as he landed...manly beard and all. We went to town, caught up on our stories, ate some great pasta at Juliano's. Then, the best part, he ate barely half and gave me the rest of his food!!! I surely missed him! haha.

He then handed me the new Mac I purchased, and I am currently using it to type this for you guys. He also brought back some other goodies for me from the States: batteries, a book from my Mom, and 35-mile range walkie talkies to hopefully allow us to communicate with those in Rurre. My mom even sent me a love letter. Booyah!! :)

A fantastic worker, too!

We returned home at 8:00 and then realized our day was just getting started. A random kid and his mother were in my house. He seemed neglected and had a bunch of infected wounds on his legs. Therefore...I have a new nephew. Edwin. He's an intelligent little guy that has lived in orphanages and schools his whole life and he is only 9 years old. He is already fitting in quite nicely but stands out with his inventive and creative ideas.

When we had bandaged all his wounds and pretended to be doctors, we finally shut off the generador and went to sleep at 11 p.m.!

Hasta luego! (See you later)

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

51. Tips for the Future

Monday, 11/26/12

Today was my day off. So, I had some time to think about my parenting skills so far. Oh boy! Do I still have a lot to learn. However, I just wanted to share some pointers for your entertainment and definitely for my usage in the future. Almost like reminders for me when I have kids. That's the beauty of the internet; I'll always have this blog online in some archive. :)

Enjoy! (You too, future Eric!)

I learned these from my various orphanage and camp experiences, but especially from my A+ examples, my parents!

Kids are never bad, only their actions

Davidchito (the new David in my house) is the world's most mischeivious and tormenting kid. Most say he is a super bad child. This only makes things worse. I have to think only of his actions as bad and remind him that he is a good kid. For example, one day, I had to discipline him with his least favorite thing, sitting solatarily in a chair for 1 hour (he had left without permission for 4 hours!!). He would not stay in his chair. I was fed up but said, "You are a good kid, but what you did was bad." I thought it was weak, but the affirmation changed him enough that he finally sat still for the next 50 minutes. He then hugged me afterwards.

Discipline only in love, never in anger

I get grumpiest when I am sleepy. When the kids walk around and talk above me instead of sleeping at night, that grinds my gears. Therefore, I storm upstairs and give them a stern talking. One day, after this reminder (which doesn't happen anymore because I put the older boys in charge of quieting the smaller ones at night) I was walking down the stairs and Edwin blatantly jumped out of bed. Usually, noone ever confronts me blatantly like that. He was new and didn't understand that, but I got quite angry. I walked to him and wanted to show him how strong my stick arms really are (haha), but I new not to discipline while angry. I whispered quite fiercely to him, "Discipline tomorrow." Then he quickly went to bed and I slept soundly. In the morning, he was disciplined and I was able to explain his folly to him in love. Much more effective!

Kids consider punishment more loving than looking the other way

I do not crave confrontations. If I wasn't a Christian willing to sacrifice my preferences for the benefit of others, I would probably never punish kids, and just let them run wild. But, I realize that punishing is a way of showing love. Most surprisingly, kids realize this the most. I have seen other volunteers and camp counselors who never punish their kids. It is obvious that their children do not respect or love them. They see it as neglect and a lack of love. However, when others discipline kids, the kids see love in this (unless they disciplined in anger or revenge) and a stronger bond is created. Whenever I discipline my kids, I always make sure to give them a little talk reviewing what they did and making sure they won't do it again. Usually, by that time they are agreeable and even cracking a little smile. Mission accomplished.

Usually, kids act up when their ego is low. Therefore, give them responsibilities.

If one of my boys has ants in his pants (figuratively but in the jungle, not too far from the literal truth!), I give him a job. Works like a charm. They complete their task and resume activities without problems...there is always the exception, though. ;)

**Keep adventurizing and loving each other!...I know I'll try! :)**

50. A Song

Sunday 11/25/12

♫Over the bridges and through the jungle, to Freddy’s house we go!

We ate up Cashew fruit and almost died, and said goodbye as we cried! ♫

...or something like that! :)

Today was a long, action-packed day. Freddy, Rekelme, Brandi, and Isaac were finally brought to their house for the summer. The thing is, we had to drive them 1 1/2 hours to deliver them.

We woke up at 5 a.m. and cooked rice and breaded eggplant. We planned on having a picnic in Rurre after we dropped the boys off at Reyes. We finally left around 8:00, and ended up bringing in some kids home to Rurre first. We were leaving Rurre when Brother Juan used his superpower eyes to spot something him and I were hunting for months now. Cashew fruit!!

Imagine an inverted pepper with a Cashew nut hanging from the bottom of it. When we pit into the fleshy red fruit-meat, water shot out like fireworks and the taste was fantastic. Ironically, it tasted dry and nutty (like a Persimmon?) despite all the water. It rivals watermelon in my opinion as far as water content goes.

We then went to Reyes. Juan wanted to travel 50 minutes to the "taxi stop" and let them take a ride home, but we ran into the kids' parents driving a moto towards us. We stopped, chatted, and decided to drive with them all the way home. My little man, Freddy, made the most of the trip and slept and drooled on me the whole way. I considered it last minute bonding. After crossing sketchy bridges, we arrived to their shack.

For Bolivian standards, Familia Feliz is a mansion compared to where these four boys lived. Imagine one small house without windows and real walls, a makeshift hole-filled oven, a tiny brown creek, and a gazillion mosquitos. That's there life! Not to mention there is noone around for ten minutes by car. No wonder the kids go to Familia Feliz; they need social interaction!

Cashew Fruit!!! Can you tell I was exited?

My little dude Freddy and I chillin' before the goodbye

Right? I want to do that too!

At the house we were offered what I refer to as death bread. They made us some cornbread looking stuff that was obviously dirty and made with salmonella and giardia (a.k.a.-eggs and creek water). Baby Emily hung out with Freddy's baby sister, also Emily. We then made the most out of getting eaten alive by Mosquitos and catching newborn chicks. We then left for home and said all of our goodbyes. See you next year kiddos!

It was now 1 in the afternoon and we were starving! We stopped half way and ate our lunch at the same soccer field as a month ago. Delicious. We safely made it to town despite the stick bridges a 1/2 hour later.

Trying for the GQ pose

I then dragged my four boys--Moises, David, Juan, and Brayan--through town. They were fasinated since they rarely get this experience. I set up Brayan with a facebook account to talk to his Mom and past volunteers. He was stoked. Of course, I made sure to give him a sermon on how to use it properly. I feel it is important to teach the kids how to use a computer for their future. Even if you are a farmer, you'll probably need internet in the future. We saw a bunch of the kids who went home a week earlier. We were even given free watermelon by one of the venders who had a daughter at the orphanage.

We then went home. We were exhausted from the traveling and the burning sun. Even though my only work today was watching the kids, I am looking forward to my day off in town tomorrow. 

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**