Teaching, Out of the City, and Some Illness

Hello world! 3 part post today

1) So this last week I have been focusing on getting the boys in a rhythm with my classes at the correctional center. As you can imagine trying to get teenagers not only from troubled backgrounds, mostly from the streets, to cooperate is not an easy task. Also with conflicting groups within the center and there own leadership struggling to stay afloat, and I with generally no knowledge of whose on what team and who did what to get there I’m at a constant battle there. This past week another group tried to escape, a boy had a broken leg from fighting and another had a huge black eye come Monday morning. I don’t know if I mentioned before but I am teaching alphabetization, English and Catechism to different groups. Teaching a group from 14 to 16 to read is always interesting. As anyone who knows me well knows, I love to read. I will most of the time read anything you give me and have so many books, that since I haven’t had my own place now for over a year, I have secretly divided them up between my friends and families houses (guess the secret is out :)) and my mom bought me an e-reader for my birthday last year to stop the madness. Anyways, something that has been lacking for them is reading comprehension so every time they read a short story I make them re-read it till the can tell me what it means, what it tells. I live for the moment that there face lights up and they get it. I want them to find joy in knowing what is around them not just where the drug spot is in there neighborhood but in the world around them and how it affects them. If the only thing I can give them is the ability to read and write before they get out it’s a tool they didn’t have when they got there. I hope to God that he’s with them on there way.

2) This past weekend I had a chance to meet with all the SLMs in our province here in Bolivia. On Saturday after my classes I head out to Okinawa. I was in love; it was exactly how I pictured it and just raised my spirits in general. It was great seeing the volunteers there because I hadn’t seen some of them since orientation or since I first got here to Bolivia. We had lunch and then headed to the pool for an afternoon of fun. Sadly though the time there was short and we said our goodbyes and I was back on the road to Montero to that mission site. Saturday night I went to dinner with the SLMs from the hogar there and had time to catch up with them. On Sunday we all went to mass with all the girls from the hogar on Mission Sunday. It was a lovely service and I loved the presentation of gifts that was especially done for that day. The songs sung where all songs I knew from my time in DR and it just made the experience that much better. I spent the rest of that day with the SLMs from the institute, had lunch with them at home and caught up on how they where doing before my journey back to Santa Cruz. I had a great time and let down my guard and was so blessed to be surrounded by my wonderful friends there.

3) This week I have had something, although I didn’t know what it was exactly. The name they keep calling in must be indigenous I am not sure. It consisted of headaches, body aches and chills, lost of appetite and fevers. I really didn’t get to see my babies this week but the sisters told me to stay in bed and sent all there prayers. But today the fever has finally broken, I am eating to get my strength up and will be back to work hopefully in the morning. My life is full of blessings everyday. As miserable as I was in bed these days I knew that at some point it would come and I am excited to get back into my routine. :)

God Bless and Peace