1. Safe travels and passage of luggage - all 3 suitcases arrived with no problems, including the school supplies and $250 worth of medications and supplies that I was bringing with me for the mobile clinic. Today I met Dr. Tony and passed on some things to him. He was exceptionally happy about the otoscope! It's a very basic one that I found on amazon.com, but will at least allow him to do a better assessment of the many ear complaints and prevent unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics! The mobile clinic was started in the last 6 months and has grown from visiting 6-10 sites monthly to over 35 locations. We are praising God that Worldvision has come on as a partner with us in the mobile clinic expanding the number of communities that we are able to serve. Today we started strategizing about how to incorporate community education into the current mobile clinic services, as we really believe an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
2. La profe nueva habla Chino??? - I spend the mornings teaching English to 4/5 yr olds and then to 6-8yr olds. The kids are adorable even though I hear PROFEEEEEE (short for profesora) yelled 50 times a day. On day 2, one of the kids asked the director if I was speaking Chinese?? I'm not sure if he was referring to my English that was foreign to him or to my Spanish that was so mixed up that he thought it was Chinese!! I confirmed that NO, la profe nueva is NOT speaking Chinese!! We still laugh at this comment and I'm thankful that the kids are so welcoming and are good at making me laugh! This week the focus was on colors red and blue. Next week we add the color green and begin work on introductions in English..... hello, my name is Jewel y no hablo Chino!
3. Weekly Chapel started this week. What a blessing to sing and worship with 70 children and to watch them listen attentively as the word of God was shared. Our kids come from homes and families of all make up an design. Some are 2 parent homes, others are being raised by grandparents, some leave school to go 'work' in the landfill with their parents, others have felt loss that is beyond their years. Juan arrived to school this week 2 weeks after school started because the family had been grieving the sudden death of the 14 month old brother and the family was too distraught to bring him and the other brother to school. Every day Juan asks me at least 10 times in the day can he go to the preschool class to check on his 3yr old brother. How can I deny him, knowing the unexplainable loss that he is feeling for his 14 month old brother. So we worked out an arrangement so that his desk is by the door.... and when he feels the need he can look down the hall into the preschool classroom to assure himself that the 3yr old brother is ok. Our kids have tough stories, but it brings joy to the soul to hear them proclaim the Word of God at the top of their lungs....Their memory verse for this week comes from Psalms 139:14... Te alabo porque soy una creaccion admirable!
Just a few highlights and praises from this first week and a half. Please keep the work and ministry in CienFuegos, Santiago, in prayer. A few prayer needs are listed below.
- Lights -- our power lines have been stolen twice in the last 9 days
- Behavior issues - many of the students have never been in class before!! There are lots of learning challenges that turn into behavior problems out of the student's frustration.
- Adjustment -- Language acquisition is a challenge, plus understanding "Kid Spanish" is tough! Also some of the words are different than Mexican Spanish, for example the word for bag is fundo instead of bolsa.
- Internet - Internet is expensive... but would help with the adjustment such as Skype access, etc. Pray for a less costly internet option.
- Mobile Clinic - many medications are needed as well as educational opportunities. Pray for wisdom as the clinic has grown rapidly, but there are many needs to keep up with the growth.
Joya, so is dr tony single and cute?; you know I'm praying for love in the DR :) How about paying one of those landfill workers to act as a security guard to watch the power lines or getting a guard dog?? Or has the thief of the power lines gone away?? Lupe & I tease each other about our Spanglish so you go on speaking that Spanese! Love, Venessa
ReplyDeleteVenessa... you made me LAUGH, as usual!! Keep praying dear, but you should know that ! Dr. Tony is married with a precious little one! The power lines were installed again, but this time they are partially buried and the part that could not be buried were put in a plastic tubing, with a metal tubing on top. So far, so good!! :)
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