nueva clase

The preschool in Los Higos has now completed a year of service to Los Higos and began a new class two weeks ago. Whereas last year the school had 12 students, this year they have 20. They are divided into two classes- in the more advanced class, eight of last year's students are learning to read. In the lower class several new students and a few from last year are being introduced to letters and colors and will eventually move on to sounds. Most of the new class are three-year-olds, although there are a few that haven't had their third birthday, yet.

Carmen Luz, who volunteered last year with Johana, is teaching the new class and Johana is teaching the more advanced class. Johandry (Johana's baby) comes to school and a neighbor girl comes over and watches him during class.

charla con Fernando

Sorry it has been eons since I've posted anything on the blog!

This spring the girls' club has transformed from an environmental club to a health club. That wasn't my original intention, but it came up from the girls and Guelo, who is helping me sometimes, that we should do different units about different topics. So, until April we'll be talking about our bodies, sanitation, etc and then in May we'll start talking about dating, marriage, etc. again.

In our first health lesson we studied where God has dwelled throughout history, starting with the tabernacle and then the temple. Then we read about how the temple curtain tore when Jesus died and read the verses that say believers are the temple of the Lord. So, that is our basis for talking about health- our bodies are God's temple if we allow Him to dwell there.

This week Dr. Fernando (showm above) came and talked to them about how babies are made. Super embarassing. He didn't go into any detail about what the man and woman have to do to start the process, but rather focused on the stages of formation of a baby in the whom and the miracle that it is. He did a great job of exmplaining that the ability to have a baby is a blessing and that is why they need to be responsible with that gift.

We had little booklets (given to me by a friend back in Ames) that show photographs of babies at different stages in the whomb. The girls all crowded around the books and seemed really interested (as showm in the photo below)! Fernando shared interesting facts, like that a baby knows if it is loved or rejected somewhere around 22 or 26 weeks and that at 26 weeks the baby recognizes the voice of its mom and dad.

Overall, I'm really happy at how the girls' 'health club' has started out. Next week we'll be excercising and the following week we'll talk more about the changes that are going on in their bodies during adolescence.

conejitos

Here are a few more recent pictures of the babies:

dramas

Last week Andre's church had an evangelistic campaign each evening Wednesday through Saturday. Each night they had some fun productions by local community members usually followed by a guest singer or preacher (or a movie on Wednesday night).

On Friday the girls from the teenage group at my site had the chance to perform some dramas before the main message. They did three skits to communicate caring for creation from a Biblical perspective.

In the above skit Yessica pulled several items out of a sack and asked Arisleidi if this should go in the trash can (played by Titi) or thrown outside on the ground. The ground burst into laughter when she pulled out a gallon-sized rum bottle. Arisleidi informed Yessica with each item that the things made by man (glass, tin, rubber, plastic, etc) are to be thrown in the trash and the items made by God (dirt, wood, leaves, peelings) are to be thrown outside.

In the next skit each girl walked across the 'stage' doing something harmful to the environment and then I would cross the stage after them and make a commentary about what I was seeing. Above Anglica is removing the bark from the trunk of a mango tree to make it die so she can then legally cut it down to use for firewood.

In the above picture Titi is washing her 'motorcycle' in a stream.

One of my goals in the communtiy has been to help inform people of how the Christian faith applies to every area of life. I really hope they received the message that the environment is God's creation and we are called to care for it, just as Adam was called to sow and tend the garden shortly after creation.

conejitos

My rabbit had seven babies on Wednesday morning. The picture isn't very good, but you can king of see them all huddled together.

quincinera

Yessica, who has been involved in our ministry in one way or another as long as I've been here recently turned 15. The 15th birthday is a big deal in Latin culture. Usually 'quincineras' are celebrated with a Catholic mass. The girl rents a dress and hsa both male and female attendants who all rent tuxedos and dresses, much like a wedding party. The mass is usually followed by a party at the girl's home with cake, dancing, and drinking.

Yessica did not want to do the typical 15th birthday celebration for a few reasons. Now that she is growing in her relationship with Christ, she has become convicted about how she should celebrate. She knows she doesn't want people to get drunk to celebrate her birthday and does not feel comfortable with the type of dancing that often occurs at those parties. For a while she didn't want to celebrate her birthday at all.

Rather than avoid celebrating her birthday, Carmen Luz and I encouraged her to celebrate it in a different way that lines up with her convictions. So, we decided to go ahead and have a small party, inviting only her family and friends. We made a cake ourselves and rented a dress for her. She didn't have attendants, like the typical birthday party (more to save on costs than because of any other conviction).

The party was successful. Yessica got all dressed up and even got her hair done. About 80 people came (although only 30 were invited!) and they played games and ate snacks and cake. Overall, I think Yessica did a good job of showing the community how to celebrate her birthday in a Christ-honoring way.

charla con Ramon

I started a club for teenage girls that focuses on the environment. We are doing Bible studies that help them form a Biblical view of creation as well as hands-on things, like building the solar stove last week. On Tuesday Ramon, who works for the Secretary of State of the Environment and Natural Resources, came and gave a talk. He talked a lot about water and how it gets contaminated. He shared a few of the things that rural communities do that really harm the environment. Some of the girls seemed to be bored and others were excited to have learned something. Yessica is especially excited about this club and wants to be an ecologist some day.

A lot of people in the community talk about the environmental department as their enemies, because that department says they can't do some of the things they've always done, such as take sand out of the rivers to use in construction, or catch crabs in the local streams. I was glad that the girls could have direct contact with someone from that agency, so they could see that the agency is trying to enforce laws that will protect their local environment.