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| Joel, my most enthusiastic reading buddy |
Friday, October 12, 2012
Reading away!
I am not sure how long ago it happened, but at least for the last five months or so it has become an almost daily thing for me to read to the kids after lunch. I am pretty sure it started out as a way for me to practice my spanish as well as a way to spend time with the kids and to get them interested in reading. Now it is a time I look forward to more than any other part of my day.
No longer in Mexico
Hi!
As some of you might know, I am no longer in Mexico. Due to the increasing violence and other issues, I was moved back to the States and am no longer with that ministry. But, Mexico still needs prayers, so, keep it up! :O) I plan on going back in the next year and visiting some of the friends and "family" I left behind. Many pictures/info from my time there did not end up in this blog. I hope to be able to share some of them with you in the upcoming month. We will see!
As some of you might know, I am no longer in Mexico. Due to the increasing violence and other issues, I was moved back to the States and am no longer with that ministry. But, Mexico still needs prayers, so, keep it up! :O) I plan on going back in the next year and visiting some of the friends and "family" I left behind. Many pictures/info from my time there did not end up in this blog. I hope to be able to share some of them with you in the upcoming month. We will see!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Random kid photos
Okay... I have alot of photos of our kids, and just have to share them.
Enjoy! More later!
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| Miss Lucy and some of her 3 year old class. |
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| One of the toddlers that likes to open the door and hide himself in the cupboard if no one is watching. |
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| More 3 year olds and the fun of coloring and washing the board. |
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| "Lunch" (snack) immediately after lunch ("comida" - food) |
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| 3 year olds "sleeping" during one of our following directions songs. |
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| Puzzle play ("rompercabezas" - literally -"head breakers") |
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| Hard at work with clay |
Happy Anniversary Youth Choir!
On Pentecost Sunday, the youth choir turned three years old! Started by another missionary three years ago, I became involved in November when she was no longer able to keep directing. We have ample help with adults, teens, and kids ranging from 5-18. In honor of the anniversary, we held a potluck in the church meeting room. We had a wonderful turn out, and, as a bonus, got to celebrate Juan Pablo's 5th birthday (he is in the first row center just right of the cake with someone's arm around him). So, the Church's birthday, the Holy Spirit, our anniversary, and Juan Pablo's birthday all in one day. What a great day to celebrate!
We supplied the cake, while the parish supplied the beans, tortillas, and agua de jamica. The families each brought a guisada, a cooked dish: tinga, rice, potatoes, and other yummy creations. One of my favorite parts was getting to meet the families, and being able to thank them for their children and the time they spent getting their children to choir. Overall, it was a great time of celebrating and a time of fellowship.
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| Most of the choir in front of a mural painted by Marcos, the guy in red on the extreme right of the picture. The mural displays part of the history of Santa Fe, the area where the church building is. |
English help
We had some people stop by the other day that we did not know. We heard a knock on the door and had no idea who they were when we looked out the window. They were looking for another missionary that lived here almost two years ago. They wanted help with their niece's english homework. She had a big test the next day and they wanted us to fill in all the blanks in her study sheet so that she could turn it in and study from it that night. Emma and I were not sure of this, and many times tried to get the aunt to see that we did not want to do the niece's homework for her. No, it was okay, she answered, they had another copy of the homework, and the niece would rewrite it in her own handwriting before turning it in. No, but... The niece had piles of homework to do.... and we were not getting anywhere with the aunt, so, with uneasiness, we did the homework. (Not as easy as it sounds. It was on some kind of passive voice, something we are told never to use in English. :) We gave it to the the aunts, and they were out the door, telling us that if we wanted cooking lessons to come on over and they would teach us.
A couple days later these same two aunts and the girl and another boy were back at our door. This time, with the aunt's famous Jello mold made from fruit juice, pectin, and peaches (it was very good!). The girl thanked us, as well as the aunts, and again they invited us to come over and learn how to cook. I still am not sure about the homework assignment, and did not want to start a precedent for doing everyone's English homework, but, I am glad that we got to meet that family, and opened the door that night.
A couple days later these same two aunts and the girl and another boy were back at our door. This time, with the aunt's famous Jello mold made from fruit juice, pectin, and peaches (it was very good!). The girl thanked us, as well as the aunts, and again they invited us to come over and learn how to cook. I still am not sure about the homework assignment, and did not want to start a precedent for doing everyone's English homework, but, I am glad that we got to meet that family, and opened the door that night.
More than Music Time
Emma and I give music classes three days a week, four 20-30 minute classes a day to 2-5 year old classes. Our first class starts at 10am, and the last ends at around 1:30pm. In between we have a bit of hang-out time with the kids and teachers, or time to fine tune our plans for the next class. Then, after our last class, we have about an hour and a half to hang out with the kids and teachers before we go home.
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| Israel ready to play, with my guitar and "cinta" (guitar strap). |
A couple months ago, I started working with kids individually after my last music class, giving guitar lessons and private music therapy
sessions. It started out because of
Israel.
There had been a couple kids with home/behavior issues I had been hoping to work with in music therapy. But these were also the same kids that wanted
nothing, or little, to do with the music classes Emma and I were already
giving. So, how do you do music therapy
with a kid that does not seem motivated by music?
Enter Israel.
Israel is 4 year old in love with the guitar. He was always asking me questions about my guitar, and especially the exact name of the store where he could buy a guitar strap ("cinta" to him) just like mine. He wanted to tell his grandma the name of the store so that she could buy him one. Then he learned if he asked, he could play my guitar. Then, one day, with much excitement, he brought in his guitar. More decorative than anything else, he sat down with me one day after class and we had a jam session. Him playing with nearly perfect rhythm and so much gusto, singing at the top of his lungs "Feliz Navidad," complete with hand-stops (though in odd places). Just like I had when we taught the kids the song in December.
Soon, there were a bunch of kids around us wanting to know, "What are you doing?" and "Can I/we play with you too?" Among them was the little boy I had been praying most to work with. We will talk about him in another story. So, now I have between 4-6 kids that I work with after the end of the school day. Only 2 or 3 a day, and then afterwards we have about a half hour each day or more where I read to the kids or have them read for me/the other kids. I am getting to know more about the kids' home life/interests through the songs we make up together and having some fun while trying to work through some of the issues in each of their lives.
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| Another one of my students :) |
Saturday, April 21, 2012
English
I have told you that my Spanish is getting better, and it is, but it is also a constant reminder that I am not perfect, and I already have so many of those reminders. I was going to take another Spanish course, but in the end, with the extra money and time I would spend getting down there and back, I decided against it, and in its place I am starting to trade English for Spanish lessons/conversation and getting to know better the people in my community. I have a guy I talk to almost every day as I pass by his store on my almost daily run up and down the hill. Mostly Spanish with him, but I am hoping more English will come when he sets up his new store (he was so gung-ho when we met him, showing us the English lessons he was working on while he was taking care of the store, but lately, he has been doing more with the store.) Starting yesterday, another friend and I are getting together once a week to start trading stories and getting the English/Spanish juices flowing. I am excited about this as it is so hard to make friends down here.
But what I wanted to relay is about H-. H- is the father of one of my 3 year old students at the guardaria. He sees learning English as almost the only way to a better life for his son and family. He was a bodyguard for years, making good money at clubs, etc. There are bodyguards and security everywhere around here. I noticed one at the mall parking lot today that had a semi-automatic weapon (it could have been automatic, I do not know much about guns, but it was big and looked heavy-duty). Anyway, one night, several years ago, H- was working and his pregnant wife was with him. Someone came in and wanted to sequester, rape, and kill her. It came to blows, H- threatened to kill the guy with his bare hands, and eventually the guy ran off. So, he quit being a bodyguard, and has a little store 3/4 of the way up the hill from my house before the traffic circle that divides the richer from the poorer section of the colonia. He took a pay-cut, a big one, and works from 7am to 11pm everyday to put food on the table for his family, but, the store is his, and he is much happier. He has told us multiple times he does not want his son to grow up here. And is very fearful because of the drugs, sequestering, assassinations, etc (unofficial numbers put it at about 150,000 people in the last five/six years.) It is sad to see how desperate he is to get his family out of Mexico. We know American citizens down here that have a Mexican spouse. Their spouse cannot come into America because there is a five year waiting list for immigration to even look at their paperwork for a visa. Another friend of ours is dating a Mexican. They have been dating for over two years, and applied for a visa for him to visit her family in Wisconsin. He was turned down because he does not make enough money. He is an artist, and we figure that the American government is afraid that once he gets into America, he will not leave due to the better possibility of making a living. There is a concern that H-'s family will not be able to get into America, but he says that since he owns a business here in Mexico, it is easier for him to get a visa. So, we talked today for about an hour, a Spanish/English mix, and I plan to go back everyday or at least a couple times a week to stop by on the way back from my run to help him with English, while he helps me with Spanish. Please pray for him and his family. There is a bit of desperation there, and he would be considered more better off by our pueblo standards since his family owns the store. A good amount of people down here have what is considered, "informal" jobs, ie. selling things on street corners/buses/etc. They do not earn salaries, but just the extra from what they sell during the day. One of the ladies I know is a bagger at a non-Walmart grocery store up the way. She had to buy her uniform, is considered a volunteer with no benefits, and makes whatever money people give her for tips. Her good day is making 70 pesos in a nine hour work day, about $5. She actually turned down a steady job working as a cleaning lady at our guardaria because the pay was better being a bagger.
The weather here is wonderful, and it is sunny out right now. Things are starting to look good for the prayer group, and we have about 20 or more families interested and should be starting up things in the next few weeks. Please pray for the families, the getting together of the group(s), and the possible continuance after we have left. Thanks.
But what I wanted to relay is about H-. H- is the father of one of my 3 year old students at the guardaria. He sees learning English as almost the only way to a better life for his son and family. He was a bodyguard for years, making good money at clubs, etc. There are bodyguards and security everywhere around here. I noticed one at the mall parking lot today that had a semi-automatic weapon (it could have been automatic, I do not know much about guns, but it was big and looked heavy-duty). Anyway, one night, several years ago, H- was working and his pregnant wife was with him. Someone came in and wanted to sequester, rape, and kill her. It came to blows, H- threatened to kill the guy with his bare hands, and eventually the guy ran off. So, he quit being a bodyguard, and has a little store 3/4 of the way up the hill from my house before the traffic circle that divides the richer from the poorer section of the colonia. He took a pay-cut, a big one, and works from 7am to 11pm everyday to put food on the table for his family, but, the store is his, and he is much happier. He has told us multiple times he does not want his son to grow up here. And is very fearful because of the drugs, sequestering, assassinations, etc (unofficial numbers put it at about 150,000 people in the last five/six years.) It is sad to see how desperate he is to get his family out of Mexico. We know American citizens down here that have a Mexican spouse. Their spouse cannot come into America because there is a five year waiting list for immigration to even look at their paperwork for a visa. Another friend of ours is dating a Mexican. They have been dating for over two years, and applied for a visa for him to visit her family in Wisconsin. He was turned down because he does not make enough money. He is an artist, and we figure that the American government is afraid that once he gets into America, he will not leave due to the better possibility of making a living. There is a concern that H-'s family will not be able to get into America, but he says that since he owns a business here in Mexico, it is easier for him to get a visa. So, we talked today for about an hour, a Spanish/English mix, and I plan to go back everyday or at least a couple times a week to stop by on the way back from my run to help him with English, while he helps me with Spanish. Please pray for him and his family. There is a bit of desperation there, and he would be considered more better off by our pueblo standards since his family owns the store. A good amount of people down here have what is considered, "informal" jobs, ie. selling things on street corners/buses/etc. They do not earn salaries, but just the extra from what they sell during the day. One of the ladies I know is a bagger at a non-Walmart grocery store up the way. She had to buy her uniform, is considered a volunteer with no benefits, and makes whatever money people give her for tips. Her good day is making 70 pesos in a nine hour work day, about $5. She actually turned down a steady job working as a cleaning lady at our guardaria because the pay was better being a bagger.
The weather here is wonderful, and it is sunny out right now. Things are starting to look good for the prayer group, and we have about 20 or more families interested and should be starting up things in the next few weeks. Please pray for the families, the getting together of the group(s), and the possible continuance after we have left. Thanks.
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