I have now been in the US for nine days. It has been a little easier adjusting to being home this time (mostly because it didn’t snow three feet in the first week). I’m not in as much culture shock, for example when I go to the food store, and I’m not sick (praise God). I’m eager to start working though, because, although it’s been a nice break, I have a lot of time to think about how much I miss NLCH and my fellow interns. I find myself thinking almost daily things like, hmm it’s 6:00 in Guatemala. Everyone is getting ready to eat dinner, or the kids are just getting out of school, or right now we would be having our intern meeting. The kids, staff, and interns have once again left quite an impression on me and I am extremely grateful to them for their part in helping me grow these last three months.
So what’s next? I’m not really sure. Next week, I’m moving back to Pennsylvania, where I will be working at my previous waitressing job while I look for a job in my field (biochemistry). I am also planning to apply to school for next year. Here is where I would especially appreciate your prayers. I’m not sure which programs I’m applying to, whether medical school, physicians assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinic psychologist, or maybe some combination. Please pray that the Lord will make this decision supernaturally clear to me and that he will provide a way for me to get there.
As for NLCH, I feel like a part of me is still there. Please pray for God’s direction about and provision for returning. Also, please pray for patience for me as I am in the US.
The doctor that I work with is trying to start a hospital in Guatemala City. I am trying to help her find investors for this project and also some medical equipment that she needs in her two clinics that she has now. If you or someone you know would like to help in some way, please let me know. You could also help by sponsoring a child. Each of the 51 kids needs 12 sponsors, but only one actually has the required amount.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement during this journey. I have felt them every step of the way. I know that several of you have been praying for me since I was born and for this I am eternally grateful. For those of you that attend Trinity, I will be there this Sunday, August 17, and would love to talk to you. For anyone else, my email address is dbertozz@eastern.edu and my cell number is (603) 809-9183 (although it is turned off till Sept. 1). I hope to hear from you. Thanks again and God bless.
Con cariño,
Danelle Bertozzi
Friday, August 15, 2008
Our Despedida and Saying Good bye
Like the other interns and teams before us, we had a despedida, or send off, right before we left. We were surprised when we walked in to dinner and saw that they had arranged the tables in a square so that the five of us could sit at the head and see everyone. Astrid sang and Michele danced to my favorite Hilsong worship song. Some of the kids stood up and thanked us for different things that we had done with them and at the end, Kendon said something about each one of us, which was very touching. Lastly, we got to stand up and thank them. We wrote in advance something that included our favorite activities, some of our new favorite Spanish words, and some verses (Ephesians 2: 4-10 and Psalm 91:11-12). We were really hoping to communicate how much we enjoyed getting to know them and also our desire for them to grow in their faith and to know that God loves them. After, we handed out an award with a superlative and a note and verse we picked out for each one. Some of my favorites were “the best hug giver” to Juan David, “the sweetest” to Iris, “fearless leader” to Kevin, “the best listener” to Jenifer, and “the best colorer” to Randy.
My last day flew by for me. At 4:00 am, we left to take Jessica, Rachael, and Kelsey to the airport. Before going to the clinic that day I said goodbye to Mark (and learned that Jessica was back because her plane had been delayed for 24 hours because of the hurricane). After the clinic, I went with Wendy and Staci on my last food shopping trip. It was pouring so hard that it flooded and, on the way home, we had to drive under this bridge where the road was covered in water. We made it through ok.
By the time we got everything unloaded it was almost dinner and I spent the rest of the time trying to say goodbye. After dinner (my last beans, rice, and tortillas for awhile), we made meat pie with some of the older guys and hang out for awhile.
The next morning, I got to say one last goodbye at breakfast and then, two of the older guys, Jon and Oswaldo, rode with me to the airport, reminding me again that in so many ways these kids are such good friends to me. It took me about 17 hours to get home, but everything went really smoothly. I had a lot of time to think about the last three months. God’s provision was evident throughout and He answered prayers time and again. Along with this, I am sure of something else. These kids are so dear to me and I know that I will remember with joy my time with them.
My last day flew by for me. At 4:00 am, we left to take Jessica, Rachael, and Kelsey to the airport. Before going to the clinic that day I said goodbye to Mark (and learned that Jessica was back because her plane had been delayed for 24 hours because of the hurricane). After the clinic, I went with Wendy and Staci on my last food shopping trip. It was pouring so hard that it flooded and, on the way home, we had to drive under this bridge where the road was covered in water. We made it through ok.
By the time we got everything unloaded it was almost dinner and I spent the rest of the time trying to say goodbye. After dinner (my last beans, rice, and tortillas for awhile), we made meat pie with some of the older guys and hang out for awhile.
The next morning, I got to say one last goodbye at breakfast and then, two of the older guys, Jon and Oswaldo, rode with me to the airport, reminding me again that in so many ways these kids are such good friends to me. It took me about 17 hours to get home, but everything went really smoothly. I had a lot of time to think about the last three months. God’s provision was evident throughout and He answered prayers time and again. Along with this, I am sure of something else. These kids are so dear to me and I know that I will remember with joy my time with them.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Our Retreat at Panajachel
The five interns, Kendon, Wendy, (their son) Ian, Staci, Lee, and little Michelle went to Panajachel for three days for our retreat. This was a great time of souvenir shopping, kayaking, roasting marshmallows, playing frisbee (causing some unfortunate bee stings) and crocket, watching sunsets and sunrises, and hanging out. We talked about what to expect when we returned to the US and each of us had a time to talk about what God taught us, things we liked and disliked, and how we were going to apply what we had learned to our futures. It was such a great time. For a gag gift, Wendy gave the girls this purse that had a picture of Texas embroidered in it (proving that Texas is everywhere), and Mark these brightly colored slippers.
Words of the Day:
Cuanto cuesta? (quoo- ahn- toe quoo- eh-stah)- How much does it cost?
Eso es muy carro. (eh-soe es moowe cah- roe)- that is really expensive.
Lago (lah- go)- lake
Cuanto cuesta? (quoo- ahn- toe quoo- eh-stah)- How much does it cost?
Eso es muy carro. (eh-soe es moowe cah- roe)- that is really expensive.
Lago (lah- go)- lake
Friday, August 1, 2008
Teaching English
One of my favorite things to do each week is teach Franki (19) and Oswaldo (20) English. Oswaldo has a job in the city in the afternoons and nights, so it’s sometimes hard to find time to do it with him. Franki works at the Home during the day, so I teach him Monday-Friday for an hour before dinner. Lately, we have been spending the majority of the hour just talking in English. This is really encouraging, because in school, they mostly learn just vocab. A lot of our kids understand some English, but don’t like to speak it, because the accent is difficult. Franki can now have conversations about what he did that day, work, what he is going to do that night, and the things that he likes to do. Franki and Oswaldo also learned some verses and can say them perfectly.
This was also a great way to improve my Spanish. I have spent a lot of time looking up different topics and trying to figure out how to teach English concepts in Spanish. They also teach me new vocab. Their excitement and persistence gets me excited to improve my Spanish.
Cultural differences:
Oswaldo was telling me about a friend from work who showed him a picture of Boston. He was talking about the differences in Boston and Guatemala City, when he suddenly got uncharacteristically excited. He said that his friend told him that there are little animals that run around Boston and get really close to you. This of course confused me and I told him that there are no little animals running around Boston. He assured me that his friend said that they’re everywhere. I was trying to think of what he could possibly mean when he said, “They’re called squirrels!” I tried to explain to him that they are sometimes pests, but he remained convinced that they are pretty cool.
I guess it’s a little like how we Americans get so excited when there is a lot of smoke coming out of the volcano or how you can see the lava at night when it’s clear. The kids always make fun of us for this, because they are so used to seeing it. I never thought of squirrels as exciting, but I guess they would be if you had never seen one.
This was also a great way to improve my Spanish. I have spent a lot of time looking up different topics and trying to figure out how to teach English concepts in Spanish. They also teach me new vocab. Their excitement and persistence gets me excited to improve my Spanish.
Cultural differences:
Oswaldo was telling me about a friend from work who showed him a picture of Boston. He was talking about the differences in Boston and Guatemala City, when he suddenly got uncharacteristically excited. He said that his friend told him that there are little animals that run around Boston and get really close to you. This of course confused me and I told him that there are no little animals running around Boston. He assured me that his friend said that they’re everywhere. I was trying to think of what he could possibly mean when he said, “They’re called squirrels!” I tried to explain to him that they are sometimes pests, but he remained convinced that they are pretty cool.
I guess it’s a little like how we Americans get so excited when there is a lot of smoke coming out of the volcano or how you can see the lava at night when it’s clear. The kids always make fun of us for this, because they are so used to seeing it. I never thought of squirrels as exciting, but I guess they would be if you had never seen one.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Another Amazing Surgery
Once again, the pictures and description below may be a little graphic.
The last couple weeks, a lady with a large mass in her leg has been coming in. We were finally able to remove it last week. It was pretty amazing. I got to assist in the two hour surgery that we performed in our little clinic.
First, we injected her leg with a local anesthetic. Next, we opened up her leg and injected more anesthesia as we cut deeper into her leg. Then, we ran out of it. Then, the doctor told her that she needed to be brave, because we didn’t have anymore anesthetic. That’s when I started to worry. The patient, however, took it in stride and we continued with the surgery. The patient was rather overweight and the mass was embedded in the muscle so we had to stick our hands way down in her leg. We took out two masses, one fairly small and the other about 11 cm long. While closing her up, it was a little difficult to stop the bleeding, so almost an hour was spent just stitching. As usual, the doctor told the patient that she had to run and left me to clean the wound and bandage it. I’m glad that she trusts me to do this. It’s exciting to receive more and more responsibility while helping her.
It was pretty amazing that she was awake the whole time. Guatemalans are super tough. Even just the sound of us digging around in her leg would be enough to make most people squirm. The next week we received the biopsy results and, praise the Lord, it is not cancer.
Words of the Day:
Punto- stitches (also means spot, point, mark, etc.)
Masa- mass (also means dough)
Tejido- tissue (also means cloth)
The last couple weeks, a lady with a large mass in her leg has been coming in. We were finally able to remove it last week. It was pretty amazing. I got to assist in the two hour surgery that we performed in our little clinic.
First, we injected her leg with a local anesthetic. Next, we opened up her leg and injected more anesthesia as we cut deeper into her leg. Then, we ran out of it. Then, the doctor told her that she needed to be brave, because we didn’t have anymore anesthetic. That’s when I started to worry. The patient, however, took it in stride and we continued with the surgery. The patient was rather overweight and the mass was embedded in the muscle so we had to stick our hands way down in her leg. We took out two masses, one fairly small and the other about 11 cm long. While closing her up, it was a little difficult to stop the bleeding, so almost an hour was spent just stitching. As usual, the doctor told the patient that she had to run and left me to clean the wound and bandage it. I’m glad that she trusts me to do this. It’s exciting to receive more and more responsibility while helping her.
It was pretty amazing that she was awake the whole time. Guatemalans are super tough. Even just the sound of us digging around in her leg would be enough to make most people squirm. The next week we received the biopsy results and, praise the Lord, it is not cancer.
After 1 hour and 5 or 6 levels of stitches
The larger of the two masses
Also, earlier that day, a woman came in who had fallen a month earlier. She has a wound in her leg that goes down to the bone and fractured her femur. To treat her, the doctor filled her wound with honey and put a slice of apple over the top. She came in a few days later and surprisingly it was much better. The doctor continues to do this every few days.
the white part is bone
Words of the Day:
Punto- stitches (also means spot, point, mark, etc.)
Masa- mass (also means dough)
Tejido- tissue (also means cloth)
Monday, July 21, 2008
Pool Day
Saturday, we took the kids on the highest behavior level to the pool. It started to rain right before we left, and stopped right when we were ready to get in the water. This turned out to be such a blessing as we were almost the only people there. This pool complex was pretty cool. All the pools are heated by volcanic activity. There was a little one for kids, a medium one, and one with a deep end. The pools also overlook the beautiful Lake Amatitlan and gorgeous mountains. The majority of our kids don’t know how to swim (it’s a cultural thing), so I was a little nervous, but everyone was safe.
This was a really fun day for me, because I got to play with all ages of kids and spend time with a lot of different people. I love going to the pool with kids, because you get to play around and act silly. Some of my favorite times were races with the older boys, trying to teach (19 year-old) Edgar how to float, teaching Alex the butterfly stroke, racing to find the coin with the younger kids (they are pretty hardcore. I almost got knocked out a few times), splashing with Jorgito and Randy in the baby pool, looking at the scenery with Jenifer, and getting to hang out with Katie (one of the interns I was with last time and a good friend from school who was visiting for a week).
On the way home, we stopped at McDonalds. I don’t know if you’ve ever ordered for almost 40 people, but it wasn’t easy. Luckily, Lee and Staci came up with a good system and almost everyone got what they ordered.
Later that night, Chad and Marlana (a couple that is in language school right now) took us interns out for pizza and we had a nice night with them. They have really encouraged us and I’m super excited for them to finish language school in October (six months total) and start at the Home. Please pray for them as they finish up and adjust to a new life once again.
Words of the Day: today I’m going to tell a joke:
¿Qué hace un pez? Nada
What does a fish do? Nada (nah- dah)- nothing, but it also is the third person singular of the verb nadar, which means to swim. So, the punch line means, nothing, but also, he swims. Hehe.
This was a really fun day for me, because I got to play with all ages of kids and spend time with a lot of different people. I love going to the pool with kids, because you get to play around and act silly. Some of my favorite times were races with the older boys, trying to teach (19 year-old) Edgar how to float, teaching Alex the butterfly stroke, racing to find the coin with the younger kids (they are pretty hardcore. I almost got knocked out a few times), splashing with Jorgito and Randy in the baby pool, looking at the scenery with Jenifer, and getting to hang out with Katie (one of the interns I was with last time and a good friend from school who was visiting for a week).
On the way home, we stopped at McDonalds. I don’t know if you’ve ever ordered for almost 40 people, but it wasn’t easy. Luckily, Lee and Staci came up with a good system and almost everyone got what they ordered.
Later that night, Chad and Marlana (a couple that is in language school right now) took us interns out for pizza and we had a nice night with them. They have really encouraged us and I’m super excited for them to finish language school in October (six months total) and start at the Home. Please pray for them as they finish up and adjust to a new life once again.
Words of the Day: today I’m going to tell a joke:
¿Qué hace un pez? Nada
What does a fish do? Nada (nah- dah)- nothing, but it also is the third person singular of the verb nadar, which means to swim. So, the punch line means, nothing, but also, he swims. Hehe.
Javier
Kevin and Nancy
Staci and Lee
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Water Day
Saturday, we ate my favorite Guatemalan lunch: grilled beef and guacamole. Beforehand, I helped Rony in the kitchen. Here, I learned how to make tortillas, which is actually really hard. The dough always sticks to your hands and it’s really hard to make it perfectly circular and to get the balance of thin enough, but without holes. I think I may need a few more days of practice (let’s just say that later when I was handing them out at lunch, I could tell which ones I made). Rony also dared me to eat a jalapeño (which did not go well) and we raced to see who could eat half a lime the fastest, while making the least amount of faces.
We had a water day after lunch. The garden has canals and a fountain and every once in awhile, we pay a water trunk to come fill it up with 2,000 gallons of water. This is always super exciting for the little kids (and the big kids too, but they won’t admit it). The water was cold and dirty, but I pretended that I was a little kid and didn’t care. I had a blast splashing around and watching the kids have a good time. One time, when it was just me and four little girls in the deepest part, I suddenly realized that I was the only one in the fountain. I looked up at the girls all lined up peering gravely down at me. I asked what was going on. There’s a worm, was the calm response. Now, I’m not usually afraid of worms, but this one looked suspiciously a lot like a leech, so I too vacated the water pretty quickly. Wendy has since informed me that there are no leeches in Guatemala. One of the boys got a stick and fished it out and we were soon back to splashing in the water. Some other highlights: Kelsey (an intern) chasing Nancy and doing a face plant in the grass, one of the home parents telling her version of Kelsey’s fall (involving Kelsey pretending that she was superman), Michi dropping water from the top story of the school onto the girls below, Ramsis avoiding everyone that tried to get him wet and then jumping in the pool, the sunshine (what a perfect day!), the water balloon fight, and seeing little Jorge trying to avoid all the little kids who were trying to pick him up and put him in the water.
Words of the Day:
Meterse (may- tear- say)- to get into (for example, the water)
Tortillar (tor- tea- yar)- to make tortillas
Globo (glow- boe)- balloon
Gusano (goo- sah- noe)- worm
We had a water day after lunch. The garden has canals and a fountain and every once in awhile, we pay a water trunk to come fill it up with 2,000 gallons of water. This is always super exciting for the little kids (and the big kids too, but they won’t admit it). The water was cold and dirty, but I pretended that I was a little kid and didn’t care. I had a blast splashing around and watching the kids have a good time. One time, when it was just me and four little girls in the deepest part, I suddenly realized that I was the only one in the fountain. I looked up at the girls all lined up peering gravely down at me. I asked what was going on. There’s a worm, was the calm response. Now, I’m not usually afraid of worms, but this one looked suspiciously a lot like a leech, so I too vacated the water pretty quickly. Wendy has since informed me that there are no leeches in Guatemala. One of the boys got a stick and fished it out and we were soon back to splashing in the water. Some other highlights: Kelsey (an intern) chasing Nancy and doing a face plant in the grass, one of the home parents telling her version of Kelsey’s fall (involving Kelsey pretending that she was superman), Michi dropping water from the top story of the school onto the girls below, Ramsis avoiding everyone that tried to get him wet and then jumping in the pool, the sunshine (what a perfect day!), the water balloon fight, and seeing little Jorge trying to avoid all the little kids who were trying to pick him up and put him in the water.
Words of the Day:
Meterse (may- tear- say)- to get into (for example, the water)
Tortillar (tor- tea- yar)- to make tortillas
Globo (glow- boe)- balloon
Gusano (goo- sah- noe)- worm
Monday, July 14, 2008
Randy… otra vez
I know that I already blogged about Randy, but he is just so cute that I had to again. Each kid that got baptized got to invite a friend. Randy’s sister, Iris, invited him. After asking a lot of questions about what would happen, he said, alright I’ll go, but I’m NOT getting in the water. He’s so bright and sunny, but is easily upset and a little accident prone. You can tell right away by his little pouty face that someone has made him mad, but all I have to do is wink at him real big and his illuminating smile returns. He has a little bit of a speech impediment so, along with it being REALLY difficult to understand him (he says Ts instead of Cs for one), he calls me Aniela (instead of Daniela). He also has developed the habit of yelling my name when there is a big group of us and he can’t find me (like in the movie theater). His little voice makes me want to run to him and scoop him up. If I react like this, how much more does our Savior want to run to us and protect us when we call out to Him?
On a less fun note, I would like to ask you to pray fervently about something that has really been on my heart the last few weeks. One kid is going through a hard time right now. I’m really struggling to figure out the best way to minister to him and feel like I’ve been failing pretty miserably lately. Please pray for wisdom and discernment, because the situation seems to be getting worse each day. My heart breaks for him and I want so badly to take away his pain. I know that this is something that only God can do and I am trying to trust that He will make all things beautiful in His time. I know that God loves this kid more than I can even imagine.
Words of the Day:
Sonrisa (sohn- ree- sah)- smile
Cine (seen- A)- movie theater
Película (pay- lee- coo- lah)- movie
Lica (lee- kah)- the slang word for movie
On a less fun note, I would like to ask you to pray fervently about something that has really been on my heart the last few weeks. One kid is going through a hard time right now. I’m really struggling to figure out the best way to minister to him and feel like I’ve been failing pretty miserably lately. Please pray for wisdom and discernment, because the situation seems to be getting worse each day. My heart breaks for him and I want so badly to take away his pain. I know that this is something that only God can do and I am trying to trust that He will make all things beautiful in His time. I know that God loves this kid more than I can even imagine.
Words of the Day:
Sonrisa (sohn- ree- sah)- smile
Cine (seen- A)- movie theater
Película (pay- lee- coo- lah)- movie
Lica (lee- kah)- the slang word for movie
Baptisms
On Sunday, ten of our kids got baptized: Astrid, Yami, Emily, Iris, Ibet, Juan, Kevin, Giovani, Oscar, and Jans. I feel like this was a pretty big step for them and was excited to get to see it. After the service, we went out to dinner with them. We waited a long time for our food, so I got to talk to 18 year- old Ibet for awhile. I’m always amazed at how sometimes talking about nothing important can be such a special time.
The drive home was pretty eventful. It started to pour when we were in the church. When we left, the streets had all flooded. I couldn’t believe how fast it did. Luckily, we were in a van so we were able to plow through. We saw several cars stranded in the road or pulled over on higher ground. I found it a little ironic that we went from watching submerged kids to submerged cars. God kept us safe though and we made it to the restaurant without incident.
Words of the Day:
Felicidades (feh- lee- see- dah- des)- congratulations
bautismo (bahwu- teez- mo)- baptism
Espíritu Santo (es- pee- ree-too sahn- toe)- Holy Spirit
The drive home was pretty eventful. It started to pour when we were in the church. When we left, the streets had all flooded. I couldn’t believe how fast it did. Luckily, we were in a van so we were able to plow through. We saw several cars stranded in the road or pulled over on higher ground. I found it a little ironic that we went from watching submerged kids to submerged cars. God kept us safe though and we made it to the restaurant without incident.
Words of the Day:
Felicidades (feh- lee- see- dah- des)- congratulations
bautismo (bahwu- teez- mo)- baptism
Espíritu Santo (es- pee- ree-too sahn- toe)- Holy Spirit
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Fourth of July
I’ve never been outside the country for the Fourth of July before. For me, it started off like any other day here. I spent the morning in the clinic and then played cards with one of the kids. After, we helped Wendy get ready for our gringo cook out. We ate American food: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips, deviled eggs, and home-made ice cream and cake for dessert. Lee read an excerpt about the history of the “Star Spangled Banner”. It even included a little shout out to New Hampshire (which goes a long way in a room full of Texans). We wanted to have a bonfire in the night, but unfortunately it rained. Instead, after dinner, we brought the grill inside the gym and took turns roasting marshmallows on coat hangers while others played volleyball, basketball, or soccer around us. I’m pretty sure that Josue ate about 15 marshmallows. Every time he came back for more I would ask him how many he had already eaten and he would give me his sweetest smile and say just one. I would look at him skeptically and say are you sure and he would say, I mean two. After giving him another look, he would say, I mean three. Somehow this was so cute that I would always end up giving him another. After, we went outside and set off fireworks in the rain. As a general rule, Guatemalans are pretty hardcore about their fireworks. All in all, it was a really fun day.
Words of the Day:
Fogata- (foe- got- ah)- bonfire
Cohete (co- eh- tA)- fireworks
Angelitos (an- hel- E- toes)- marshmallows
Independencia (in- dA- pen- den- c- ah)- independence
Elote (A- low- tA)- corn on the cob
Maíz- (mA- ez)- corn (the cornel or the crop)
Words of the Day:
Fogata- (foe- got- ah)- bonfire
Cohete (co- eh- tA)- fireworks
Angelitos (an- hel- E- toes)- marshmallows
Independencia (in- dA- pen- den- c- ah)- independence
Elote (A- low- tA)- corn on the cob
Maíz- (mA- ez)- corn (the cornel or the crop)
Pijamadas, a Goodbye, and Some Concerts
Last week, we had three sleepovers for the kids. And by sleepovers I mean we stayed in a room all night. Monday night, we were with the older girls and made pizza and cookies and popcorn and watched movies till 5 in the morning. The next night was the older boys’ turn. We made popcorn, cookies, chips and salsa, (lots of) coffee, at 1 we made chocolate chip pancakes, and at 7 we made French toast (which they had never had before). We watched movies from 9 at night till 8 in the morning. I think I was pretty useless in the clinic after these nights. The next night, we had a pijamada for the youngest boys and girls. We made popcorn and dirt (an Oreo dessert). My favorite movie that we watched was Iron Will, which is about a dog sled race. At the end when the protagonist falls down within sight of the finish line, all the kids sat up and started yelling hurry, hurry! Get up and run! The other guy is coming! Then they all cheered excitedly when he won the race. After the movies, I went back to the girls’ house with them and slept between Emily and Angie. I’m not really sure you could call it in between actually, more like beneath those two. Angie even had my pillow the whole night. These have been some of my favorite times since I’ve been here.
Why in the world did we do these sleepovers 3 nights in a row? Good question. The kids were off from school during this week. Also, the following night, we had a sending off for Kara and Daniel, a couple which has been here since August ’06. It was an incredibly touching time where we watched a slide show, the little girls danced to “Shout the Lord”, and several kids and staff stood up and thanked them for the way that they had touched his or her life. Even several of the older boys cried as they expressed their gratitude and love.
This was the couple that was in charge of us interns and I am really going to miss their encouragement and guidance. Please pray for them as they adjust to their new life in a new place and with a new job. Please also pray for health for their baby boy who will be arriving in September.
The next three nights, we went to a music festival at our church in Guatemala City. This church seats 12,000 people and each night was packed out. Everything went surprisingly smoothly and it was really fun to see our kids jumping around. I even had heard a few of the bands before. Some highlights include trying to walk up and down the aisle of the moving school bus to hand out sandwiches, juice, and cookies, seeing the excitement of the kids, some really great times of worship, getting to spend some one-on-one time with the kids, learning to play the game “arco iris”, the excitement and jokes on the ride home, seeing Rony wearing my sweatshirt which was about 3 sizes to small, and having the song “Vamos Pa’lante” stuck in our heads for the next 5 days. Please pray that what the speakers and singers had to say will leave a lasting impression on the kids.
Words of the Day:
Arco iris (are- co E- wris)- rainbow
Pijamada (pee- ha- mah- dah)- sleepover
Poporopos (poe- poe- roe- poes)
Despedida (des- pA- dee- dah)- the send off for groups, interns, and staff
Alabanza (ah- lah- bahn- zah)- worship
Why in the world did we do these sleepovers 3 nights in a row? Good question. The kids were off from school during this week. Also, the following night, we had a sending off for Kara and Daniel, a couple which has been here since August ’06. It was an incredibly touching time where we watched a slide show, the little girls danced to “Shout the Lord”, and several kids and staff stood up and thanked them for the way that they had touched his or her life. Even several of the older boys cried as they expressed their gratitude and love.
This was the couple that was in charge of us interns and I am really going to miss their encouragement and guidance. Please pray for them as they adjust to their new life in a new place and with a new job. Please also pray for health for their baby boy who will be arriving in September.
The next three nights, we went to a music festival at our church in Guatemala City. This church seats 12,000 people and each night was packed out. Everything went surprisingly smoothly and it was really fun to see our kids jumping around. I even had heard a few of the bands before. Some highlights include trying to walk up and down the aisle of the moving school bus to hand out sandwiches, juice, and cookies, seeing the excitement of the kids, some really great times of worship, getting to spend some one-on-one time with the kids, learning to play the game “arco iris”, the excitement and jokes on the ride home, seeing Rony wearing my sweatshirt which was about 3 sizes to small, and having the song “Vamos Pa’lante” stuck in our heads for the next 5 days. Please pray that what the speakers and singers had to say will leave a lasting impression on the kids.
Words of the Day:
Arco iris (are- co E- wris)- rainbow
Pijamada (pee- ha- mah- dah)- sleepover
Poporopos (poe- poe- roe- poes)
Despedida (des- pA- dee- dah)- the send off for groups, interns, and staff
Alabanza (ah- lah- bahn- zah)- worship
Friday, June 20, 2008
Life in Antigua
Today, I got hit by a car. Don’t worry (Mom), I’m ok, but it was an interesting experience. I was walking home from school on the sidewalk, when a car that was trying to park bumped into me. Really, it barely knock me off balance and I’m just being dramatic, but really, have many people can say that they were hit by a car and somewhat enjoyed it? Anyway, it was good for a laugh. Hopefully this gives you a little picture of what the streets of Antigua are like. The sidewalks are barely three feet wide in some places and are incredible uneven. There are hazards everywhere- open holes, drains, and random dips and protruding pieces of, well, I’m not really sure what. All the streets are cobblestone, built who knows how many hundreds of years ago. The city doesn’t want to pave the streets or make other modern adjustments, because they want it to seem antigua (old) to attract tourists. They also are an unfortunate number of places where people and animals have left little “presents”. You definitely have to watch where you’re walking at all times. Yesterday, my Spanish teacher was telling me stories about the perils of walking in Antigua: earlier that week, her daughter fell and hurt herself so bad that she couldn’t get up or walk for awhile, several of her students have bruised their faces and various body parts or broken fingers, and even she broke her ankle. Luckily I’ve only gotten hit by a car so far, but I’ve narrowly escaped worse fate a few times (I’ve also hit my shoulders several times on the concrete windows that protrude about a foot into an already crowded sidewalk, but so far not my face).
Apart from this, language school has been going well. Studying eight hours a day has been challenging, but beneficial. Usually by dinnertime, my brain hurts so much that it’s hard to form sentences when talking to my host mother. I’ve been learning a lot of idiomatic phrases and reviewing things that I’ve been struggling with since the first time that I came. It’s interesting and somewhat encouraging to think about where I was at 9 months ago when I started language school the first time. I still have a long way to go though.
Words of the day:
Tener choques (ten- air cho- ks)- to have an accident (between cars or between cars and people). This can also describe two people that are in an argument.
Banqueta (bahn- k- tah)- sidewalk
Apart from this, language school has been going well. Studying eight hours a day has been challenging, but beneficial. Usually by dinnertime, my brain hurts so much that it’s hard to form sentences when talking to my host mother. I’ve been learning a lot of idiomatic phrases and reviewing things that I’ve been struggling with since the first time that I came. It’s interesting and somewhat encouraging to think about where I was at 9 months ago when I started language school the first time. I still have a long way to go though.
Words of the day:
Tener choques (ten- air cho- ks)- to have an accident (between cars or between cars and people). This can also describe two people that are in an argument.
Banqueta (bahn- k- tah)- sidewalk
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Language School
I finally got the ok to go to language school in Antigua. I am feeling much, much better and am eager to improve my Spanish. Since I missed the first week, I will be studying 8 hours a day for a week. I am going with three other interns, Kelsey, Jessica, and Mark, and we will all be staying together with a host family. Please pray that the Lord will extend us extra grace and that our Spanish will always be improving. Antigua is about an hour away from the Home and a really great place to learn about the Guatemala culture. I think that it will be a great time of bonding and seeking the Lord.
Words of the Day:
Antigua (anne- tea- goo- wa)- old (for things)
Viajo (vee- A- ho)- old (for people)
Words of the Day:
Antigua (anne- tea- goo- wa)- old (for things)
Viajo (vee- A- ho)- old (for people)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Pizza Night
Thursday night, we made home- made pizza with the older boys. This was so much fun. It was so great to see them laughing and having a good time, especially some of them that are having a hard time. The pizza even turned out half decent (whenever I’ve made cookies or other food with them, it’s usually turned out pretty gross- even worse than with the youngest boys). During this time, I tried to seek out and talk to some of the ones that are more guarded. I found myself getting a little frustrated as I silently prayed for them. Sometimes they put up such a front and there are times when I feel like any progress I made with certain kids last time is gone and I’m starting again. Many times, I feel like my level of Spanish is so insufficient and that I am not trained to know how to help kids with these types of problems. These are the times when I have to trust that the Lord knows what he is doing even when I don’t. Please join me in praying that these older guys will grow into strong men of Christ.
Words of the Day:
Masa (mah- sah)- dough
Levadura (lay- vah- dur- ah)- yeast
Harina (ah- reen- nah)- flour
Queso (k- so)- cheese
Words of the Day:
Masa (mah- sah)- dough
Levadura (lay- vah- dur- ah)- yeast
Harina (ah- reen- nah)- flour
Queso (k- so)- cheese
Pancake Night
Last Wednesday night, we had a chocolate chip pancake night for the little boys. They were so excited and talked about it nonstop for the two days leading up to it. Randy kept getting confused and telling everyone that we were eating only chocolate chip cookies for dinner.
We made them each placemats with their names, which they excitedly showed off and asked who made each one. If you’ve even tried feeding syrup to 11 little boys, you know that everything was a giant, sticky mess, but vale la pena (it was worth it). I just love spending time with them!
After the pancake dinner, I helped bath the little boys before bed. I got soaking wet, but had a lot of fun. When each little boy got into bed, he wanted me to pray with him and then sing a song, all in English. After, each wanted to know what I had said. It was such a great reminder that the Lord hears us no matter what language we are speaking. Right before I left, Sammy told me that now that I know how to help bathe them, he expects to see me there every night. Luckily, he told me that it was alright that I can’t come while I am in language school.
Words of the day:
Panqueques con chispas (pahn- kay- kays con chee- spahs)- chocolate chip pancakes
While bathing the little boys, I meant to ask Juan David if he needed anymore jabón (hah- bahn) or soap. I instead asked him if he needed anymore jamón (hah- mahn) or ham. He nearly fell over from laughing so hard and proceeded to tell everyone else in the room.
We made them each placemats with their names, which they excitedly showed off and asked who made each one. If you’ve even tried feeding syrup to 11 little boys, you know that everything was a giant, sticky mess, but vale la pena (it was worth it). I just love spending time with them!
After the pancake dinner, I helped bath the little boys before bed. I got soaking wet, but had a lot of fun. When each little boy got into bed, he wanted me to pray with him and then sing a song, all in English. After, each wanted to know what I had said. It was such a great reminder that the Lord hears us no matter what language we are speaking. Right before I left, Sammy told me that now that I know how to help bathe them, he expects to see me there every night. Luckily, he told me that it was alright that I can’t come while I am in language school.
Words of the day:
Panqueques con chispas (pahn- kay- kays con chee- spahs)- chocolate chip pancakes
While bathing the little boys, I meant to ask Juan David if he needed anymore jabón (hah- bahn) or soap. I instead asked him if he needed anymore jamón (hah- mahn) or ham. He nearly fell over from laughing so hard and proceeded to tell everyone else in the room.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Minor Surgery!
Warning! The picture and description below may be a little graphic if you don’t like blood.
In May, we saw a patient in the clinic that had been in a work accident involving dynamite. When he came to us, he was missing 2 or 3 fingers on each hand, had burned corneas and was unable to see, and had traumatic injuries to his arms, chest, and face. His wounds were all badly infected.
This week, he returned and is doing better. His infections are gone; however, when he went to the hospital after his accident, they just stitched him up and didn’t check his wounds, leaving pieces of wood from the explosion embedded in his arm, chest, and face. On Tuesday, we removed a small piece from his arm and on Wednesday, we performed minor surgery on his chest to remove an inch and a half piece of wood that was embedded in his muscle.
This was such an exciting (but nerve wracking) experience for me! I don’t want to be too graphic, but I was able to actively help (including sticking my fingers into his chest to probe for the wood). In addition, I feel like I’m finally getting to the point where I know a good portion of the medical vocab (and non medical vocab) that we use and can understand almost anything that she tells me to do.
After she finished with the sutures, the doctor briefly told me how to clean and bandage his chest, told the patient and his wife that she was late for a meeting, but was leaving him in capable hands, and turned and ran out. I tried to answer their questions as best I could, but had to laugh to myself. Can you imagine if that had happened in the US?
It has been amazing to work with a Christian doctor. We were having a lot of difficulty locating the wood and she began to pray out loud that the Lord would guide her tools.
Please pray for this man and his family as he still has a long, hard recovery ahead and is still in incredible amounts of pain, plus, he earns his living with his hands and eyes. In each encounter with him, he and his wife have been laughing and joking and he told the doctor that he was a Christian. This has been a great witness to me, reminding me that the Lord is faithful no matter what the circumstances.
Here is a picture of the piece of wood that we pulled out of our patient's chest.
In May, we saw a patient in the clinic that had been in a work accident involving dynamite. When he came to us, he was missing 2 or 3 fingers on each hand, had burned corneas and was unable to see, and had traumatic injuries to his arms, chest, and face. His wounds were all badly infected.
This week, he returned and is doing better. His infections are gone; however, when he went to the hospital after his accident, they just stitched him up and didn’t check his wounds, leaving pieces of wood from the explosion embedded in his arm, chest, and face. On Tuesday, we removed a small piece from his arm and on Wednesday, we performed minor surgery on his chest to remove an inch and a half piece of wood that was embedded in his muscle.
This was such an exciting (but nerve wracking) experience for me! I don’t want to be too graphic, but I was able to actively help (including sticking my fingers into his chest to probe for the wood). In addition, I feel like I’m finally getting to the point where I know a good portion of the medical vocab (and non medical vocab) that we use and can understand almost anything that she tells me to do.
After she finished with the sutures, the doctor briefly told me how to clean and bandage his chest, told the patient and his wife that she was late for a meeting, but was leaving him in capable hands, and turned and ran out. I tried to answer their questions as best I could, but had to laugh to myself. Can you imagine if that had happened in the US?
It has been amazing to work with a Christian doctor. We were having a lot of difficulty locating the wood and she began to pray out loud that the Lord would guide her tools.
Please pray for this man and his family as he still has a long, hard recovery ahead and is still in incredible amounts of pain, plus, he earns his living with his hands and eyes. In each encounter with him, he and his wife have been laughing and joking and he told the doctor that he was a Christian. This has been a great witness to me, reminding me that the Lord is faithful no matter what the circumstances.
Here is a picture of the piece of wood that we pulled out of our patient's chest.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
My Weekend in the Hospital
This weekend turned out a little differently than I expected. Instead of making chocolate chip pancakes and pizza, going to McDonald's with the kids that passed all their classes this marking period, having a gringo game night, and watching Hairspray and painting finger nails like I had planned, I spent two nights in the hospital.
Friday, I was still feeling very nauseous and not able to eat, so I went to a different doctor in Villa Nueva. The doctor here told me that he thought that I had typhoid fever and he wanted me to spend the night to be treated for that and dehydration (my heart rate was at 41). The directors of the Home decided that they wanted me to stay at Herrera Llerandi (the best hospital in Guatemala), which is in the middle of Guatemala City. Here, they ruled out typhoid fever and said that I probably had some kind of virus. It was a really frustrating, slightly boring three days, however, different interns and staff came to visit and rotated staying with me, which put me so much more at ease. All the nursing staff and doctors were incredibly nice (one doctor even spoke English). Several of them called me "conchi", which means blondie (no I have not dyed my hair recently). We watched a lot of movies (one nurse sat with us for a little bit and we turned on the Spanish subtitles) and everyone was so incredibly nice, so it wasn't horrible and it was really good for practicing Spanish, but I'm glad to be back home. I felt like I might not make it. First, my discharge paper were missing, I thought that I misplaced my wallet, and then Staci and Lee had a little trouble disarming the car alarm so we could start the car (at this point I was ready to get out and push). The first thing Sammy said to me was, are you feeling better? And then, when can we make pancakes? Edgar asked me when we are going to make pizza. He said, I waited for you on Friday, but you never came. Everyone was so sweet and asked how I was doing and I had a pile of cards from the kids on my bed when I got home. It reminded me that so often these kids minister to me so much more than I am able to minister to them.
I'm still pretty nauseated, so if you could continue to pray that I would fully recover that would be much appreciated. Also pray for patience. I was supposed to leave for Antigua today to attend language school for two weeks with the other interns, but was not able to go. Wendy said that I might be able to go in the middle of the week, but will probably have to wait till next week or not at all. I'm anxious to improve my Spanish, but at the same time I'm glad that I get to spend more time with the kids. Pray that I will use this unexpected time with them wisely.
Thanks again for your prayers. My mother said that she received a flood of emails from people who were praying for me.
Night #1 with Rebecca, the intern that slept with me both nights.
Words of the Day: suero (sue- where- o)- IV
virus (vere- oos)- virus
fiebre tifoidea (fE- A-breA tea- foi- day- ah)- typhoid fever
deshidratado (dAs- he- drah- tah- doe)- dehydrated
panza (pahn- zah)- Guatemalan slang word for stomach
Friday, I was still feeling very nauseous and not able to eat, so I went to a different doctor in Villa Nueva. The doctor here told me that he thought that I had typhoid fever and he wanted me to spend the night to be treated for that and dehydration (my heart rate was at 41). The directors of the Home decided that they wanted me to stay at Herrera Llerandi (the best hospital in Guatemala), which is in the middle of Guatemala City. Here, they ruled out typhoid fever and said that I probably had some kind of virus. It was a really frustrating, slightly boring three days, however, different interns and staff came to visit and rotated staying with me, which put me so much more at ease. All the nursing staff and doctors were incredibly nice (one doctor even spoke English). Several of them called me "conchi", which means blondie (no I have not dyed my hair recently). We watched a lot of movies (one nurse sat with us for a little bit and we turned on the Spanish subtitles) and everyone was so incredibly nice, so it wasn't horrible and it was really good for practicing Spanish, but I'm glad to be back home. I felt like I might not make it. First, my discharge paper were missing, I thought that I misplaced my wallet, and then Staci and Lee had a little trouble disarming the car alarm so we could start the car (at this point I was ready to get out and push). The first thing Sammy said to me was, are you feeling better? And then, when can we make pancakes? Edgar asked me when we are going to make pizza. He said, I waited for you on Friday, but you never came. Everyone was so sweet and asked how I was doing and I had a pile of cards from the kids on my bed when I got home. It reminded me that so often these kids minister to me so much more than I am able to minister to them.
I'm still pretty nauseated, so if you could continue to pray that I would fully recover that would be much appreciated. Also pray for patience. I was supposed to leave for Antigua today to attend language school for two weeks with the other interns, but was not able to go. Wendy said that I might be able to go in the middle of the week, but will probably have to wait till next week or not at all. I'm anxious to improve my Spanish, but at the same time I'm glad that I get to spend more time with the kids. Pray that I will use this unexpected time with them wisely.
Thanks again for your prayers. My mother said that she received a flood of emails from people who were praying for me.
Night #1 with Rebecca, the intern that slept with me both nights.
Words of the Day: suero (sue- where- o)- IV
virus (vere- oos)- virus
fiebre tifoidea (fE- A-breA tea- foi- day- ah)- typhoid fever
deshidratado (dAs- he- drah- tah- doe)- dehydrated
panza (pahn- zah)- Guatemalan slang word for stomach
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Missions Conference
Saturday through Tuesday, all the gringos went up in the mountains to a missions conference in a hotel on Lake Atitlan. This was an awesome time of rest and sharing. Missionaries came from all over Guatemala, along with a few people from the home office in the US. Us interns went to watch the missionaries' kids while they were in their meetings, but we were able to participate in worship. I was especially grateful for this as when I am here, I really miss worshipping in English. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time because of tropical depression Alma, so we weren't able to take the kids outside or use kayaks or things like that. Luckily, we will be returning in July for our intern retreat. A few of us got pretty sick the last night that we were there (it was one of the most miserable nights of my life). Yesterday, I went to the doctor and she said that I have intestinal and throat infections, along with gastritis. I'm still feeling pretty sick and I haven't been able to eat in a couple of days, so if you could pray for me and the others who are sick that would be great. The good news is that when I turn my head I don't throw up anymore.
Tomorrow, two other interns are arriving and then four of us will be heading off to Antigua to attend language school for 2 weeks. Please pray for safe travels for the interns, safety in Antigua, patience and increased mental capacity while trying to improve our Spanish, and for me as it is going to be hard to leave the kids for that long.
After I gave Michelle a bath, I gave her a mohawk.
The three one year-olds we took care of (look how small Michelle is!!).
Lake Atitlan from our balcony.
A clearer Lake Atitlan last year at our retreat.
Words of the day:
Jugar (who- gahr) and tocar (toe- car) both mean to play. You use the first when you mean to play sports or games, and the second when you mean to play instruments. You also use tocar when you want to use the verb to touch and to knock.
Partido (par- tea- doe) and juego (who- weigh- go) both mean game. The first is a sports game (for example un partido de futbol) and the second is a board or card game or something like tag.
Tomorrow, two other interns are arriving and then four of us will be heading off to Antigua to attend language school for 2 weeks. Please pray for safe travels for the interns, safety in Antigua, patience and increased mental capacity while trying to improve our Spanish, and for me as it is going to be hard to leave the kids for that long.
After I gave Michelle a bath, I gave her a mohawk.
The three one year-olds we took care of (look how small Michelle is!!).
Lake Atitlan from our balcony.
A clearer Lake Atitlan last year at our retreat.
Words of the day:
Jugar (who- gahr) and tocar (toe- car) both mean to play. You use the first when you mean to play sports or games, and the second when you mean to play instruments. You also use tocar when you want to use the verb to touch and to knock.
Partido (par- tea- doe) and juego (who- weigh- go) both mean game. The first is a sports game (for example un partido de futbol) and the second is a board or card game or something like tag.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Randy
One of my favorite things last time was when the kids would come to me when they got hurt or sick. So far 6 year- old Randy, who is new since I've been here last and extremely accident prone, has come to get scraped knees and elbows and heads bandaged more in the last two weeks than some of the kids in the whole 4 months I was here. His tears always change quickly into the cutest smile you've ever seen. Today, after he tripped while running, he was asking me what the different things I was doing were and then started to take charge, instructing me on how to clean and bandage his knee (the water is too cold, put the band aid in this direction, etc.). When I told him about the anti-bacterial cream, he said, I don't think we'll use that. When I told him that it was important, he looked up at me with huge eyes and with his little voice said, but will it hurt?
Maybe that's what happens with our heavenly Father. When we get a little more confident, we start directing, because we think we know best and we want to avoid pain. When God asks us to do something difficult, we look up and say, but will it hurt? The reality though is that God is looking out for our best interest in the long run, which sometimes means facing things that are uncomfortable for us. Thankfully our Lord is patient!
words of the day:
Maybe that's what happens with our heavenly Father. When we get a little more confident, we start directing, because we think we know best and we want to avoid pain. When God asks us to do something difficult, we look up and say, but will it hurt? The reality though is that God is looking out for our best interest in the long run, which sometimes means facing things that are uncomfortable for us. Thankfully our Lord is patient!
words of the day:
Curita (coo- ree- tah)- band aid
Curito (coo- ree- toe)- Hymn
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Sports Day and the Beach
Friday was sports day for the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Each group was led by two parents of the kids, and some of the interns and staff acted as parents for ours from the Home. I was a little nervous as I knew that I would be spending 3 hours listening for commands being yelled at me rapidly in Spanish and trying to execute them as quickly and accurately as possible. This did not, however, turn out to be the hard part. Throughout this time, I yelled, clapped, cheered some unknown chant about how proud I was to be an águila (the next day I found out this meant eagle), dug in the dirt, ate dirt (unintentionally), made pyramids, crawled through different types of obstacle courses, slid down poles, climbed rope ladders, chugged water from the same cup as hundreds of people, was blindfolded, threw water balloons, had water balloons thrown at me, threw balls, had balls thrown at me, had balls thrown at me while blind folded, did aerobics, danced, sang words that I had no clue of the meaning, popped balloons, ran, jumped, jumped rope, jumped in a potato sack, cartwheeled, stood on a tiny platform with 15 other people without moving for 5 minutes, answered trivia questions, and swung on swings. Being the ever clumsy person that I am, of course I fell trying to run through the tires (which several older kids who were watching nicely reminded me of throughout the day).
I literally have bruises all over my body, along with scrapes and stiffness, but it was worth it. My team came in second out of ten and, more importantly, I was glad to be able to represent some kids from the Home.
That night at dinner, 16 year- old Esdras sat next to me and spent dinner asking me about my day and telling me about his. He is one of the kids that craves attention, but holds back his emotions and never makes the first move. He and I were starting to get close when I left in December and between what I know of his past and his facial expression when he is spacing off, my heart hurts for him, so I was excited and surprised that he was making an effort. I found out the real reason for this when at the end of the meal he asked me if I was going to help him do the dishes (I guess he heard that I had helped the boys who did them a few nights before). O well, I'll take what I can get. Please pray for him and his three sisters, as they are having an especially hard time this year.
Yesterday, we spent a day at the coast, just us gringos (and Michelle), because one of the interns, who has been here the last 5 months, is leaving next week. We spent the majority of the time in a hotel swimming pool area, which sells day passes. This was because of a dangerous rip 
tide, but we got to walk on the beach and jump some waves. The sand is black, because it is composed of volcanic ash, which was a little disorienting at first, but incredibly beautiful. Michelle stole the show as usual, splashing around and laughing. It's hard to believe that she is one year-old and still has trouble fitting in pre-me clothes. I think that it was a hard day for some as this was the first time returning to the coast after the tragic death of 17 yr- old Chepe in September.
tide, but we got to walk on the beach and jump some waves. The sand is black, because it is composed of volcanic ash, which was a little disorienting at first, but incredibly beautiful. Michelle stole the show as usual, splashing around and laughing. It's hard to believe that she is one year-old and still has trouble fitting in pre-me clothes. I think that it was a hard day for some as this was the first time returning to the coast after the tragic death of 17 yr- old Chepe in September.Words of the Day: bola (bowl- la) and pelota (pay- low- taa) both mean ball. The first is used for things like a bouncy ball or ball of paper. The second is used for a sports ball (like a soccer or football).
Paraguas (par- aww- gu- wahs (soft g)) and sombrilla (sahm- bree- yah) both mean umbrella, however, the first is used if a man is holding it and the second if a women is. This is true even if it's the same exact umbrella.
abeja (aww- bay- haaa)- bee
enjambre (N- hahm- bra)- more than one bee
No clavados (clah- vah- d O s)- no diving
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Last night, I had the unique experience of going to see the same movie twice in one day at two different theaters, in two different languages, with two different groups of kids. The first was in Spanish and with the little kids. I love doing things with the little kids, because they get so excited. I ended up missing pieces, because I had to take about 8 kids to the bathroom (2 of them twice), but I love the times that I can spend one-on-one with the kids, even if it's only for 10 minutes. The second time was with some of the oldest kids (some of them are older than me). I love hanging out with this group. By about half way through my time in the Fall, I had begun to feel like they were truly my peers and my friends. They were nice enough to go to a viewing that was in English with Spanish subtitles. This was a great time of fellowship and it was so nice not to be in charge and worrying about losing a kid!
Monday night, we taught some of the kids how to play Dutch Blitz (a card game that is like solitaire with multiple people). Instead of saying blitz! when he ran out of cards, Franki would always say BBAAAA (think horn on a barge). The next day, Franki asked one of the other interns what the word blitz meant.
Words of the day: if a kid tells you to da vueltas (daaa boo well taaas) he wants you to spin him in a circle.
jubilarse (hu- bill- lar- say)- to retire (from a job)
Estafa (ees- staaa- faaa) means trick, not to be confused with estufa (ees- stoo- faaa) which means stove (the kids definitely make fun of you for that one).
Monday night, we taught some of the kids how to play Dutch Blitz (a card game that is like solitaire with multiple people). Instead of saying blitz! when he ran out of cards, Franki would always say BBAAAA (think horn on a barge). The next day, Franki asked one of the other interns what the word blitz meant.
Words of the day: if a kid tells you to da vueltas (daaa boo well taaas) he wants you to spin him in a circle.
jubilarse (hu- bill- lar- say)- to retire (from a job)
Estafa (ees- staaa- faaa) means trick, not to be confused with estufa (ees- stoo- faaa) which means stove (the kids definitely make fun of you for that one).
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Michelle
After I left in December, 5 new kids were placed in the Home. Michelle was 9 months old and 6 lbs. when she arrived (aka I could have eaten her when I was born). She has vastly improved health wise in the past 3 months, but is still only 7 lbs. 4 oz. She recently has started receiving growth hormone injections and Kendon and Wendy hope to bring her with them to the US in June to visit a geneticist. She is possibly the smallest person that I have ever met and one of the cutest. Please pray that the judge will award her the visa that she needs to be able to visit the US and that the doctors there are able to prescribe the most effective treatment. Also pray that she continues to gain weight and develop mentally.
Pictures don't begin to do justice in showing how small she is, but here is one of her about a week after her first birthday.
Monday, May 19, 2008
First Days
The first few days here have been great! I have really enjoyed seeing the kids, meeting the new interns, and catching up with the staff. My friend Carrie from Eastern was able to travel down with me and will be staying for a week. When we arrived, there was a large team from Texas here, so I have just helped out with whatever activities they had planned, giving me time to catch up with people. They left this morning and I am now ready to jump into things. I've already had about 20 requests to make cookies! In a lot of ways it's almost like I never left (except for the stumbling over my verb conjugations and lack of remember vocab). I have been able to spend a lot of time with Rony, the 14 year-old boy that I sponsor, which has been great.
Here is a little story about getting to church yesterday that is very typical of life in Guatemala. After sitting in three different cars for an hour due to lost keys and other problems we finally left. Half way there, we had to turn around because of a large accident and travel 40 minutes longer than usual in the opposite direction through the city all the while with our gas needle on empty. Part way there we found out that the school bus with all the kids had broken down and that they were walking the rest of the way to church. We all made it safely and were able to laugh about, but I think it was then that it hit me that I was really back.
Today is unpacking day now that the team has left, so as soon as I find my camera, I'll post some pictures. Hope all is well with you guys in the US. Thanks for reading!
--Danelle
As inspired by Pastor Steve and others who are studying Spanish, here are my words of the day: bulla (boo -ya) is for noise that people make and ruido (roo- ee- doe) is for noise that objects, animals, etc. make. so, you would say hay mucha bulla for there is a lot of noise in, for example, the dining room at dinner, but you would say hay mucho ruido if cars were beeping the city.
Here is a little story about getting to church yesterday that is very typical of life in Guatemala. After sitting in three different cars for an hour due to lost keys and other problems we finally left. Half way there, we had to turn around because of a large accident and travel 40 minutes longer than usual in the opposite direction through the city all the while with our gas needle on empty. Part way there we found out that the school bus with all the kids had broken down and that they were walking the rest of the way to church. We all made it safely and were able to laugh about, but I think it was then that it hit me that I was really back.
Today is unpacking day now that the team has left, so as soon as I find my camera, I'll post some pictures. Hope all is well with you guys in the US. Thanks for reading!
--Danelle
As inspired by Pastor Steve and others who are studying Spanish, here are my words of the day: bulla (boo -ya) is for noise that people make and ruido (roo- ee- doe) is for noise that objects, animals, etc. make. so, you would say hay mucha bulla for there is a lot of noise in, for example, the dining room at dinner, but you would say hay mucho ruido if cars were beeping the city.
So it Begins
Hey all!
Thanks for taking the time to read about my time here in Villa Nueva, Guatemala! I'm so excited to be back and am looking forward to seeing the ways that the Lord is going to use me this time.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with New Life Children's Home, let me tell you a little about it. There are 52 kids here currently (that's 5 more than when I left in December) and their ages range from 1-25 years old. These kids are unable to be adopted, because they all have at least one parent or grandparent still living. The kids have been brought or placed here to escape poverty, abuse, gangs, living on the streets, and many other things that kids should never have to deal with. The staff here is committed to raising them in a way where they will be safe, healthy, educated, happy and, most importantly, to become men and women of God.
While I'm here, I will be helping in the clinic in the mornings and with the kids in the afternoons and evenings. In the clinic, I help the doctor by taking blood pressures, measuring weights and heights, handing the doctor instruments, giving shots, keeping billing records, filling out medical testing forms, and a variety of other things. I learned so much last time and vastly improved my Spanish comprehension, and am really looking forward to spending time with Dr. Eliet again. She is incredibly nice and patient and an awesome teacher. I also help Wendy, one of the directors of the Home and a nurse, with taking the kids to doctors appointments and passing out medicine. The rest of the time, I hang out with the kids making cookies, reading, playing soccer (badly) and other sports, helping with homework, hosting movie nights, playing cards and board games, as well as behind the scene things like planning events, helping with mailings to the US, food shopping, translating cards to and from the kids' sponsors, and generally wherever needs to be done. One of my favorite things to do is spend time talking one-on-one with the kids. During these times away from their peers is when they are more likely to open up. These kids have experienced so much pain and crave love and acceptance.
I really appreciate your prayers! Please pray that the Lord will clearly show me how I should be spending my time. With 52 kids it's hard to reach each kid. Last time, the Lord really laid two kids on my heart, one who I became close with, one who I didn't but continue to pray for. Also, please pray for safety and good health for myself and the other interns that are here.
If you are interested in sponsoring a child, taking a trip to Guatemala, or in learning more, I would love to talk further with you! My email address is dbertozz@eastern.edu. Thanks again for your prayers. Without them my time here would be in vain.
"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Psalms 10:14, 17-18
Thanks for taking the time to read about my time here in Villa Nueva, Guatemala! I'm so excited to be back and am looking forward to seeing the ways that the Lord is going to use me this time.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with New Life Children's Home, let me tell you a little about it. There are 52 kids here currently (that's 5 more than when I left in December) and their ages range from 1-25 years old. These kids are unable to be adopted, because they all have at least one parent or grandparent still living. The kids have been brought or placed here to escape poverty, abuse, gangs, living on the streets, and many other things that kids should never have to deal with. The staff here is committed to raising them in a way where they will be safe, healthy, educated, happy and, most importantly, to become men and women of God.
While I'm here, I will be helping in the clinic in the mornings and with the kids in the afternoons and evenings. In the clinic, I help the doctor by taking blood pressures, measuring weights and heights, handing the doctor instruments, giving shots, keeping billing records, filling out medical testing forms, and a variety of other things. I learned so much last time and vastly improved my Spanish comprehension, and am really looking forward to spending time with Dr. Eliet again. She is incredibly nice and patient and an awesome teacher. I also help Wendy, one of the directors of the Home and a nurse, with taking the kids to doctors appointments and passing out medicine. The rest of the time, I hang out with the kids making cookies, reading, playing soccer (badly) and other sports, helping with homework, hosting movie nights, playing cards and board games, as well as behind the scene things like planning events, helping with mailings to the US, food shopping, translating cards to and from the kids' sponsors, and generally wherever needs to be done. One of my favorite things to do is spend time talking one-on-one with the kids. During these times away from their peers is when they are more likely to open up. These kids have experienced so much pain and crave love and acceptance.
I really appreciate your prayers! Please pray that the Lord will clearly show me how I should be spending my time. With 52 kids it's hard to reach each kid. Last time, the Lord really laid two kids on my heart, one who I became close with, one who I didn't but continue to pray for. Also, please pray for safety and good health for myself and the other interns that are here.
If you are interested in sponsoring a child, taking a trip to Guatemala, or in learning more, I would love to talk further with you! My email address is dbertozz@eastern.edu. Thanks again for your prayers. Without them my time here would be in vain.
"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Psalms 10:14, 17-18
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
