Wooly Wednesday: Caretakers Edition

The wonderful thing about our No Longer team is we all want to love, care and protect each child who walks through the gate at Casa Amor. There are many people investing in their precious, young lives. Spanning two countries and languages, one thing is universal... the language of LOVE! As heartbreaking as it is to realize we live in a world where children are cast aside on a daily basis, it is even more heartbreaking to imagine there is no one there to pick them up and love them. When we first dreamed of Casa Amor and what the family would look like, we knew there would be caretakers involved to handle the daily duties of raising a child. During our recent visit, we met four people who are integral to the day-to-day operations, but more importantly, they LOVE these children as their own and the children know it.

The mommas live at Casa Amor full-time; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They love the children, take care of the laundry, cook the meals, fix hair, garden and repair clothing, along with whatever else is needed. They are assigned to share a house with either boys or girls, but it was very clear they are "momma" to ALL the children!

 

With tears in her eyes, we heard Vilmania tell her story. Six years ago, her granddaughter was very sick; she was born with two holes in her heart. The doctor gave the family little hope and said treatment was extremely expensive. Vilmania and her daughter pled with the nurse at the hospital to treat her granddaughter, despite the fact they could not pay for it. The nurse abruptly said it couldn't be done, but the doctor came back to the family saying he would do all of her testing and treatment for free. Vilmania told us through tears that she vowed that day to make a commitment to God if He saved her granddaughter's life. The first church in the area she could find happened to be Pastor Altagracias' church. She accepted Jesus in her life at the end of the service. Weeks later, at a doctor's visit with her granddaughter, the doctor was astonished as he looked at test results. Her granddaughter had no holes in her heart and no other illnesses! She is now a healthy six-year-old. Vilmania vowed to stay in church and serve the Lord. After getting involved in the church, Pastor Altagracias saw something that stood out about Vilmania and asked her to be involved in the children's ministry, which ultimately led to her living at Casa Amor. She is the "momma" to the girls.

Catalina has been involved in the church since she was fifteen-years-old. She has five brothers and sisters, three of which were adopted. She was a worship leader at church and involved in community evangelism. Before coming to Casa Amor, she lived with her daughter and one-year-old grandson. She stays with them on her off weekends. You can see a deep passion in her eyes. She loves and cares for each of the children as if they were her very own. She has a nurturing heart, and when asked why she came to Casa Amor, her answer had everyone in tears. She said she "left her own home because the kids at Casa Amor need more. I am here full time asking God daily for strength to keep the kids on the straight path and purpose. Our strength can't change the kids, only the Holy Spirit can." Catalina is the "momma" to the boys and takes her role very seriously. When the newest child moved in on the last day of our visit, we were able to witness Catalina spring into action and love on young Yeinnsy. It was inspiring!

 

The secretary at Casa Amor is Nori. We were so impressed to find all the children's records in order, and she knew exactly where each document was and could find it in a second. In a neat twist, Nori is one of Pastor Altagracias' adopted daughters. Pastor Altagracias has loved "the least of these" for over twenty-five years! Nori has a precious four-year-old son named Isa who is just as much a part of Casa Amor as everyone else. Nori stays engaged with the kids and loved making Rainbow Loom bracelets with them when we were there.

 

The first face we saw when we pulled up day one of our visit was the guard at Casa Amor, Nene. He had a straight, expressionless face, and the look never changed that day as he held his post at the gate or watered the garden. There was still no smile on day two, but the corners of his lip had turned up a bit. By day three we had him in photos making silly faces with the kids and smiling ear to ear! The children lovingly call him "Papa" and he is full of personality. Nene loves the children, and we are thankful he isn't quick to trust any random person coming through his gate! He watches over and protects the children and walks them to and from school daily. We are extremely grateful for a consistent male presence in their lives! Before we left on the third day, and after he had laughed watching Brian and Michael school the older boys in basketball, Nene asked them when we would be coming back. Male role models are not easy to find in the Dominican, and we are praying for more men like Nene to invest in the lives of the children.

Won't you consider partnering with No Longer in changing the lives of orphaned children at Casa Amor? The mommas and security guards are an essential part of the children's lives, and the people we met are not simply working at a job. They are going above and beyond by being true parents to 21 children. A part of the monthly donations we receive helps provide salaries for the house mommas and security guards who have devoted their lives to caring for orphans. To begin monthly support, or to make a one-time gift, click here.

Look for more Wooly Wednesdays in the coming weeks! We will be introducing you to the children who call Casa Amor home a few at a time, and we cannot wait for you to meet them and know you will grow to love each of them as we do!

-Tracy

just the beginning

Michael, Tracy, Brennan & Sawyer Moore; Brian, Melissa,
Emily & William Bozeman; Lindsey Kersey

This is my seventh attempt at writing a blog post about our recent trip to Santo Domingo. It has taken two weeks to process the different emotions experienced and to decide how to best present it without writing a novel. There is more to share than space to write! The Moore family, the Bozeman family, and Lindsey Kersey spent five amazing days in early January getting to know the Dominican way of life while visiting Casa Amor, the children's home funded by No Longer. Casa Amor is located in the neighborhood of Brisas in the capital city of Santo Domingo. It was a wonderful trip that exceeded every expectation we had before going. My family has started saving to go back, and that time can't get here soon enough! Brennan, Sawyer, Emily and William completely embraced the culture and rolled with whatever we were doing. Not a one of us got sick, thank goodness, but maybe it's because we ate pizza every single day! The accommodations, transportation and translator arranged by SCORE were just what we needed. We were ready for our next trip before we even left for home on this one, and our hope is for other families to join us!


 

The obvious highlight and purpose of the trip was spending quality time with the twelve precious children living at Casa Amor. What a dream come true and so surreal at the same time. I am thankful one of us snapped a photo on a camera phone the first time our van pulled into the gate. It is a moment we will never forget. Having no idea what to expect, we were greeted by the sight of smiling, waving kids we had never met but felt like we already knew! Pastor Altagracias and Trace, our GO Project partner, were the first to shake our hands and make introductions. I was overwhelmed in the moment as I looked around to find us standing in a pocket of the Dominican Republic with two people we had been trading phone calls and emails with for almost three years, surrounded by the fruits of our combined labor. What a moment to share together! After hearing Altagracias' testimony and getting to know Trace, I can say this with complete certainty: No Longer is working in the right place, with the right people, and doing the right thing. God knew what He was doing all along!

There are so many things to say about the kids living at Casa Amor. We will be introducing each of them in future posts, but generally speaking, they are kids who are very much like my own children. They like to play and make jokes, they want attention, they deal with sibling rivalry! They like to win when they play basketball, dominos or bingo. They jumped on the Rainbow Loom bandwagon and danced to Taylor Swift!

Kids are going to be kids no matter their circumstances, but there is a very big difference between the orphaned kids and our own kids. At some point in their lives, the kids we met were failed and forgotten by the very people who should be there for them. Parents and family members have let them down because of death, neglect, abandonment, illness, drug addiction or worse. Despite painful backgrounds, they are resilient and are learning they are worthy of being loved. They are finding that love inside the walls of Casa Amor. By simply arriving at Casa Amor, they are no longer orphans. They have found a family, even if it's an unconventional family. Their family is made up of mommas who love them and care for them, a church family led by Altagracias who provides for their needs and includes them as church members, and even the security guard they fondly refer to as "Papa." They are learning they have a Heavenly Father who loves them more than they can imagine. It is a beautiful picture, and there is so much hope in the redemptive story being played out in their lives.

The Casa Amor family welcomed a new member on our last day, and we were able to see the family in action. William ran into the common area where we were sitting and shouted, "There's a new kid!" We didn't believe him, but sure enough, nine-year-old Yeinnsy was being welcomed by his new brothers and sisters! As heartbreaking as it was to witness his grandmother leaving him, we knew he was where he needed to be. The way the mommas and kids reacted to his appearance gave us so much hope for his future. They invited him to join their games, and big brother Deigo helped  him get settled in his new room. I also have no doubt God orchestrated the timing so we would be there to see it. 






 

In his book Radical, David Platt writes,

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.”

 

Meeting the thirteen kids who have found a family at Casa Amor has been a game-changer for all of us. We are more determined than ever to be their advocates and to be a voice for Rosie, Diego, Richard, Vianny, Marianny, Junior, Adrian, Millie, Hans, Yeinnsy, Carmen, Edwyn, and Carlito. We have seen their faces, we have held them in our arms, and we love them. It's as simple as that. 

These 8 boys moved in the week after we left for home. We can't wait to meet them!

We will be introducing the kids and mommas to you in the coming weeks. We also can't wait to give you a virtual tour of the Casa Amor property and the Brisas neighborhood. While you wait, please join us in praying for the kids, the mommas and Pastor Altagracias. If you are interested in contributing to the monthly support of Casa Amor, click here. The ongoing cost to support one orphan includes their food, education, clothing, medicine, and pays for the "mommas" who live with and care for the orphans daily.

Thank you for being a part of the No Longer family and putting Psalm 82:3-4 into action:

"Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless;

maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked."