What an interesting week this is shaping up to be! On Monday, Joel was busy with work while I was busy "re-upholstering" (did I spell that right?) a few pieces of balcony furniture. When we got here, we had "skeleton" furniture up there...Some metal chairs without cushions, a bare and gritty table, and a frame of a beach chair. I put cushions on the metal chairs, no problem! I have to say that my biggest accomplishment was restoring the frame of the chair with an actual functioning piece of fabric. While Jeanne was here, we borrowed a chair from the neighbor's (gracias Emelia!) to do measurements. We bought a dowel from the hardware store and a 1-meter piece of fabric from the fabric store. I was able to do the sewing at the pastor's house and while I was there, I went around the edge of the piece of fabric I bought for the table so now we have a wonderful new table cloth too. I also bought some fabric to make a curtain/partition for our balcony as it's split in half and we share with our neighbors. The best part about all this is that I bought all the fabric for about $20 and we practically have a new balcony! It's a blessing to be able to spend time up there, eating meals and enjoying the sunsets.
The chair before and after!
On Tuesday, we went back to Yelapa with Randy to the school to feed the kids. Joel had a great time with the kids playing soccer out in the field. Randy and I were also able to further discuss the school-nursing opportunities for the schools and communities he serves. We will have to meet with the principals of the schools and possibly some other people in the communities to get the word out. Now that I know what days he feeds and where, I can come up with a schedule of where I can go on Tuesdays and Thursdays. More to come on that story.
Yesterday, we went out to Pan de Vida to teach school. I took Faye's class (5,6,&7-year olds) while Joel had our usual crowd of pre-school aged kids. Faye is out sick this week...Dennis says she's been battling some kind of upper respiratory issue for about a month and decided to give her the week off. The dust out at the dump doesn't help her situation, so hopefully, she will have time to recover a little this week.
We bought some teaching supplies at the end of last week: a map of Mexico, with states and capitals, the Alphabet in Spanish, which also corresponds in English, a poster of the human body in Spanish and English, a poster of shapes and colors in Spanish and English, and a game about good character. We found that many of these kids don't even know their own alphabet yet, or numbers, etc...and so in order to be able to teach them in English, we feel that they should at least know the basics in their own language first.
We are especially excited about the alphabet poster as "A" in Spanish can stand for Avion and Airplane in English (Avion means airplane), so they can be learning both at the same time. In contrast, on English alphabet posters, "A" usually stands for "Apple," which is translated to "Manzana" in Spanish, which if we were to use a standard English alphabet poster to teach these kids, they would think that "A" is for "Manzana." We don't want that to happen!
I had a great time with Faye's class yesterday. I think it was the first time for them seeing a map of their own country. We started to work on the difference between a country, state, and city. They are so smart and were catching on really fast.Lastly, and most importantly, we are asking for prayers for Jackie (Jaquelyn). We missed her all day yesterday, and right at the very end, after all the kids had already gone and right as we were leaving, she came literally stumbling in. She acted as if she didn't recognize any of us, not even Joel who has been her favorite since we've been here. She was filthy from head to toe and was totally dazed and confused. She sat on the floor looking around suspiciously, with a scared look on her face. When I knelt down to ask her what was going on, if anything had happened, if she was hungry, etc, she looked at me with fear and confusion as if she was afraid of me and didn't even comprehend what I was saying. The only one she seemed to know was Dennis, whom she asked for food. Jackie is normally very bright, energetic, and outgoing, totally opposite from yesterday. As I was trying to talk with her, I noticed that her pupils were pinpoint, and she was trembling a little, which could mean that something traumatic might have just happened, or she was drugged. We have learned that since drug abuse is such a huge problem out in the dump, it is not uncommon that kids can get into their parents' substances or the parents will sometimes use their drugs as tools of abuse. Jackie's family is one such family. Her mother abuses drugs as do her boyfriends. We learned that the addiction in Jackie's home is such that when Jackie or any of her siblings are given any new clothes, they are immediately sold right off their back for money for more drugs. We don't know for sure what happened to Jackie yesterday, all we can do is pray for her and her family. Please keep her in your prayers for God's protection and that she would continue to seek Pan de Vida as a safe place to be and in so doing, come to hear the message of Jesus. Please also pray for her siblings and mother.
Thanks everyone for checking in! We hope all is going well for you! We feel totally blessed to have the support that we do in everyone who is keeping us in their prayers. We look forward to reading your comments!
Leslie and Joel
3 comments:
Sin is always ugly, and I am so sorry that the one child who had been most special to you has had this experience. Jackie stumbled back to Pan de Vida, the place where she had experienced God's love. Only God knows her future, but I will be praying for Him to intervene in that whole situation.
WOW! the sun chair looks just like you had hoped it would. Successful projects are energizing. Very cool! I have been thinking about the towel fuzz problem. Try a dampish wash cloth against fuzz as a lint remover. It might do the trick. Are the plants in their planters now?
It is fun to hear how your schedules are firming up. I agree with Glenn that time will begin to fly by as you get immersed in a routine of God's work.
Love, JeanneMom
Man, that is so heartbreaking to hear that about Jackie... I guess when the Enemy sees you as a threat, he's going to try everything to bring you down & discourage you. We will be praying for her as well.
On a lighter note, that chair looks fabulous, Leslie! What a beautiful view you two have, to sit and eat and enjoy God's provision together!
It's so neat to hear about all the progress taking place down there, and even better when I realize you're still only getting started! It's also very exciting to see how God is and will be working through you two over the next few months...
I'm loving the more frequent blogs, keep it up!!! I check here everyday!
Love the Valencia clan
Three cheers for Leslie, for her nimble seamstress fingers, for her healer's hands, and for her caring and Christian heart. Yes, all that work that you are doing on making your little apartment more liveable, not only will make it more comfortable for you, but might benefit whomever follows you there in residency.
It is hard to believe that the little girl that Leslie was, has become this accomplished young woman; out there in the world, making a difference. Your mother and I become more excited about your "mission" daily.
When you talked to your mother the other day, perhaps she shared with you, but trickster Brian, your wonderful brother-in-law, asked Melva if she and I love you and Joel more than he and Chrystal now that you are actually being missionaries. He had been reading your blog, and had read our comments to you. What a wicked sense of humor that young man has!
Winter is probably over here in the South Sound; at least that is the indication from the Spring-like buddings and warm temps. Watch it snow next week now, for it is still early March. Spring is my favorite season. It is less than a month now before Melva and I wing to Texas, arrive at Houston, rent a car, and drive to Dallas for her AER conference, and then back down to see your Nina in Lolita. The spring floweres will really be blooming along the roadways for our drives, and for those of you who have never been in Texas in the springtime--that is one incredible sight; the whole landscape is like the tulip fields in La Conner, a blaze of nature's wildflower wonder as far as the eye can see. I think it the governor before Bush, Miss Annie, who just passed away recently, that made it mandatory to plant all those flowers all across Texas.
You paint such a vivid picture of the solace and beauty and peace that you can enjoy from your balcony, it makes the rest of us so far away feel like we are joining you. Did you get all those great new plants into their new planter homes yet? It was fun to have you do the blog posting this time, Leslie. Do you and Joel just take turns, or collaborate, or is it just whomever has the time, or takes the time? Nice choice of fabric too; very festive.
I can just see Joel out there kicking that soccer ball around with the kids; quite a young man, that Joel. I am staring at his Yamaha guitar in its stand up rack next to the computer here, and it throbs softly that it misses his strong fingers caressing its strings. I guess we, as parents, miss you too, but May will be here before any of us are really totally ready for it, and you two will be back for that wedding; and then we will get the news about your return to Mexico to "finish" the mission work, or your need and wish to come home, look for a house, reinvigorate your vocational status, get overloaded on family hugs, and say hi to Taffy and Jonah.
My bout with the new super virus is over, for the moment, thanks to antibiotics, natural yogurt, vitamin B1, prayer, and rest. Melva has somehow kept from contracting it. It really zaps energy and spirit;a tough customer.
Yes, your encounter with the condition that Jackie was in, to have to face the ugliness of ignorance and poverty, must have put a pipewrench on your hearts. You will gain much, and give much, and become more secondary to this time in your lives. Enjoy it, revel in it, keep your sleeves rolled up, and your guard up, your arms open to those children.
Maybe this mission work is just the first of many such experiences for you two, or perhaps it is the one shining moment you have both planned for since your were adolescents, that one time that you saved your pesos for, and put aside the particulars of your personal life, and reached out to those around you, and shared the best part of your selves with the children.
The great thing about being a teacher, a healer, a Christian, is that you have no earthly idea how much influence you are exerting on others. Some of those children might remember your kindness, and your teaching, for the rest of their lives, and it might be the turning point for some of them to rise up, to fight back, to make something out of their lives and of themselves. So touch them and teach them, and remember to let them touch you, and yes to teach you as well.
Hugs and Love :) Glenn & Melva
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