One week and a day

It's funny how sometimes when you leave home time passes at a snails pace. It feels like I've been here forever and maybe that's because my brain is taking on so much new information everyday or maybe it's because my days are longer. Today we began eye exams on the childen at collegio monroy; we've seen 79 kids out of 179 and many of them
will need to see the doctor. Even though only 104 kids are sponsored, students international is testing all the children at both schools; they have also worked out a deal with the doctor so that if the children need to be seen, they can
and then If they need glasses, the glasses would only cost them
25q (less than five dollars American) instead of 250q. si is also now providing vitamins for all of the children, every day in both schools. So it's pretty amazing to be involved in everything that the child sponsorship prgram is bringing to these children. That said, I want to make sure to mention that although i am the missionary coming from my rich country to help here, the children and the people here give me far more in so many ways than I could ever bring to them. They may not have many material possessions but so many of their lives are richer in faith and love and joy than I have a ever seen. I am so incredibly blessed to be here and to be able to absorb some of the culture and the beauty here. Today Nic Bekeart, the social worker in el gorrion was speaking to us About world poverty and he shared an experience from last year: it was just after the storm agatha and the teAm and the staff had been working to try to bring some relief to San Miguel after it had been covered in devastating mudslides. So when nic went back to el gorrion two weeks after the storm a woman stopped him on the road and asked where he had been and he explained that he had been down in San Miguel trying to dig through some of the mud and she responded saying that she had heard about the disaster on the news and she asked him "is there anything I can do to help?" It'S hard to explain what that means but the people of el gorrion literally have nothing. That story went straight to my heart because that's the attitude here; to give and to take only what is needed and here what is needed doesn't mean the same thing as it does at home. I hope I'm giving you a piece of what I'm being blessed with every second. God is so alive here.

Allie