The orphanage we’ve been staying at is organized under the name MiCasa International – “mi casa” is Spanish for “my house” – and I honestly can’t think of a better name. The kids that live here really do make it their house, and you can’t go a foot inside the door of either house without knowing with certainty that here is a place for children to call home.
I love these kids. When we first arrived, we were literally only days behind another World Race team that had been the first AIM group to visit the home. The kids had really bonded with those wonderful girls, and Bob warned us that it might take time for them to warm up to us, since they felt like they were betraying their sisters. I’m happy to report that we’ve been added to the list of North Americans they’re willing to have fun with and hug, although I think the first team will always be extra special to them.* So without too much further ado, I’d love to introduce the squad of kids who have been added to my family!
Here’s Gabo. She turned 15 about a month or so ago, and as the oldest in the girls’ home she’s a leader for them all. She really cares about all the girls, taking care of them almost as much as the tias who run the place. She’s got a beautiful smile that comes easily to her face, and is about equal parts surprisingly mature and wonderfully innocent. She absolutely adores panda bears – she spent about a week cuddling with a giant stuffed panda on the couch while recovering from dental surgery. (She’s been having a rough month – two teeth extracted one week, strep throat the next – but she’s born it like a trooper. I know from personal experience any time you have dental modifications – braces, surgery, etc. – you tend to be more irritable and miserable, but I never saw her once snap at anyone. She’s got a truly gentle spirit, and it’s beautiful to see.) She’s honestly one of the most wonderful young ladies I’ve met so far on this trip, and I can’t wait to see what she does with her life.
Aga (her nickname, she can’t stand to be called Gabriela) is 14 and a half, and probablytook the longest to open up to us all. She and Gabo are especially close. Aga’s dream is to be an actress. She’s the only kid at the house who is here voluntarily – she actually has family she could go home to if she wanted, but she recognizes that living with her mother is not a good environment for her, and she truly desires to make something with her life. She is also an incredibly talented dancer (William, with a background in dance, commented that she’s so good she must have taken dance classes with a very good instructor) and has an absolutely inimitable fashion style. I get a lot of joy just watching her wear her rockstar outfits with absolute nonchalance, and from seeing her literally squeal with joy when good things happen to her. She was initially very reserved, but now that she’s accepted us she has an amazing reservoir of pure excitement in here that has her bouncing from place to place.
Rosa Violetta is another girl growing into a marvelous young woman, but at 13 she’s still got a lot of kid in her. She’s always playing around, and particularly enjoys teasing me. She’s absolutely wonderful and knows it – I just can’t say no to her. She’s going to grow up to be a real heartbreaker soon – it’s a good thing Bob won’t let the kids date until they’re 18!
Julia is a little darling of 11. She loves to play around, but she’s the sweetest little girl I’veever met. She loves to play doctor and lead the younger ones in various games and fun times. She’s a natural-born leader and captivatingly gorgeous. She’s also got an amazing smile that is always just one ‘hola!’ away, and her laugh is completely uninhibited.
Lili (on the left) is 12, and is a bit in-between the older ones and the younger batch, teetering on the edge of maturity. She at first tried to put up a facade of indifference towards us, but it completely shattered when we got her a cake for her birthday. We were singing happy birthday and she just completely broke down crying from gladness with her head in Katie’s lap. After that she started to have more and more trouble continuing to pretend to not care, and now she smiles and laughs around us as easily as any of the other girls. She’s still trying to decide what kind of personality she wants to have, but once she grows into who she is she’ll be a wonderful person.
Angelica – Angie to us – is a bossy little creature of 10.
She’s sometimes bratty, usually bossy, occasionally demanding, wonderfully caring and always up for some fun. She is, in short, everything a little girl should be.She’s small enough I can toss her around like the rest of the little ones, but she’s old enough to have real conversations with as well. I think she’s going to really be something special once she starts to believe in who God made her.
Brisa is the little joker of the group. She’s got a 10-year-old’s giant grin and a serious enjoyment of life. She’s always playing around, one way or another. She loves hanging out with the little ones and big ones alike, and she spends a lot of time managing the little store the girls have opened in the garage under their house. She’s one of the best students in the home, and it’s clear she’ll be a real success academically as well as socially. There’s nothing that gets her down – not even a solid week of missing school from chicken pox. She’s also got a sweet streak a mile wide, and it’s never more evident than when she’s taking care of the littlest ones.
Ana Cecilia (Ceci) is 6, and already far more than just a child. She’s confident, assertive,and knows exactly what she wants. She is always hanging out with her little sister Rosita and loves laughing and playing with us. She’s standing at a crossroads right now, with the temperament to become either a bossy, bratty bully, or a marvelously encouraging leader even at a young age. I’m confident that by God’s love, and between Bob and his staff and the other girls here, she’ll turn into the latter, and be a beautiful woman full of God’s grace when she grows up.
Rosita is the littlest one of all the kids at 4, and she is nothing short of adorable. Her laugh comes straight from her spirit, and it is the most bubbly, happy, joy-filled laugh I’ve ever heard. If anyone ever asks me what it means to be like a child I’ll just point them at Rosita. She’s a hard worker and a good student, but most of the time she’s just an adorable little girl. She squeals and giggles and rolls on the floor with completely uncontained happiness whenever we’re playing, and absolutely fills me with complete joy, even when she’s still dealing with the concept of asking before taking things out of my hands while I’m using them (such as the laptop I’m writing this post with). It’s a good thing she’s not a quiet one, or she’d be in real danger of getting packed into one of our bags when we leave and quietly smuggled along with us!
So that’s it for the girls – but there’s a whole other house full of guys! We’re getting way past the recommended length for these blogs, so I’ll talk about them in part 2!
*Special note to any of the women of Team Beloved who might be reading this: when I passed along a message to Gabo from Brittany Cox, it took all of ten seconds for every girl in the house to surround me asking if I knew one or another of you. You have made a truly significant impact on the lives of these girls, and I truly believe they will remember you for the rest of their lives as wonderful examples of what women of God should look like. Thank you!
