Recently, I have been going to Teleton twice a week, and for the next 2 months I will be going a minimum of three times a week. We currently have 5 kids in various classes to aid learning disabilities, psychologists, and physical therapists. Generally, I usually only bring two kids at a time for class and if Matt is busy, Haley comes too. During the week, I am responsible for working with each of the kids individually to help catch them up to speed and help them with their weekly assignments. This morning, however, Matt and I loaded up Haley along with Fernando, Guadalupe, Reina, and Maryuri, and we left with them at 5:30. All but Haley were to march in the SOLDARIDAD parade this morning.
Maryuri and Reina were to dress up as a professional. We knew for a couple weeks, so we told them they could be whatever type of professional they wanted. Maryuri immediately told us she was going to be a doctor. Some of the ladies from church, Elena and Anita, can sew anything we can think up, so we had Elena make a lab coat for Maryuri. We received it yesterday at church, and Maryuri was so proud of it. Reina wanted to be a teacher. In the girls' closet there is a professional looking suit dress with a jacket. She chose to wear that, and was so excited to tell everyone that she was a teacher. The group that Fernando and Guadalupe are in all dressed in green shirts. Fer and Lupe were a little surprised that they also were in the parade because they thought they were just going for a regular day of class.
I was dreading taking all 5 with me. Matt drove, but he was also going to be leaving to run errands. We got there a few minutes before 7, and except for a couple moments all 5 children did really well. Fer and Lupe went off with their teacher a few around 7:30, and I didn't talk to them until after the parade. Maryuri and Reina were supposed to meet at their class at 7:00, but their teacher did not arrive until almost 8:00. While I stayed with the girls, Matt took Haley to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. The teacher eventually arrived, and I was finally able to get a little breakfast.
When I left Maryuri and Reina, both were very excited about marching in the parade. Maryuri had found her best friend from class who was also dressed like a doctor. They were telling everyone that they were here to give shots. By the time Haley, Matt and I finished breakfast, all of the commotion was beginning to make Maryuri nervous. I told her I would be watching the parade and she would do great. I walked off to check on Fernando and Guadalupe, and before I got back someone ran to me saying that my girl was crying. I immediately looked for Haley who was on the playground, thinking she had fallen. Haley was very happy; it was Maryuri that was crying. With the drums and all of the commotion of the day, Maryuri got very scared, and decided she was not going to do the parade. The teacher tried to calm her down and said that she could stay by her side the whole time. That wouldn't settle her down. The teacher asked her if she would like me to walk in the parade with her and she said yes.
At this point I looked a bit like a bag lady with my big bag that carries everyone's notebooks and appointment books and snacks. I also had in tote, my mom's big camera back with the camera around my neck. I said that I would walk with her if I didn't have to carry all of the stuff with me. Haley and I lined up with Maryuri and Reina to walk in the parade. (Matt left to run errands, so Haley was with me.) It wasn't long before Haley wanted to be carried, but for a long time I insisted that she walked. Maryuri finally calmed down enough that she had a lot of fun in the parade. Haley liked the sound of the drums, and danced and hopped for much of the parade.
Since Maryuri had a breakdown, I didn't see much of Lupe and Fer in the parade because they were behind where we were marching, but they told me later that they had tons of fun. We marched through a neighborhood where many retired people were home. They came out to watch the parade and cheered all of the kids on. There were news reporters and many people taking pictures there to make this a very special day for the kids.
Teleton is full of kids with various physical and learning disabilities. These children are frequently rejected by other children or by society. Today was designed to make them feel very special, and they succeeded in doing so. Our kids all enjoyed being in the parade.
On the way home, we stopped across from the airport because Matt needed to change out a little money, and while he was taking care of business we bought three donuts so that each child (including Emma Kate) could have half of a donut. When we got back in the car, all the kids but Haley and Reina fell asleep. Between the early morning and the parade, these kiddos were worn out. Today I'm so grateful for a time to boost these children's self esteem.
Pictures to come.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
PTA
The elementary school and the high school here have frequent meetings. They are very boring and never accomplish much. The only reason anyone goes is because parents get fined if they do not attend. At the end of the year if all fines are not paid up, grades cannot be received for their child, and therefore, the child can not register for school the following year. Pamela came home on Friday and told me that there were two meetings at the high school this weekend. I had to go to both.
Yesterday, the meeting was basically electing PTA board members for each grade. We were told by the director of the school that we were not allowed to leave until all of the positions were filled. After a very long time of people going around the room stating the millions of reasons they had to not be a board member, I eventually took the position that required the least amount of work. When I took a position, the final two positions were finally filled as well, and we were allowed to go home.
Last night, my mom asked how the meeting was, and I said it was boring and that I was on the PTA board. When asked how that happened, I told her more than anything, I just wanted to get out of there. I wasn't very exciting about adding another obligation to my to do list, but I was willing to if I had to. Fortunately, today, I found out I attended the wrong meeting. Each grade is split into 3 or 4 sections, and I sat through the meeting in section B rather than C. Therefore, I was very relieved today to find out that I did not have to attend extra meetings, and I was a little embarrassed that I had no idea I was sitting through the wrong class.
Yesterday, the meeting was basically electing PTA board members for each grade. We were told by the director of the school that we were not allowed to leave until all of the positions were filled. After a very long time of people going around the room stating the millions of reasons they had to not be a board member, I eventually took the position that required the least amount of work. When I took a position, the final two positions were finally filled as well, and we were allowed to go home.
Last night, my mom asked how the meeting was, and I said it was boring and that I was on the PTA board. When asked how that happened, I told her more than anything, I just wanted to get out of there. I wasn't very exciting about adding another obligation to my to do list, but I was willing to if I had to. Fortunately, today, I found out I attended the wrong meeting. Each grade is split into 3 or 4 sections, and I sat through the meeting in section B rather than C. Therefore, I was very relieved today to find out that I did not have to attend extra meetings, and I was a little embarrassed that I had no idea I was sitting through the wrong class.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Future First Lady Comes to Preschool
Yesterday, Karen came into my class and told me some politicos were stopping by the children's home tomorrow. She didn't really know a lot of the details of who all would be coming, but she said that they would be here between 10:00-11:00. We knew that that could also mean that they didn't show up until 1:00 as the other kids were getting home from school. I also knew that if there was any chance that they were coming, my classroom needed to be in much better order. As I started to clean the classroom last night, my dad said that Lucrecia de Alvarez was coming, so things needed to look very nice. Lucrecia is the wife of the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, but everyone is hoping that Ricardo will be the new president.
Because Lucrecia was campaigning for her husband here in Santa Ana, she was here with many other people. The crew stopped here before their official meeting in the center of town, and they arrived about 9:45, 15 minutes early, almost unheard of. With Lucrecia, I met a lady that used to work at Teleton, but now works for Ricardo. She assured me that if I have a single problem at Teleton, she would be more than willing to help. She also told me that she would put herself in charge of Doris, our sweet girl that Teleton can no longer help. She said she would find a place that could help Doris.
Also, Lucrecia told me that if we ever needed a doctor for any of our kids or anyone that we know in our ministries that she has connections to many doctors in the city that would be willing to see them for free. Lucrecia and many of her crew came in for a few minutes of preschool class. They brought cake and cokes for my 7 kids in class. Reina wanted to show Lucrecia what all she had been doing in class, so she pulled out her folder of work, and Lucrecia graciously told her how beautiful everything she had done was. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet Lucrecia. She truly is a jewel.
Because Lucrecia was campaigning for her husband here in Santa Ana, she was here with many other people. The crew stopped here before their official meeting in the center of town, and they arrived about 9:45, 15 minutes early, almost unheard of. With Lucrecia, I met a lady that used to work at Teleton, but now works for Ricardo. She assured me that if I have a single problem at Teleton, she would be more than willing to help. She also told me that she would put herself in charge of Doris, our sweet girl that Teleton can no longer help. She said she would find a place that could help Doris.
Also, Lucrecia told me that if we ever needed a doctor for any of our kids or anyone that we know in our ministries that she has connections to many doctors in the city that would be willing to see them for free. Lucrecia and many of her crew came in for a few minutes of preschool class. They brought cake and cokes for my 7 kids in class. Reina wanted to show Lucrecia what all she had been doing in class, so she pulled out her folder of work, and Lucrecia graciously told her how beautiful everything she had done was. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet Lucrecia. She truly is a jewel.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Gardening
When we lived in Baton Rouge, I worked at a garden store. Most days I enjoyed my job there. In working at a garden store, I learned there are basically three types of people. There are people that work in their garden and know so much about what they are planting. They love more than anything to get a little dirt under their fingernails, and rejoice in the fruits of their labor. There are the people that have a guy that does their gardening. They generally know little about plants, and just want their yard to be well manicured, but they are not about to get dirty doing it. Then there is the final group of people who came in that knew absolutely nothing about plants. They usually came in with problems, but they were difficult for anyone to help because they just say that they had a plant with problems. They would neither know the type of plant nor be able to affectively describe the problem.
Right now, I feel like I fit a little bit into each of these categories. We have a guy, Cesar who works hard to take care of our property, and when we asked him to dig up the weeds for a flowerbed, he has been so excited to plant something. I so badly want to plant my flowers, make a veggie garden, and pot several fresh herbs. I have visions of going to my garden and selecting the veggies we will eat from what I have taken the time to plant and watch grow, or snipping my own herbs instead of using dried ones from the supermarket. I was always a little envious of the people that came into the store in the first category for being able to be outside working with their hands. However, a few things keep holding me back from planting my own veggie garden. 1.) It is difficult to garden when I am away from the house all day with the kids at the children's home. 2.) It is supper time when we get home. 3.) I have a toddler that desperately wants time with just her mommy and daddy when we are at home and there are not another 24 kids fighting for attention. 4.) At 6 months pregnant, I don't know how wise it is to haul the dirt and rocks needed to build the garden. I feel also much like a person in the third category that really knows nothing about plants. I have never had a garden, and growing up we had grass, weeds, and trees. The only gardening I did was weed pulling. In my head I feel like I would love gardening, but something also tells me I may have a black thumb.
I am considering having Cesar build the area for a raised garden while we are in the States, and try to help plant the seeds when we get back. If I do nothing with this garden, I don't feel it will be very rewarding to reap the fruits of it. Help! Give me advice on how you make your gardens grow!
Right now, I feel like I fit a little bit into each of these categories. We have a guy, Cesar who works hard to take care of our property, and when we asked him to dig up the weeds for a flowerbed, he has been so excited to plant something. I so badly want to plant my flowers, make a veggie garden, and pot several fresh herbs. I have visions of going to my garden and selecting the veggies we will eat from what I have taken the time to plant and watch grow, or snipping my own herbs instead of using dried ones from the supermarket. I was always a little envious of the people that came into the store in the first category for being able to be outside working with their hands. However, a few things keep holding me back from planting my own veggie garden. 1.) It is difficult to garden when I am away from the house all day with the kids at the children's home. 2.) It is supper time when we get home. 3.) I have a toddler that desperately wants time with just her mommy and daddy when we are at home and there are not another 24 kids fighting for attention. 4.) At 6 months pregnant, I don't know how wise it is to haul the dirt and rocks needed to build the garden. I feel also much like a person in the third category that really knows nothing about plants. I have never had a garden, and growing up we had grass, weeds, and trees. The only gardening I did was weed pulling. In my head I feel like I would love gardening, but something also tells me I may have a black thumb.
I am considering having Cesar build the area for a raised garden while we are in the States, and try to help plant the seeds when we get back. If I do nothing with this garden, I don't feel it will be very rewarding to reap the fruits of it. Help! Give me advice on how you make your gardens grow!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Hiring employees
When we moved into our new house, the one that will one day be our children's home, we found out that we had an employee. Actually we found out that there was a guy that lived on our property and had received a small wage to maintain it. The first question he asked Matt was if he could still work there. He was only receiving $100/month. We said he could continue to work, but at minimum wage. He is received a large pay raise, but it is nothing any American would be willing to live on. Because our home will be a place for kids, the ministry funds pay his wage, but Matt is his boss. Each week Matt gives a list of things that he wants done around the house. This week, we also hired a sweet lady from our town. She is a nurse, but there are no jobs available right now. She comes to clean our house 3 mornings a week. At some point IHNFA will start making inspections of our place, and everything will have to be in order. Anyone who knows me well, knows that housekeeping is not my strongsuit. We told Diana that if all things turn out well, when the home opens, she may have a full time job with much better pay than she is getting now.
For Matt and I both, it is a little uncomfortable to be "the boss" of an employee. Yesterday, I gave Diana a list and told her I felt akward telling her what she was supposed to do. Sometimes Matt completely forgets to let Cesar know anything he wants him to do, but Cesar always tries to stay busy. This is a very new experience for us, but we hope that we can be Christ to Diana, Cesar and their families.
For Matt and I both, it is a little uncomfortable to be "the boss" of an employee. Yesterday, I gave Diana a list and told her I felt akward telling her what she was supposed to do. Sometimes Matt completely forgets to let Cesar know anything he wants him to do, but Cesar always tries to stay busy. This is a very new experience for us, but we hope that we can be Christ to Diana, Cesar and their families.
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