Friday, January 28, 2011

Reflection.....


The most important events make no stir on their first taking place, nor indeed in their effects directly. They seem hedged about by secrecy. It is concussion, or the rushing together of air to fill a vacuum, which makes a noise. The great events to which all things consent, and for which they have prepared the way, produce no explosion, for they are gradual, and create no vacuum which requires to be suddenly filled; as a birth takes place in silence, and is whispered about the neighborhood. Corn grows in the night. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Back to School


Ahhh, it's that time of year for all the little ones to give their moms a little break! I know...we're a little behind here with the school year. Here's a great picture of Diego and all our little munchkins and some of the bigger kids in the background. We had planned to only take the small kids and make two separate trips but ended up with 19 on this trip. Like a worry wart I was worrying that we didn't bring enough hot dogs and all the other stuff, but we had more than enough. It would have been mayhem but with Will, Diego and I it turned out to be a fun time for all of us. And the older kids, some not more than 8 or 9 yrs. old are very responsible for taking care of their younger siblings. They learn that pretty early here. Sometimes I think it's so funny to see a 4 yr. old carrying a two year old. They are strong and hard-working kids. The lake water is cold which is wonderful if the sun is out but the wind was blowing which with the wind chill factor made going in sound insufferable. But there they were wading and laying down in that freezing cold water having a good time. Some of the kids were very, very focused on collecting bottle caps.......all the bottle caps in the country of Guatemala from what I witnessed. Thank goodness for Pepsi and Coca cola, huh?
This year, Mishel, our little 4 yr. old is now entering a Montessori school especially created for 4 yr. olds at the San Lucas parish. This is the town that Will and I volunteer at their hospital. We were all so looking forward to her experience in this new school that we took her there one week before she needed to be there! Guess that's better than forgetting her at the house :) She is pretty intelligent and we couldn't see her attending the public school. The schools are under-funded (no surprise for a poor country) and we just thought we should take advantage of Fr. Greg's invitation to us in the beginning of Opal House, that whatever kids we had here he would educate them. We are very thankful. We hope that she has a running start. The first day I took her she looked so small and lost. But she enjoyed it all. Very grown up now after one week. I like the scene in the movie with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan called "You've Got Mail". He tells her that he really enjoys autumn and the whole back to school scene. It makes him want to go out and buy a dozen pencils. Like a bouquet I suppose. That's how I feel watching the kids come in so timidly at first but with their new backpacks and supplies, called 'utiles' here. Lots of utiles. We sponsored some of the same children again this year and so I took a few of the older girls to the local town and shopped for their new school stuff. I treated them to a wonderful (and I mean WONDERFUL) apple fritter and some tea. Made by the shop that donated the christmas donuts. Man, I have that ladie's number! And where in the U.S. can you get tea for .25 cents and a huge fritter for .60 cents? That's a bargain. The shopping was as simple as handing our lists, about 6 of them, to the guys across the counter and watching them in one fell swoop gather it all together for us. Yahoo, that's the way it should be! Very simple pleasures, and for the girls this is like taking your girls to the malls. They don't get out to 'shop' very often. And when they get a new backpack or whatever it is something of which they are very grateful. These girls were hanging out in front of their homes to talk to me because they had not started school because they had no supplies, like last year. Just $10 can keep a kid from attending classes.

Friday, January 14, 2011

And a Belated Happy New Year

I forgot to mention what we did on Christmas morn'. Will and I were a little tired but had received a donation from a generous lady in Panajachel who owns a donut shop (can you believe that you can buy a huge fritter and a cup of coffee for about .70 cents?). She gave us lots of her Christmas donuts and so we got our ATV out (red, mind you....) and jumped on with the donuts and chocolate bars that make hot chocolate, and drove to the neighborhood where the majority of our kids come from and handed out those donuts for breakfast. After that, we loaded up our old Subaru (again red, like a very old sleigh) with trinkets and a large bag of candy and drove out along the main highway and threw them out the window yelling "Feliz Navidad". Now, this is not something new we conjured up in our heads. In 2007 when we were heading up to Opal House during Christmas time, we were met on the mountain highways with children, as well as families, waving and yelling to us. I actually thought "Wow, they're wishing us Merry Christmas, Will!" Until I saw the car in front of us open up the passenger window and toss out some candy and saw the families running and gathering up the goodies! We had a good laugh over that one and then I thought next Christmas we'll do that. It was a wonderful, joyful time for us! It's one of the best Christmas' I've had.....