Eating Papaya

No the title of this blog has nothing to do with the contents hereafter however I am currently eating papaya...first one i have ever actually bought...and it is delicious!

So the big news is that I have missed Thanksgiving :( which I wasn't too upset about until my dearly beloved family called and made me a little bit homesick and I then realized the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie that I was missing (along with family time of course) However, after my dearly beloved niece pointed out that she ate two pieces of pie she insisted that she would tell oma to save me a piece.....so in due time I too will have my pie.

Well I have officially been gone for 10 weeks, 1/5th of the way done with 9 more months to go. This past week has been great....and exhausting! The 'regular' schedule for the week involves Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon out at a ranch where a few of the kids go horseback-riding and Friday morning out at a swimming pool for some physiotherapy, however this hasn't happened yet as they are still looking for a new therapist. Chapel is every morning at 10am with a few of the older kids and the entire staff, and other than that, the time is used up by any creative ideas we have for spending time with the kids while working on some development. For example:

Tuesday morning: some of the kids have either sensory hyper or hyposensitivity. A couple of them will just be vibrating when left alone, make noises, hand movements etc. however when we get them into our "sensory room" with lights, music and some deep pressure (really just bit bear hugs) they totally relax and chill. And another boy just hates being touched, so to work with both sides of the scale we made a bit of a sensory goolash which included cooked spaghetti, pudding, jello, and marshmallows and had some of the kids put there hands and feet in it and play with it a bit. Needless to say I was also covered with chocolate pudding by the end of the day :)

Wednesday afternoon: Gabby and I realized what it would be like to have 19 children! The other staff were having a meeting about positioning of the kids and some tips for feeding them and so Gabby and I were put in charge of the kids for two hours. They were supposed to be sleeping for half of that time.....but no such luck! Oh wow, kids climbing everywhere, running, crying, laughing....we were exhausted which the staff found hilarious as we only had to do it for a couple hours.

Apparently Fridays I am now playing guitar and doing some singing/songs with the kids. For those of you who haven't heard my skill, it involves about 5 chords with the same strumming pattern for ALL songs, none of which have a Nicaraguan beat! haha

Gabby and I were asked to do a presentation on the 15th of November for all staff which will include educating and providing suggestions for improving the childcare. So we are going to try to focus on Feeding/Positioning, general stimulation/activities for the kids and positioning for kids while they are in bed or in a chair as some of them have contractures/tight muscles in their legs. There may be a few other things we will add in as well. So that should be exciting as there are great things being done at Hogar Belen, but it's nice when they are open to suggestions!

Yesterday I had the chance to go to the Oriental Market which is the biggest in Central America. I was told it is ~100 city blocks(?). It is ginormous, but really fun as I went with Gabby and her host family. In the evening I had a chance to meet with some friends and fellow MCCers at a restaurant in Managua to listen to five famous Nicaraguan singers. Unbelievable music! And now I am heading home to prepare to sing a special in church. Each service a few people will sing or lead a song, and my host mom asked if I was going to do one sooooo, I guess I am. A little bit nervous but there isn't too much pressure...I don't think anyways. Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord is one that some people know in both Spanish and English so we'll see how that goes! haha

I hope everything is going well in Canada and that everyone had a great time with family and friends over Thanksgiving. Crazy that it's October and there isn't even snow on the ground! haha :)

Have a blessed week. Thank you for your prayers and support. It has been a great week, Spanish and relationships are coming and will continue to develop, Gracious a Dios.

much love

amanda

**having troubles loading pictures, sorry.

Just started working

So I have officially made it through hump day...thats the middle of the week, which in my books is always the toughest day to reach during a work week back home. I am really excited about working at Hogar Belen. It is going to be interesting and challenging but I will learn a lot and gain a lot of new experiences. The kids are all at really different levels. A couple have Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, some behavioural things...and others I am not totally sure. Back home I am used to having a diagnosis, a list of assessments highlighting a childs abilities and difficulties and the written out plan of action or specific goals. Here it is a little bit different. But good news is that I am getting used to taking things as they come and finding out as I go. Many of the diagnosis are not specific, and the general goal for each child is to provide them with sensory stimulation- tactile, visual, and auditory. Work on vocalizations...many understand but dont speak...which actually means they are slightly more skilled than I am! haha. But from what I can see, if I can provide them with attention, a chance to play and be a kid, and love them, then all the other things will come in time. poco a poco.

There is a girl who just started volunteering today and she is from the States. She will be here for two months and speaks Spanish! so that will help with the translation, although I definitely want to continue studying and practicing.

Hmm I am running out of time at this cyber cafe and I only have 20 cordobas with me....but please pray that God would fill me with love and compassion for these kids. I have heard it can be challenging as progress is very slow. Continued pray for learning Spanish, and that God would guide me interactions and friendships with people here as I do not feel like I am able to truly connect with people or show myself to them as I would back home. Which is frustrating, seeing how I am usually somewhat loud and chatty cathy at home.haha But it has been so encouraging to see God in day to day events. I can be having a frustrating day and then all of a sudden I have a great conversation with someone and I get excited. Oh speaking of which, fun note....I had a night of futbol and hide and seek with some of the neighbourhood teens. Super fun, and probably more exciting when you dont know what you are playing or who you are looking for for the first ten minutes! haha. Anyways, we ended up getting rained out and running home on the road which had quickly become a grand river!

Adios
amanda