Birthdays n' Goodbyes

So much has happened in the last week, it is hard to process!!! Last Tuesday was Jhesica's 11th birthday. I went into Quillacollo and managed to find a cake with red (Jhesica's favourite colour) icing! It was quite the ordeal carrying a cake on the crowded "mini bus" (more like a van). I was praying the whole way that I would get the cake safely to the centre! Thankfully I got away with only a small bit of icing being brushed off by the lady next to me.

In the afternoon there was much excitement as we set the table and brought out the cake, coke (a favourite drink with the girls), and "rollo de queso" (a kind of cheese roll). We enjoyed our birthday "feast," and, most importantly of all, Jhesica seemed very happy! (Can you tell by the smile on her face in the first picture?)

On Saturday we had the closing ceremony where there were awards given and everything was wrapped up for the school year. The centre was a busy place with parents arriving for the ceremony and then preparing to take their children home. Of the girls, Jhesica was the only one to leave that day with her family.

Sunday was a cold rainy day, so the girls spent the day indoors, and I started working on my packing after our Sunday morning meeting.

On Monday my parents and sister, Elisa, arrived from La Paz around midday. We took the three orphans (Anahi, Manuela, and Sonia) as well as Mercedes into town to Burger King. We were celebrating Sonia's 17th birthday. It was quite the experience! Sonia didn't even seem to know how to eat a burger or an ice cream cone. I ended up juggling a melting ice cream cone (which I was trying to feed Sonia), napkins (to wipe away the ice cream that kept getting on her face), and toilet paper (to wipe her runny nose). What a mess! Then there was Manuela, sitting on my other side, barely able to eat her burger because of laughing so hard! She always laughs when she is extremely happy!

From Burger King we took the girls back to the centre and picked up my stuff. Then it was time to say some heartbreaking goodbyes. There was tears and there was a lot of bawling on Manuela's part. It was heart-wrenching to hear Manuela's wails as I headed out the door. It was overcast and raining, adding to the melancholy of the moment. As we drove away, I lifted up Manuela in prayer, asking God to somehow put His arms around her and comfort her.

BLESSINGS:

-God answered my prayers and my time at the centre ended well.

-Special birthday celebrations!

-My parents and sister were able and willing to come and help me pick up my stuff!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-That God would be comforting the girls--especially Manuela and Sonia who have no family and will be staying at the centre for the whole summer vacation (remember we are in the southern hemisphere!)

-That I would be using my time wisely.

-For clear guidance for plans for next year (more on that in my next blog entry).

Check out the Centre

I thought it was about time I put up some pictures of the actual centre, so you all can picture where it is I have been living for the last few months. I was just showing these pictures to some friends this past weekend, and they were surprised at how nice the centre seems. Although it' s true that we have beautiful large grounds, etc., pictures can be deceiving, and sadly on closer inspection things are very run down and dirty.

Picture # 1: The entrance to the "Centro Cristiano Para Sordos" (The Christian Centre for the Deaf).
Picture # 2: A picture of the dining hall. The palm tree reminds me that I am living in a semi-tropical location.
Picture # 3: Looking out from the dining hall towards the class rooms (building far left), the offices (straight ahead), and another random building (on the right).
Picture # 4: The girls' dorm building and the park.
Picture # 5: The common area inside the dorm. This is a typical picture of what it looks like in the afternoons. Anahi is sitting on the couch knitting and talking to Mercedes. Manuela is sitting in the armchair grinning. Jhesica is walking around with the cat from upstairs, "Dukesa," and Irlanda, Marianela, and Melvi are at the table working on homework.

The Final Stretch

It's hard to believe that by this time next week my time at the centre should be over. Things are picking up speed as the end draws near. Today is Jhesica's 11th birthday, and I plan on going into Quillacollo to buy her a cake for a little tea party this afternoon, which will be a nice break from all the busyness of homework and exams.

On Saturday we have the closing ceremony and parents will be coming to pick up their children and get a report on this past year.

Blessings:

-The girls are getting better from their colds and God has kept me healthy in the midst of all the sickness.
-A special weekend with friends in Cochabamba.
-E-mails and facebook messages from friends!
-Time is not dragging by as much.
-The girls from the lower grades have been doing well in their exams.

Prayer Requests:

-I have to teach the lesson at the Thursday evening meeting. Please pray that God would give me a lesson to share and that He would speak through me despite my limitations in sign language.
-Please pray for the love, joy, strength, patience, and wisdom to finish off my time well.
-Please pray for the girls in the higher grades who still have exams that they would be diligent in their studies, do well, and pass.

Meet Monica...

This week I have a temporary addition to my family. Monica is 18 years old. She lives in the nearby town of Quillacollo with her mom (I understand her parents are separated). At one point she lived at the centre, but because of lack of funds she had to go live with her mom. Monica is in seventh grade. The threesome I have previously mentioned is actually a foursome, with Monica being the fourth member. Every day she meets Irlanda, Melvi, Marianela, and their interpreter at the nearby public school they attend. She then joins us for lunch at the centre (which is how I know her), spends the afternoon doing homework with Cecilia (the interpreter), and then goes home. Monica's mom is away on a trip this week, so she is living temporarily in the dorm, and my family of nine girls has gone up to ten!

Because I haven't spent much time with Monica, I can't tell you a lot about her but that she is very sweet. She always greets me in the dining hall and then comes to give me a kiss goodbye before leaving.

Pleasant Plazas

In addition to a picture with Monica, I have included some other pictures. As I have free time in the mornings while the girls are in school, I have found different ways to keep myself busy. One feature I love about cities/towns in Latin America is the plazas. Several weeks ago, I discovered the nearby plaza here in Vinto. I love the walk to get there, which is along the train tracks (second picture). One of the aspects I love about this particular plaza (third picture) is that it is usually quite quiet with few people milling about, so I can always find an empty bench (fourth picture) on which to sit for a good while with a good book and chocolate (utter bliss!).

Blessings:

-Monica's life.

-Vinto's plaza.

-We just had a long weekend for all-saints day (Boliva is a Catholic country), and I had to work. On the Monday I was able to take the few girls who stayed for the weekend out for the day to my friend's grandma's house in the nearby town of Quillacollo. We had a very special day, and I think it did the girls good to be able to get away from the centre for a bit.

Prayer Requests:

-Please pray for the spiritual salvation of Monica's family and for extra grace for her with the pain of her parents separation, etc.

-I have less than two weeks left here at the centre. Please pray for extra grace, love, patience, and wisdom to finish off my time well.

-Please pray for the girls as they are entering exams to be able to finish off the school year well.

Meet Jhesica...

Last, but definitely not least, let me introduce Jhesica, the "baby" of our "family." Jhesica is 10 years old but will be turning 11 next month. Her favourite colour is red. She is from the city of Oruro (the capital of the department of Oruro) about three hours away from here. I previously said that Marianela was one of the only girls from a Christian family. I was mistaken. It turns out Marianela's family is not Christian. It is Jhesica who is the only girl with a Christian family. She is the oldest of three children, and her brother Max (8 years old) is also deaf and a student at the centre. Jhesica is in second grade and is quite bright. She picks things up very fast.

Because of living with all older girls in their teens, Jhesica often acts more like a teenager than the little girl she still is. The director of the centre thinks it is a good idea if Jhesica spends time with the girls who live upstairs, and that way she can have time to "be" and play like a little girl. It doesn't always work out, because Jhesica has a strong personality and so does one of the girls from upstairs, so that often results in clashes.

Jhesica is very strong-willed, and I have had some obedience issues, but for the most part she cooperates and tries to respect my authority. Sometimes, when I ask her to do something, she likes to salute like a soldier and then carry out my order. She also likes to serve me. She often doesn't allow me to wash my own dishes but takes them from me and washes them herself.

Jhesica loves to tease me. She sometimes will grab me by the arm and tell me, "Hurry, hurry! You have to go and meet with your boyfriend!" Both Irlanda and Jhesica have created an imaginary boyfriend for me, "David." David has his own sign name and everything. They love to tease me with him. Jhesica once saw a tv show where a woman had octuplets. For some reason she likes to tease me that I'm pregnant with octuplets (this despite the fact that, if anything, I have lost weight since coming here).

There is something about Jhesica that is very attractive and draws you to her. My mom came and spent a weekend with me, and I was interested to hear her make the same comment about Jhesica. It's hard to explain, but she is delightful to be around.

BLESSINGS:
-Jhesica's life!
-A weekend spent with my family in La Paz.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-The director talked to me last week and said that the girls' grades have really gone down since I arrived (which really makes me look bad!) and some of the girls could be in danger of failing the year. Please pray that the girls would work hard, pick up their grades, and finish the school year well.
-Please pray that I would know how to be firm and keep better discipline in the dorm.
-Please continue praying that God would give me His eyes and His love for each girl.
-Please pray for joy to be my strength each day.

Meet Delia...

Delia is 13 years old going on 14 next month. Her favourite colour is pink, and she is in fourth grade. She and Luis, Mercedes' brother, go to a nearby public school with their interpreter, Juan. Her family is from a rural community in the department of Potosi, but they moved to Cochabamba in order to be closer to the deaf centre, so she often gets to go home on weekends. She has a younger brother who is also deaf and lives here in the boys' dorm. His name is Luis, and he is about 8 years old.

Delia is vivacious, intelligent, and full of energy. She is a lot of fun to be around! Deaf individuals often tend to have poor reading and writing skills, but I have been very impressed with Delia's writing abilities. She is obviously very bright! She is also a very loving and affectionate individual. Before she heads off to school, she always comes, puts her arms around me, and just stands their for a while. Then she steps back, lovingly tells me to take care of myself, and heads off to school.

BLESSINGS:

-Delia's life.

-My friends in Cochabamba who welcome me into their homes and are so good to me whenever I spend a weekend in "Coche."

-Eleanor's surgery went well! (See last week's prayer request)

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-Spiritual salvation of Delia's family, and Delia's own relationship with God.

-Eleanor's quick recovery from surgery, so she can once again be up and about.

-God's provision for a wall to be built up around one end of the property. (The centre has had problems with thieves breaking in, and it is also having problems with the community, which would like to take the property away from them.)

-Please pray that God would help me to live one day at a time, and that I would find joy in serving.

Meet Sonia...

Though she may not look it, Sonia is 16 going on 17 next month. She is very small for her age, and I think she has an impish looking face. Apart from her hearing loss, Sonia, like Manuela, also has a developmental disability. She has even less communication abilities than Manuela. She doesn't really communicate via proper sign language, but by hand motions she tries to communicate what she wants. She points and flaps her hands around. Extended arms means she wants a hug. She points to her face when she wants a kiss. Sonia has no family and lives here at the centre year round.

During the mornings, when all the other girls are at school and Manuela is helping out in the kitchen, Sonia simply wanders around the property. In the afternoons she often sits by herself in her room puttering around with her collections of "treasures" and making the little humming type sounds peculiar to her.

The girls consider Sonia is not capable of doing much, and one of her few chores is to carry out the garbage to the garbage dump at the end of the property. She often likes to go through the garbage and dig out "treasures," and by now she has quite a collection! When I threw out my old lip gloss and my old pen, the next time I saw Sonia, she was carrying them around as her newly found "treasures."

Sonia sometimes gets into mischief. One day she found and got into an old mascara. We found her sitting in her room with her face smudged black all around her eyes. She seems to have a fascination for painting her face with markers and such, and I have had to help her scrub her face clean more than once.

Sadly, I think a lot of people would look at Sonia as human trash. Sometimes the girls complain she doesn't smell good, are annoyed with her, or simply ignore her presence in the dorm. And yet I have to constantly remind myself that in the eyes of God she is very precious! I often pray that God would help me to see Jesus in her and that He would put His love for her in my heart.

PRAISE (Blessings):
-Sonia's life.
-God's grace towards me.
-On Sunday I had a blessing in the disguise of an upset stomache, which kept me in bed all day. The rest did me so much good!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-That God would help me see Jesus in Sonia.
-I have been asked to take someone's place and teach the Bible lesson this Thursday. Please pray that God would give me a lesson to share and help me communicate it effectively, and that the hearts of the children would be receptive.
-Please pray for Eleanor (one of the founding missionaries who continues to work at the centre as the accountant). She is having surgery on her hip this Saturday. Pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.
-Please continue to pray for the economy of the centre, things are really tight right now.
-I am afraid I have been losing my focus lately and forgetting why I am here. Different situations have been highlighting how self-centred I really am. I have been getting wrapped up in what I want, and as a result I have been struggling with boredom and with depression. Please pray that God would help me to remember why I am here and to find joy in laying down my life and desires and serving the girls.
-Please pray that God would help me love Manuela and Sonia with His love. I stand convicted that my love for them is practically non-existent. Lately, in my selfishness, I am annoyed by them, brush them aside, and even ignore them. I find ways to entertain the other girls, but I often leave Manuela and Sonia to their own resources, and I rarely give them of myself (which is what I think they most want) and just sit with them, "listen" to them, etc. God, forgive me for my selfishness and lack of genuine love!

Meet Anahi...

Anahi is 17 years old. Her favourite colour is yellow. From what I understand, she was abandoned as a baby and is an orphan. Thus she lives here at the centre year-round. She has only been here for about a couple of years and is in second grade.

Because Anahi has no family to pay her tuition and room and board, she has to work. There is a family with four children, ranging from a one-year-old to an eleven-year-old, who live above the girls' dorm. The mother is the secretary here at the centre and also looks after the girls in the dorm whenever I have a weekend off. The father also works in some other capacity here at the centre (I'm not exactly sure what all he does). From Monday to Saturday, Anahi works for this family. As soon as she's done with lunch in the afternoons, she goes and does cleaning for them, washes their clothes, and helps take care of the four children. She often works till late into the evening, which means that any homework has to be done really late at night or very early in the morning.

Because Anahi works, I don't actually get to be around her very much. Her only day off is Sunday, and even then she often is busy washing her own clothes, which she didn't have time to wash during the week. I feel for her not being able to hang out and enjoy time with the rest of the girls. On the positive side, she is quite close to the family she works for, and I understand they sometimes take her with them on vacation during the summer holidays.

Anahi is a very sensitive person. She often seems to get her feelings hurt in the little time she does spend with the rest of us down in the dorm.

Anahi is also a very loving person. She is always coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around me. I can't imagine what it is like for her having her disability and on top of that lacking the love and support of a family. I imagine she is starving for love and physical affection.

RANDOM INFO. (about my life here): The other week I discovered that one of the girls' responsibilities is to keep the grass cut on our side of the property. Now that spring and the rains have arrived, the grass will be growing higher. Apart from aesthetic reasons, the grass needs to be kept short because of the danger of snakes. Apparently someone was once bit by a snake here and had to be taken to the hospital! If cutting grass is considered grueling work, cutting grass here at the centre is more than twice as grueling. There is no lawn mower, and we use hoes and machetes. With the girls we spent a couple of afternoons clearing the grass on one side of the dorm building. I wanted to give the girls an example of working hard with a positive attitude, so I went out there with them. As the girls hacked away at the grass with machetes, the two girls with developmental disabilities and I went around stuffing rice sacks with cut grass along with garbage and dried up dog excrement (I made sure to go and put on some rubber gloves!). Then we would lug the sacks to the end of the property where all the garbage is dumped. As we went back and forth, I would make the best of each trip and would carry the sack in one hand and a brick (there were some old bricks lying around that need to be thrown out) in the other hand. Soon I saw Manuela and Sonia (the two girls with developmental disabilities) coming down the road with a sack in one hand and a brick in the other (the power of example!)

PRAISE (Blessings):

-Anahi's life.

-My mom's visit this past weekend. I have been at the centre for two months now, and she was my first visitor! It was so special to have her here and for her to get to know the girls--they loved her!

-The arrival of the rains! Having grown up with serious water shortages, I know the importance of rain! I also love the sound and smell of it!!!

-Thunderstorms! It maybe sounds strange, but I LOVE thunderstorms!!! They give me a thrill and make me think of the awesomeness of God's power!!!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-Apparently discipline and grades have gone down the last little while (it would seem since I arrived), so I need to start cracking down on the girls and be a little more strict. Please pray that I would learn how to be strict and firm in a loving way.

-I have been really struggling with my own selfishness. Please pray that I would not be controlled by my selfish feelings but by God's Spirit.

-Please pray that I would do everything out of a genuine love for the girls. I am constantly convicted by 1 Corinthians 13. All my sacrifice and service here is worthless if I don't do it out of a genuine love for God and for the girls.