What affect does abandonment have on a 4 and 2 year old? How would it affect you or your kids if this happened to you? This is the case with 2 kids that came to the home recently. They were found abandoned on the streets of Iquitos and taken to the police station but no one came to claim them. There was no information with them and they don’t talk much so we’re not sure of their names or their ages. The girl, who we call Clara, is probably around 4 and her brother, who seems to answer to Ever seems to be at least 2. Ever is doing fairly well with potty training but we have to make sure to take them both regularly. Clara does things that are borderline naughty to get attention. You have to wonder what goes through their minds.

It is so good to have Israel and Cynthia back from Mexico. They were gone about a month and we really missed them. They both speak English. Since they are our translators it was good for us because we were forced to communicate in Spanish. We still have a long way to go!!

Segundo, the other two year old has learned to how to walk. Now we are trying to potty train him as well. He has such a sweet personality but is also easily offended. He is still learning to talk. Supposedly he is three years old but Cynthia and I have our doubts that the birth certificate is correct.

Cynthia really has her hands full right now so I’m helping her. Four mornings a week I help get the children up and ready for the day at 6:00 am. In the afternoon around 4:00 pm I help with showers. On days when Cynthia is gone or has off I’m basically responsible for the 2 youngest and help take care of the others. It’s a big job and I get tired but I miss them when I’m not available to help.

Stan is very much involved with the chicken project here and is doing everything he can to learn how to care for them. He also helps with taking the kids to school or whatever needs doing.

We are really enjoying our new house. I especially like having a kitchen although I don’t have much time to cook. It’s also hard to find some of the ingredients I want but little by little we’re learning where to shop.

Please keep us in your prayers. Also please pray for the need of help here especially for Israel and Cynthia. They have their hands full with the little ones caring for 9 kids under 5 and addition taking care their own 4 year old and 8 month old. Israel also pastors a church in Nauta and they are very involved there. They really could use more help than I am able to give.

We are really looking forward to coming back to the states around the 1st of May and counting the days. We had some issues with our return tickets because of a flight cancellation so our return date has been shifted several times. Hopefully, it is nailed down now to arriving in Miami May 2, 2:30 am. We look forward to seeing many of you soon.

God bless!

Ruth