Another busy day at El Hogar with the sound track of the uber-cicadas and their tea-kettle chorus in the background. We ate a plentiful breakfast of banana bread and ripe cantalope, followed by classroom time with the children. Some of us were in the Spanish classrooms listening to the children read, and others were working with the newest students in the 1st grade classroom in one-on-one sessions. Our classroom time was fairly brief today as we had a road trip to the Institute de Santa Maria - the Technical School of El Hogar. It was a long drive - longer than it normally might have taken - as we attempted to circumvent the striking and protesting teachers and police response that we encountered yesterday. Sixteen of us bounced along and climbed the mountainous roads to the Institute.
I visited the ITSM last July and noticed some changes, most notably the incredible floor to ceiling mural in the front of the chapel painted by Joel. Joel is a former student who is now an art teacher at El Hogar. The colorful mural of the Risen Christ is dazzling in the large white space adding to the holiness of the space. Many windows have been put in since July as well. While visiting the shops - metal working, carpentry, and electrical - Julie was able to meet her sponsee, Julio, for the very first time.
A highlight of the day for many of us was our meeting with Lazaro, Sub-Executive Director of El Hogar Projects, and the Director of the ITSM and listening to him tell his story. He was an orphan and raised in an orphanage where he received love and opportunity. He spoke in a deeply heartfelt way about how he has felt blessed by that his whole life. Back in 1979 Lazaro was asked by the then-director to come to work at El Hogar, which was in its infancy. He spoke of wanting to share his blessings with other boys and said yes to the offer. Thirty years later he is a leader here, a married father of four children, and an exemplary man of God, who says with awe and gratitude that he could not have imagined what El Hogar would become.
We had another plentiful meal of vegetables, the yellowest corn I¨ve ever seen, pulled mystery-meat, and sweet lemonade. Fully stuffed, we then stuffed ourselves - all sixteen of us - back into the van along with the many handmade wooden tables, tortilla presses, and objects d´art that we´d bought at the school. The large metal step ladder that we purchased for El Hogar needed to be left behind for a later delivery.
The afternoon was spent by some of us back in our knitting and crocheting class, attending art class with the children, or seeing patients with our very own Dr. Virginia Barrow. But a very special part of the afternoon was a visit by Betsy¨s sponsor child, Carlos, who no longer attends El Hogar, and his family.
Believe it or not, yet another meal soon followed - dinner out at a lovely Mexican Restaurant with Tackerly, her friend, Maria, and Arturo.
Our nightly group devotions said, our blog written, it¨s time for bed.
-Jill Mackavey
No comments:
Post a Comment