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Our Family - click the pic below for more pictures

Our Family - click the pic below for more pictures
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Sunday, August 28, 2011

A cheerful heart is like good medicine

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"
(Prov. 17:22)
Our silly laughter filled the classroom as Olivia, Sicily and I danced around and played while waiting for an email to send and pictures to post just a few days before we were to leave campus . Zuelmi, one of the girls studying at Leadership Center, couldn't help but giggle at us as she sat using a computer in this room which doubles as a computer lab. She began to explain why it is so good to have a family with children living on the campus. I am so glad the joyful spirit that radiates from our silly play each day seems to infect the small, rural community with a more cheerful atmosphere. Zuelmi shared that before we (and the Rahms, who have little Micah) came, there were only adults and she said the atmosphere was often dull, boring and too serious. The students, who all come from large families with three or more siblings, are just used to having little kids running around and they are happy to have a break to play or help take care of them. In turn, Olivia and Sicily are enjoying having 9 (soon to be 15 or more) "aunties" to hang out with. Sicily allows most of the girls to carry her around and even reaches for them many times, all the while giving my arms a much needed break ;) Olivia has enjoyed playing and washing in the river with the girls and she is starting to spend more time with them in their dorm rooms. Her presence and ten thousand questions encourages them to practice English. Sometimes she asks them to read her books and the students help eachother with pronunciation. Good thing Keyby is a good sport because one time she was reading aloud one of Olivia's princess stories and after a few minutes Olivia says, "Can you read in English please!?" Everyone cracked up, becuase Keyby was reading it in English, but her pronuciation needs some work. Kids say the darndest things, oops!
I would make this a new post, but for some reason this computer wont copy and paste right now, so I'll just continue...
I have found it to be true that when living in a "less developed" country one must quickly learn new skills and use them without certain qualifications or cetifications that are necessary in other places. It is exhilarating the ways that God can use us and teach us all the while taking away mind roadblocks that may have kept us from trying new things inthe past. For example, I have always thought I would be way to squeemish to give someone an injection. But the other day I had to give some medication to one of our students. I was handed a large needle and some medicine in a glass bottle that you break the top off of to get the medicine out. With no more than an explanation of how to use the siringe, I treked up to Alex's dorm room with my flashlight to give her the shot in the rear! Thankfully everything went well and I was able to give it again in the am so that she was not feeling so crummy on the day she would travel 6-8 hours by bus to Ceiba. Glad to help, glad to have learned a new skill, glad thats over...still don't think I see a career in nursing in my near future, eek!

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