Well, I'd first of all like to take the chance to wish all my blog readers a very merry Christmas and, hopefully, a wonderful 2009. This is officially the second Christmas I have spent far away from home, and it was very different from teh last one that I spent in South Africa. Salustio and Yani offered me the chance to take either Christmas or New Year off, but as all the people I know have either gone home to be with their families or will be in the homes over both festivals, I decided that it would certainly be better to spend both holidays working than to spend one of them alone, potentially watching television!
Christmas here was different in the sense that it didn't really seem to get mentioned until the week of the 25th, there were no Christmas parties or any of that, bairly even Christas music on the radio. Probably the strangest thing for me, was that even on the last Sunday of Advent, Christmas was not mentioned at all in church - not a Christmas song, or even a Christmas reading. That meant that I really have felt a bit distant from the whole 'birth of Jesus' shenanigans this year, which was a real shame, as thats normally such a special thing for me, and God almost always teaches me something new about his character. I think its probably just an effort on the part ofthe church to distance themselves from the commercialism of Christmas, but it was still really strange for me. I also really missed advent candles.
We had one very exciting trip out in the evening to see all the lights that have been set up around the city. Typically, they were totally hideous (not much different from George Square last year!) and one of the light displays was essentially just a massive piece of Coca Cola advertising, but the girls absolutely loved it, if only for the chance to get out and have a wander around the city. I now have an enormous collection of pictures of girls with Santa, girls with giant light up snowmans etc. Which are obviously exactly the kind of pictures that I want!
We also decorated the home for Christmas day, there was no tree or anything like that, but we wrap lots of shiny ribbon around the pillars and put up lights so it was really pretty. The main prepartion for the day itself just involved a massive amount of cooking. We made panetoni which, to my huge disapointment, didn't rise and is really hard, but it was a lot of fun to make and smelled really good in the process so I'm not too upset about it! There were other desserts that had to be made, and we had to prepare the pork and turkey for being roasted (the pork was amazing mmm).
As with I think most of the countries in South America, the main part of the Christmas action happens late on Christmas Eve - celebrations started at about 10pm, by the time all the food was done with being cooked and the table was all decorated and everything. All the girls put on the clothes that they bought at the market for Christmas day, and then we put on music, mainly salsa, for dancing. I'm not going to lie, I didn't do a huge amount of dancing although I did participate, but some of the girls just dance so well so it was amazing to watch them. At about 11.30 Salustio got back from visiting his family in the city and we got the food out which was extremely tasty. At twelve when the fireworks started going off around the city (slightly dodgy, dangerous fireworks that are sold on street corners) I gave the gifts that I bought for the girls (mainly sweets and hair things) and opened my very exciting package from my family. As exciting for some of the girls as it was for me, especially when I split up the chocolate coins!
Christmas day was interesting as it felt a lot more like boxing day than Christmas day itself: we got up late, we had a lot more visitors, we ate Christmas leftovers, quite a lot of the day was spent watching films and having naps. All in all it was an interesting Christmas - not the best one I've ever had, but it is always a great experience to spend Christmas in another culture.
Things weren't qutie as difficult on the 24th as I had thought it would be, or even as I had been warned it would be. There were a few tears as people began to think of their families, and some girls isolated themselves from the group at various points but nothing too dramatic happened. Its funny as the vast majority of them (not all) will never have particularly celebrated Christmas with their families, especially not something quite this flamboyant with food and presents. But seeing what can happen in a family of people who love each other makes them start to miss what potentially could have been, awakens their knowledge of how their parents have failed them and so they get sad. But as I said, it wasn't too horrific although a few hugs were needed.
Things have greatly settled down in the home, and even though our numbers have gone down to 10, things just feel so much better. When Salustio and Yani leave things don't just go crazy like they used to, and the vast majority of hte people who used to pick all the fights have now left. The main concern at the home is now the financial situation. The director has said that the whole ministry has only got 3 months in which it can survive unless the financial situation starts to improve, and we are certainly not taking in any more girls for precisely that reason. Anyone intersted in helping with this potential horrific situation should go to the new Operation Restoration website http://www.ywambolivia.org.uk/ where you can also see the new sponsorship program that has been set up for both the girls and the boys. This will hopefully be an amazing way of bringing in more support for the wondeful work that goes on here.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope to hear from you all soon.
Saturday 27 December 2008
Wednesday 17 December 2008
FUN things
Well, I know that like the terrible person that I am, I did not update my blog last weekend. However, there is a good and rather exciting reason for that: I was out having FUN, with people I know!! So definate progress there. So I thought that I would place this blog rather around that theme, of the various things that I've done in the last couple of weeks which have been enjoyable, all of which are helping me to feel a lot more happy and settled here.
One of the things that I am going to mention just in passing is that I am fully making the most of mango season. :-) Our friendly neighbour lets us pick up the mangoes that fall off his trees and there are absolutely millions which makes for a joyous time! On the downside, I do find that they really are quite difficult to eat, and according to my last (fairly poor quality) attempt at hand washing, mango stains don't actually come out of clothes. I'm not going to lie, that is disapointing, but it was worth it!
Another enjoyable event was going out with the other girls who work in the ministry, for what was supposed to be a hen afternoon at a swimming pool. The bride to be (the social worker in the ministry) didn't actually turn up which was a little bit strange, but it was still so good to be able to spend time with people that didn't involve working, and I felt so much more relaxed afterwards.
That same evening, we went out with all the girls, as my boss, Yany graduated from high school! She has been studying at night school for the last year or so to finish up the education that she wasn't able to do before because she had her daughter so young. It was an extremely boring ceremony (these things always are!) but an incredible achievement for her, and for adult education in general! It was also really good to see the way that the girls, especially the older girls who are really behind in their education reacted to what they saw, because it really confirmed their desire to do what she did and graduate from high school. What we're trying to work on a lot right now is to help the girls think about their future and w2hat they're actually going to do with their lives when they leave the home.
That weekend that Sandra and I spent alone with the girls went a lot better than all the other weekends we'd spent together, because somehow we just managed to have such fun! The girls weren't allowed to go to the wedding, so instead we put on a mock wedding, and everyone got dressed up and played around with it. We then spent the whole weekend (once we'd done all the things that had to be done) playing ridiculous games, and we just laughed so much. It is so good to me to be able to see girls who wasted their childhood prostituting themselves and abusing drugs, being able to take advantage of some kind of a second childhood. It makes me so happy! Because even though some of them can be absolute terrors at times, they all have beautiful things about their character.
One more fun thing before I move on to serious matters! Last weekend I went out with Sandra to the countryside where the American woman who teaches her English lives, and we stayed the night there. I must admit, when I first arrived I was reminded of how irritating Americans can be but that feeling quickly passed! It was quite a hilarious weekend, and really interesting as the family are incredibely self sufficient: they have cows, chickens and horses; they make their own butter and cheese; they even have coffee plants! The first day we made sonso (BOlivian dish involved mashed yuka and cheese) and then the next day we made sweet and sour chicken! I went horse riding, and only had a mild allergic reaction, and it was so good to be able to get out and go to different places and do different things.
Moving back onto a serious note, the construction work is still going well, there are even walls and everything. The only major thing that happened, and it was really awful, was that one of the builders burned his foot horrifically. Salustio and Yany went with him to the hospital, and they had to cut off the main part of his foot. Obviously he's not been back to work since then, and this is going to have major repercussions for his family if he's now not able to do any building work.
I feel like every time I've written a new blog I've had to say this, the only different is that this time I didn't say it right at the start: one more girl has left the home, so now we are down to ten. It was a really horrific situation where things had been uncomfortable with her for a while, and she had been developing some hugely innappropriate relationships with some of the other girls, especially int he way she touched them. Last Saturday when I was on my free day, she just blew up over something totally ridiculous (she didn't like the food) and insisted that she had to leave the home,a nd couldn't wait for her parents to come through from Beni to get her. The horrible thing is, that now no one has any idea where she is: her parents are calling all the time just frantic because she's totally disapeared in a city that she doesn't really know. But this is not your average girl we're talking about, this is a girl who has charges against her for narco traffiking into Brazil when she was 13 years old. There is no doubt in my mind that she will find a way to survive, and there is also no doubt that if she doesn't want her parents to find her they won't. Perhaps the worst thing is, that for me there is no doubt that she was the most difficult girl int he home, and that its much easier here now that she's gone, but of course I wouldn't wish the life that she's left for onto anyone. Its confusing mentally, but every day I want God to teach me more and more how to love people whom it would appear are almost impossible to love.
It has also been quite a dentistry filled couple of weeks, which I love not only because it means i get to leave the home a lot more often, but also because I really like helping Sergio, especially now that I know slightly more what he wants when he asks me to pass him something! I like it because its interesting, and because it feels like I'm doing something more specific, if anyone understands what I mean by that! It does still astonish me when I have a wee pick in their mouths and see that they really only do have half of some of their teeth, but at least we're doing something about it now!
Finally piece of news that I'm going to write, as this blog is outrageously long and its past my bedtime, is that today we went to the river to baptise five of the girls who have been taking baptism classes. It is a little unusual as while the home has been shrinking in size, so have the class who have been taking baptism classes: but in some ways that made it more special for me because it emphasised the commitment of those who stayed. It was really a great day, because we made a whole day of it: we went to the river early in the morning, and had a swim (even though the water is BROWN with earth) and cooked lunch out there. Then when we got back we had a special meal in the evening and we took communion together. It was really lovely, especially for one of the girls whom I know took the committment to get baptised really seriuosly.
Well, I'm going to leave this here. I'll do my wee best to reply to emails etc tomorrow but I can't promise anything as I have to go to immigration. Not my favorite way to spend my day off, but at least I think that this is the last time!
One of the things that I am going to mention just in passing is that I am fully making the most of mango season. :-) Our friendly neighbour lets us pick up the mangoes that fall off his trees and there are absolutely millions which makes for a joyous time! On the downside, I do find that they really are quite difficult to eat, and according to my last (fairly poor quality) attempt at hand washing, mango stains don't actually come out of clothes. I'm not going to lie, that is disapointing, but it was worth it!
Another enjoyable event was going out with the other girls who work in the ministry, for what was supposed to be a hen afternoon at a swimming pool. The bride to be (the social worker in the ministry) didn't actually turn up which was a little bit strange, but it was still so good to be able to spend time with people that didn't involve working, and I felt so much more relaxed afterwards.
That same evening, we went out with all the girls, as my boss, Yany graduated from high school! She has been studying at night school for the last year or so to finish up the education that she wasn't able to do before because she had her daughter so young. It was an extremely boring ceremony (these things always are!) but an incredible achievement for her, and for adult education in general! It was also really good to see the way that the girls, especially the older girls who are really behind in their education reacted to what they saw, because it really confirmed their desire to do what she did and graduate from high school. What we're trying to work on a lot right now is to help the girls think about their future and w2hat they're actually going to do with their lives when they leave the home.
That weekend that Sandra and I spent alone with the girls went a lot better than all the other weekends we'd spent together, because somehow we just managed to have such fun! The girls weren't allowed to go to the wedding, so instead we put on a mock wedding, and everyone got dressed up and played around with it. We then spent the whole weekend (once we'd done all the things that had to be done) playing ridiculous games, and we just laughed so much. It is so good to me to be able to see girls who wasted their childhood prostituting themselves and abusing drugs, being able to take advantage of some kind of a second childhood. It makes me so happy! Because even though some of them can be absolute terrors at times, they all have beautiful things about their character.
One more fun thing before I move on to serious matters! Last weekend I went out with Sandra to the countryside where the American woman who teaches her English lives, and we stayed the night there. I must admit, when I first arrived I was reminded of how irritating Americans can be but that feeling quickly passed! It was quite a hilarious weekend, and really interesting as the family are incredibely self sufficient: they have cows, chickens and horses; they make their own butter and cheese; they even have coffee plants! The first day we made sonso (BOlivian dish involved mashed yuka and cheese) and then the next day we made sweet and sour chicken! I went horse riding, and only had a mild allergic reaction, and it was so good to be able to get out and go to different places and do different things.
Moving back onto a serious note, the construction work is still going well, there are even walls and everything. The only major thing that happened, and it was really awful, was that one of the builders burned his foot horrifically. Salustio and Yany went with him to the hospital, and they had to cut off the main part of his foot. Obviously he's not been back to work since then, and this is going to have major repercussions for his family if he's now not able to do any building work.
I feel like every time I've written a new blog I've had to say this, the only different is that this time I didn't say it right at the start: one more girl has left the home, so now we are down to ten. It was a really horrific situation where things had been uncomfortable with her for a while, and she had been developing some hugely innappropriate relationships with some of the other girls, especially int he way she touched them. Last Saturday when I was on my free day, she just blew up over something totally ridiculous (she didn't like the food) and insisted that she had to leave the home,a nd couldn't wait for her parents to come through from Beni to get her. The horrible thing is, that now no one has any idea where she is: her parents are calling all the time just frantic because she's totally disapeared in a city that she doesn't really know. But this is not your average girl we're talking about, this is a girl who has charges against her for narco traffiking into Brazil when she was 13 years old. There is no doubt in my mind that she will find a way to survive, and there is also no doubt that if she doesn't want her parents to find her they won't. Perhaps the worst thing is, that for me there is no doubt that she was the most difficult girl int he home, and that its much easier here now that she's gone, but of course I wouldn't wish the life that she's left for onto anyone. Its confusing mentally, but every day I want God to teach me more and more how to love people whom it would appear are almost impossible to love.
It has also been quite a dentistry filled couple of weeks, which I love not only because it means i get to leave the home a lot more often, but also because I really like helping Sergio, especially now that I know slightly more what he wants when he asks me to pass him something! I like it because its interesting, and because it feels like I'm doing something more specific, if anyone understands what I mean by that! It does still astonish me when I have a wee pick in their mouths and see that they really only do have half of some of their teeth, but at least we're doing something about it now!
Finally piece of news that I'm going to write, as this blog is outrageously long and its past my bedtime, is that today we went to the river to baptise five of the girls who have been taking baptism classes. It is a little unusual as while the home has been shrinking in size, so have the class who have been taking baptism classes: but in some ways that made it more special for me because it emphasised the commitment of those who stayed. It was really a great day, because we made a whole day of it: we went to the river early in the morning, and had a swim (even though the water is BROWN with earth) and cooked lunch out there. Then when we got back we had a special meal in the evening and we took communion together. It was really lovely, especially for one of the girls whom I know took the committment to get baptised really seriuosly.
Well, I'm going to leave this here. I'll do my wee best to reply to emails etc tomorrow but I can't promise anything as I have to go to immigration. Not my favorite way to spend my day off, but at least I think that this is the last time!
Thursday 4 December 2008
All the chat
First of all, I would like to give many apologies for not updating my blog in a while, I promise to try and write something extra special for you all today! In one piece of amazing news, this morning i finally managed to send a christmas package to my family! After having to jump through all kinds of hoops: leave the packet open, provide us with four photocopies of your passport, we need your fingerprints etc I eventually managed to do it this morning with a lot of faff around but ultimate success. I have possibley never been so proud of myself in my whole life. It was quite strange though, because there was a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus in the post office, and i don't really feel like its Christmas as it seems to be passing with so little comment. I am very interested to see how Christmas is at El Alfarero, but I do always think that there is nothing like having a Christmas that is the same as every other Christmas you've ever spent.
Things do seemed to have calmed down a bit in the home, although unfortunately one more of the girls who was involved in the drug taking has now left the home, taking the numbers down to eleven: its hard to believe that there were seventeen at one point! In some ways this is a good thing, as it feels like the less girls there are, the more attention that we are able to give them, but my heart does also stay with the girls who have left the home, as the chances are I will never find out how their lives end up.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how the lives of the girls will be when they leave the home, because as well as I get on with some of them, I just can't imagine them in any other context: studying, with jobs etc. There are a few whom it is obvious have the capacity to go far, but what of the rest? What of the girls who already have two children before they even turn eighteen? Obviously they are studying and starting to equip themselves for the future, but I just really hope and pray that they will all genuninely be able to do something with their lives, something that they really want to do.
One piece of news is that the handcrafts the girls are constantly doing are finally coming to some kind of a purpose, which excites me as it did all seem a little bit pointless! All the little cross stich designs that they have been working on, we are now turning into cards for Roger to take to the States and sell when he goes there for Christmas. They look really really nice which is great, and its great for the girls to be able to see that people are willing to buy something that they have made. Its also good as the whole minisitry continues to suffer in terms of finanaces, so it would be really good if you could pray for that. Also, the house parents who have lived at the boys home (El Camino) for the last two years, are leaving at the end of the year on fairly short notice, so it would be really good if the praying types could pray that we will be able to find new people for that demanding job in a short space of time.
Other than these pieces of news, it does seem that things have just chugged along the same here, with the same kind of daily challenges. On a personal level, I'm feeling much more settled here this week than I was last week when I was quite itchy to get back to Scotland and see you all again. But realisitically, I know that I am only here for another six months, which is not really that long in the grand scheme of life and I have to make the most of it, and try to make the biggest different possible in the lives of these eleven girls while I am here. I still don't have millions of friends here, but I am going to a hen 'afternoon' tomorrow, as the social worker is getting married on Saturday. Thank you for continuing to think about me and pray for me, and hopefully I'll have more news for you next time!
Things do seemed to have calmed down a bit in the home, although unfortunately one more of the girls who was involved in the drug taking has now left the home, taking the numbers down to eleven: its hard to believe that there were seventeen at one point! In some ways this is a good thing, as it feels like the less girls there are, the more attention that we are able to give them, but my heart does also stay with the girls who have left the home, as the chances are I will never find out how their lives end up.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how the lives of the girls will be when they leave the home, because as well as I get on with some of them, I just can't imagine them in any other context: studying, with jobs etc. There are a few whom it is obvious have the capacity to go far, but what of the rest? What of the girls who already have two children before they even turn eighteen? Obviously they are studying and starting to equip themselves for the future, but I just really hope and pray that they will all genuninely be able to do something with their lives, something that they really want to do.
One piece of news is that the handcrafts the girls are constantly doing are finally coming to some kind of a purpose, which excites me as it did all seem a little bit pointless! All the little cross stich designs that they have been working on, we are now turning into cards for Roger to take to the States and sell when he goes there for Christmas. They look really really nice which is great, and its great for the girls to be able to see that people are willing to buy something that they have made. Its also good as the whole minisitry continues to suffer in terms of finanaces, so it would be really good if you could pray for that. Also, the house parents who have lived at the boys home (El Camino) for the last two years, are leaving at the end of the year on fairly short notice, so it would be really good if the praying types could pray that we will be able to find new people for that demanding job in a short space of time.
Other than these pieces of news, it does seem that things have just chugged along the same here, with the same kind of daily challenges. On a personal level, I'm feeling much more settled here this week than I was last week when I was quite itchy to get back to Scotland and see you all again. But realisitically, I know that I am only here for another six months, which is not really that long in the grand scheme of life and I have to make the most of it, and try to make the biggest different possible in the lives of these eleven girls while I am here. I still don't have millions of friends here, but I am going to a hen 'afternoon' tomorrow, as the social worker is getting married on Saturday. Thank you for continuing to think about me and pray for me, and hopefully I'll have more news for you next time!
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