Greetings from Cochabamba!

We adults tend to think that we know alot, as goes the spanish proverb—Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo (The devil knows more because he's old, than because he's the devil)—which means that because of our many years of experience and all the things we have learned along they way, we tend to think our knowledge superior to that of our younger companions. Moreover, since we were once children ourselves, we believe this enables us to understand their feelings and the motives of their behavior.

There is some truth to this, but knowing doesn't necessarily lead to wisdom or insight. For example, when we talk about children as a collective, putting them all into one box, neglecting to take into account each child's uniqueness, ignoring the details that make each of us singular and special in the world, we demonstrate how in one imporant way, children have the one-up on us. Think about it - what exactly what do children call us? Do they talk about "the adults" as a collective, and believe us all to be the same? No! They take the time to observe each person they interact with, perceiving your mood, see how you are feeling, getting to who you are as a person. They come to love you for your feelings and attitudes towards them and others, for your smile or frown, and often enough, you become something of a hero to them. So no, experience, when it comes to truly knowing a child, doesn't quite cut it. The only way to really know and understand him or her, is through quality time shared.

One of the main goals of our newsletters to help you know us more. So, we hope that this month, as we share with you about our kids, staff and extended "family", you are able to finishing feeling like you know us more :)

Peace and Blessings, Andrea, with all...

Who would have known that in the midst of all their dreams of being warriors and monsters, like BEN 10, the Avengers and other superheroes, our little pedacitos would at the same time have such sensitivity to act as birds, sheep, and other gentle creatures in a performance theater to promote the care of the environment. What a great lesson we learned from the wolf, the chicken and the bee on caring for the land, water, and all the creatures living in the world!

Well done boys! With your help, we will all know how to better care for the animals and the whole world around us.

Above Left: Lucas dressed as a chicken, ready to go on stage.
Above Right: Our big bad wolf (Manolo) together with his teacher.

Above Left: A sweet and gentle bumblebee (Marcos).
Above Right: A kind pastor looking over his flock (Bemabe).

Above Left: Marcos flying from flower to flower.
Above Right: A birds scares the little bee (Zaquiel).

In Cochabamba, on the first Sunday of April, September, and December, all the cars, truckes, buses and motorcycles are kept off the streets, and we celebrate what is called a "Pedestrian Day", playing soccer on the streets, walking our pets, biking on the roads without fear of oncoming traffic. Our girls wait eagerly for this day of fun, free of the noise and stress brought on by our city's traffic.

Even better than the silence left by the absence of cars, was hearing our girls support one another, and being filled with joy to see how much they have grown up, watching out for themselves and taking responsibility to care for the rest of the girls. Nine of our girls headed out to the main boulevard in Cochabamba, the Prado, with only two bikes. They took turns riding the bikes, while the others following on foot behind them. Laughing and jokes could be heard, but also more serious (and encouarging) comments like, "Wait up! Jhoselin is tired, and we should let her catch up," or, "No, if we split up something bad might happen so we should stick together to help each other out," or, "Let's walk behind the girls on bikes, so that if they fall we can see them, because if we go ahead we won't be able to help."

It's funny to think back to when we were 12 or 13 years old, when our parents started to give us a similar freedom. For many of us, the last thing we thought about was being responsible; we wanted take risks for a sense of adventure, often came home with bruises and rips in our jeans, perhaps accompanied by a story about how we lost something, or got in a spat with one of our friends. Seriously, our girls have taught a great lesson in maturity, responsibility, sensitivity and solidarity, we love them so much and feel blessed to be part of their growing up!

Above Left: The girls walking around, checking out the games being played in the streets.
Above Right: Resting after a long trek (Paty, Evelyn, Johana y Bryssa)

Above Left: Jhoselin and Vanesa with one of the bicycles.
Above Right: A street performer entertaining the crowds.

Above Left: The kids from PDC also took to the streets with their cars.
Above Right: Ana helped take them out - what fun!

This month we received two little ones into Corazón del Pastor, just 3 years and 10 months old. The sisters, Alayna and Catalina, arrived in delicate health, and immediately received medical checkups and were started on a nutritional plan. Three weeks later, and we can already see significant improvements in both girls, and moreso than medication and better nutrition, this is because they now have more than 20 "moms" paying attention to them all the time—it has been a long time since we've has a small baby in CDP. While it also presents its challenges, having to get back into the groove of changing diapers and preparing bottles, it has really brought some new excitiment to the house.

We learned early on that Alayna is a very sensitive girl, and that if you speak to her gently, and give her lots of attention, she is the sweetest baby ever. Her sister Catalina, on the other hand, is a very curious and mischievious girl, who when she first arrived was upset and kept to herself, but has already regained her joy and playfulness, and is always alongside one of more of the older girls. Both girls have brought a light and joy to the home and as the tías mention, have helped bring the rest of the girls together in a positive way.

Welcome little ones: This is your home, filled with love!

Above Left: Alayna, waiting for her dinner.
Above Right: Catalina smiling for the camera.

Above Left: Catalina in her swing.
Above Right: Alayna outside on the playground.

Liseth is one of our night tías at Corazón del Pastor. At 25 years old, she is CDP's youngest caregiver, and along with her co-workers is providing care and guidance to the 23 girls currently living in the home.

Liseth is the third of four sisters, studied psychology and has always enjoyed working with children. She is shy and quiet, and was always the most studious in her classes. Her life at home has been difficult since her father passed away, and not counting on the support of her mother, the four sisters have taken on the responsibility of keeping things together and caring for their house. When she finished high school, she was given the opportunity to live in residence at a university, which turned out ot be one of the most rewarding experiences of her life, as she was able to simultaneously study towards her degree, while working as a teacher's aid. It was a challenging time, as is required a great deal of commitment, responsibility and sacrifice. Dedicated and devoted to God, she has entrusted her future to him, to help her see what path ahead is best for her. Since joining NCV, she has felt loved, and feels like she is gaining valuable experience.

When she arrived at CDP, a lot of her ideas about what children's home was like changed; she imagined a place with a lot of rules, rigid in dealing with the children, and very reluctant to show them affection. "It's different, this home is like a family home, and each of the girls has her freedom and is respected just as she is; giving love and affection is the priority of us tías, as this is not simply a job, but a part of our lives, each girl is like a daughter to us," mentiones Liseth.

Liseth believes strongly that everything in life has a purpose, and that God has brought her to Corazón del Pastor for a reason. While she can't say specifically what the long-term reason for her coming to work at CDP is, she is already seeing what a positive impact being there is having on a personal level, and how spending so much time with the girls has made her feel "at home". Since the relationship between Liseth and her family is very limited in terms of affection, yet she has always felt the need both give love and to receive it, she feels blessed by the opportunity the girls have given her, finding love and family when she thought she had lost it.

This is Liseth, our sweet tí, full of love for the girls, who despite being young, has already given so much to our girls.

Above Left: Liseth with Nohemi.
Above Right: Liseth in the Corazón del Pastor playground.

The advantages of having a solar oven are many: no gas or electricity is needed, and the food is prepared losing less nutrients than traditional cooking methods.When we use it, it is a time to teach our children the importance and care must have in food preparation, and in regards to our health. What a better way to learn the correct use of a solar oven if not cooking in it—so let's get to work!

Tía Noelia has experience baking pastries and breads, so the children paid close attention to the cookie recipe and procedures as she taught them. Here's how it went:

First, we write out the cookie recipe with Tía Noelia.
Second, we sift the flour, Cedro helps out as Diego makes sure he is doing a good job :)
Third, we watch each and every detail along with Bemabe as we ready the dough.

Fourth, The rest of the ingredients go into the bowl - the children watch how it is done.
Fifth, we knead the dough.

Sixth, we roll out the dough for cutting. Eneas, Cedro and Zaquiel are ready to go.
Seventh, We grease and flour the pans as teh oven is heating up. Bemabe in his chef's hat, gettin' it done.

Eighth, Once they have been cut into different shapes, the cookies are placed on the pans. Zaquiel holds the pan, Bemabe and Osana cortando cut more cookies in cat shapes, while tía Noelia helps a couple of the smallest ones, Cedro and Mateo, cut their cookies into other animal shapes.
Finally, we bake the cookies!

Getting to know our children and tís is a great way to better know our NCV family, yet we are a family that extends beyond our homes, and includes some incredible people who support us from far away places.

One church that has been supporting us since we started working here in Bolivia is Good Samaritan Anglican Church (Paoli, PA). In July, they held a vacation Bible school, and the children who we a part of the program had the opportunity to learn about Bolivia and the work of Niños con Valor, prayed for our children, saw a puppet show presentation ​​by Betty Coletta, and made popsicle stick llamas. They also brought in coins they earned by selling lemonade, garage sales, mowing lawns, washing cars, and that they withdrew from their savings accounts, in total raising more than $600 to support our projects here in Cochabamba. Thanks Good Sam!

Below, some photos from the VBS:

Another way to connect with the NCV family and get to know our kids and projects better, is to attend events planned by our foundation here in Bolivia, in the U.S., and Canada. This month, we want to share the itinerary of our International Director, Tyson Malo, who will be traveling to the U.S. and Canada on October. If you live in any of these areas, you can write to Tyson directly to find out about event details, or to set a meeting time with him to learn more about our work in Cochabamba.

• October 7 - October 7: Coeur D'Alene, ID
• October 8 - October 11: Boston, MA
• October 11 - October 14: Indianapolis, IN
• October 14 - October 18: San Francisco, CA
• October 18 - October 21: Philadelphia, PA
• October 21 - October 26: Kítchener/Waterloo, ON (Canada)
• October 26 - October 31: Seattle, WA

Raising and educating a child with love and understanding, encouraging their way at every step, and being at his or her side to give them confidence and security, is also giving hope to their families future, helping make their homes warm and united. This is our daily struggle, to show our children that life is beautiful, that it is full of blessings, and that God will always be there, to guide them along the way..

Peace and Love from the kids, staff, and volunteers of Niños con Valor.