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| November 2007 | ||||
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Well, here we are friends, closing on to the end of the year. With my favorite holiday quickly approaching.
I am still in my recovery mode after traveling twice to the USA & back. I guess I am starting to get old after all. Hehe. Or the roads are just starting to seem longer and the back is protesting. But there is no place like home and a familiar bed and a familiar wife. Oops, I hope Faye doesn't read this. Hehe.
But I was so awful glad to see my kids again and get into the daily routine. I guess Faye and I just feel like the typical grandparent and can't get enough of the children. Everyday is different, just like every child is different. It is easy to see why the Lord says to do no harm to His children, for they are truly precious. It is so wonderful to see their growth in not only textbook learning but also learning the things we take for granted i.e. washing their hands in a sink, using a toilet for the first time, taking showers, washing their dishes and knowing what its like to have a teacher and attend a school. You see, in the beginning they were not attending public schools at the local outreach because many of them had no birth certificates and not born in a hospital. But the Pastor has and is still working very hard on getting each child qualified to enter the public school system. When we started there was only one child attending public school and now there are about 15. How exciting to see these children blossom. But as always we need more volunteer teachers. Won't you come and join for a day or two? Children are the wealth of any nation and these children are no different. We know your all qualified because you speak English and we teach English. Hehe.
Fortunately, it was a fairly slow month for visitors and I needed time to recuperate. But RuthAnn & her daughters Tami & Teresa arrived mid month. As you recall, RuthAnn was a retired school administrator & teacher. She has been helping us for over four years at the mission schools. Well, our school schedule allowed us to take a day and show them the beautiful Botanical Gardens of Puerto Vallarta.
Then our dear friends Jim & Linda arrived from California for a much needed rest from moving from Colorado to California and also to get out of the residual smoke from the forest fires of Southern California.
Then Esther and her daughter Melody arrived from B.C. You remember Esther, she has been staying with us the last two years and teaching alongside of us. This was a great trip for bonding between mother and daughter while allowing Melody 15 years old to see her first new country. It always opens the eyes for the new visitor to experience anothers culture. Seeing the poverty, lack of education, tasting the new foods & smelling the different smells.
Also seeing how other children live their daily lives. I think Melody want home counting her many blessings including the fact she has both a mom and dad to nurture her. But it was fun for us as well, as we watched Melody be a typical teenager. I guess Faye & I are becoming old fuds. Hehe. I guess to many years have passed under the bridge when we acted just like Melody. I hope Faye doesn't read this part of the newsletter as I will surely get in trouble calling her an old fud. Hehe.
Next came our good friends who live in Puerto Vallarta most of the year, Jim & Caroline. They to are also wonderful volunteer teachers with a great love for the children. It is because of such wonderful volunteer teachers as these that Faye have an opportunity to divide the classes. While assigning the younger children to Mike & Caroline, it allows Faye and I to challenge the older children in other skills. We have the volunteers work on the little children's pronunciation and give them new words.
Now for those of you who have never traveled, we encourage you to visit this earthly paradise. The weather is beautiful and the people are warm & friendly. The beaches are great, the food is delicious. And of course I am saving the best to the last. Our children are just precious and very bright and enthusiastic. Won't you take a day or two and help us teach. Remember God only asks you to be available and He will handle the rest. And please don't tell me "I don't speak Spanish" or "I am not a teacher". Remember, we are teaching English and we are also not teachers. We guarantee you will leave Mexico with many fond memories and will have many little friends awaiting your return.
The children of the local outreach are the poorest of the poor. They live around the dump and surrounding neighborhood. When we started there was only one child attending public school. Now there are 15 to 20 attending public school. Many of their parents work in the dump picking through the garbage every day for recyclables. Many children live in shacks with dirt floors, no sinks, no toilets and no running water. At the local outreach they wash their hands, then eat, then wash their dishes and then get education. So the school is serving many functions for the family as the children are trained and the families are counseled by the Pastor.
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