Volunteer Night

Last week we all took some time away from our work and had an evening out together.

Since there are several new volunteers, it was a good time to get to know each other better!

L-R: Johanna (NB, Canada), Chelsey (Alberta, Canada), Alexis (Florida), Elena (Florida), Jennifer (Texas)

And with two more arriving this week, there will be more evenings like this soon!

Dinner at everyone's favorite restaurant

...and a sweet ending!

Organization is key...

Especially when you have 14 kids in a small house!

This past week a group of volunteers began moving around furniture and mountains of donated clothes at Casa de Amor II to make way for two new kids and our new volunteer Katrina...

Volunteer Hannah from Texas moving clothes one stack at a time

Volunteer Kaley sorting and looking...confused? guilty? Who knows ;)

Volunteer Kati giving some encouragement!

Stay tuned for Part 2...where organization actually comes into play ;)

Another Goodbye...

The past few weeks we have sadly said goodbye to a whole group of marvelous young ladies who have given of their time and talent to our homes. The most recent to go was Kristin, from Tennessee, here since March.

I know that I'll remember her for her special love for our special wild child B.... :)


...and for mothering baby G after he lost his mother...


And most definitely for her love of soccer!!

(She is in this picture somewhere, really!)

We thank her for passing on her love of sports to some pretty blessed kids at Casa de Amor II (read more here).

Thank you for sharing your life with us, Kristin! You will be missed.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

This year a group of Americans celebrated Independence Day a little differently...

Eating Mexican food, singing the national anthem over a flag cake, and no fireworks...but we had fun!

Gooooooo USA!

It was also one of our last times to hang out with the amazing, lovely Kristin Garman! She will be leaving us on Friday and we will miss her energy and fun personality!!!

Welcome Katrina!

July 1st we welcomed long term volunteer Katrina Rebsch!

Pictured here with her new roomie Kaley!

Although it was a gloomy day, God sent a beautiful rainbow to welcome her!

We're so glad she's here and can't wait to get to know her more!

Check out her blog: livingforjesus85.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Elena Alvarez

Volunteer Coordinator

volunteer@casadeamor.org

Project Scabies Riddance 2011

Casa de Amor volunteers help with oh so much more than just hold babies. This year, the hard work of volunteers Savannah and Kristin saved us from dreaded SCABIES!!!



In spite of multiple assurances from doctors in April that this baby did NOT have anything contagious......guess what! She did!!! And it spread slowly but surely through the ranks of babies, staff, and even staff family members. By June we were at our wit's end. The Bolivian prescribed treatment was not working, so our nurse Savannah stepped in with a new prescription:

Pricey, has to be applied twice from head to toe, andddd and make your skin feel on fire, but it WORKS!

And the cleaning part... Intense!! Boiling water on the stove to soak and wash clothing and bedding of 15+ babies plus staff and volunteers, letting everything air out in the sun... Everyone worked super hard.

Looked like we were moving....

Seems rather inadequate, but thanks, girls, for going the extra mile!!

For more stories from Project Scabies Riddance and cute pictures of "scabies babies", see Savannah's blog post here!

S.O.S Volunteers!

We have been so blessed this summer with MANY volunteers from all over the world and as much as we want to keep them forever, most eventually return home.

After August 5th we will only have one long term volunteer serving in an organization that has grown to 4 houses with over 30 kids!

If you have ever thought you would like to serve at Casa de Amor, this is the time that we need you more than ever! We are looking for people willing to serve for at least 6 months starting in July/August and extending into 2012.

For more information please send an email of interest to Elena Alvarez at

volunteer@casadeamor.org

We look forward to hearing from you!

Let's Get Together!

Recently all of the volunteers got together to celebrate Heather's birthday! And it was also an opportunity to talk, laugh, and be our crazy selves!

From left to right: TJ and Tammy Mitchell our gracious hosts! Sadie, Tia Ana, Heather, Elena, Jennifer, Rachel, Kaley, Kristin, and Savannah!

Photography by Elena's husband Victor

If you think this group looks fun, we have 4 more volunteers coming today and tomorrow! We are looking forward to seeing return volunteer Hannah Armstrong and meeting Kati, Lane, and Lindsay!

Thank you!

We want to take a moment to thank Pauline te Linde for her months of service at Casa de Amor! She was a great friend to us fellow volunteers and an amazing servant in the homes!

Pauline you will be missed, don't forget about us! We hope you come back and visit soon!

Much Love!

Elena, Kaley, Kristin, and Savannah

and ALL the kids!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I kind of feel that Casa de Amor can celebrate Valentine's Day every day, we are a "House of Love" after all! But for all of you past, present, and future volunteers that are celebrating it today I want you to know that I appreciate you and the love you have, are, and will invest into the precious kids at CDA!!!

Elena, the volunteer coordinator!

Kaley from San Diego!

So, from the mommies at House 2, we hope your day is full of love and chocolate!

Elena ~*~