A Day of Blessings

This morning, we arrived at the school.  As we walked in many of the children and staff greeted us with big smiles. 

Our day began with devotional time with the staff of the school.   The atmosphere was very energetic and you could feel God’s presence.  After the devotional, we then took a tour of the school.  In every direction, there were beautiful children smiling and saying ¡Hola!  They were not shy.  They even stopped so we could take pictures of them or with them.  After spending some time at the AOJ market, our group got separated into four groups.

I was given the chance to spend some time at the school clinic with nurse Victoria, also known as Senora Viki.  Every six months, nurse Victoria checks every student to make sure they are healthy and growing.  A checkup consists of being weighed, checking for lice, and checking finger nails to ensure they are cut and free from bacteria.  Aside from the checkups, nurse Victoria receives a handful of students complaining about aches and pains.

Most students complain about stomach pains, which is sometimes due to lack of food because the child has not eaten breakfast, or the child is having problems going to the washroom due to dehydration.

There are other students who complain of fever due to infections.  These children are treated with penicillin via intramuscular injection through gluteus muscle.  I had the opportunity to administer this medicine to a brave boy.  He did not cry, but he was not too happy about it.  But who would be?

Other children come to nurse Viki just to get out of class.  They are the regulars.  They would complain of stomach pain and would be cured just after taking a vitamin C chewable tablet. 

Before the children went home, many of them stopped by to say goodbye to nurse Victoria.  They would come up to hug her, and then me.  Not soon after would she reward them with vitamin C.  The children fought for them as if they were candy.  Now I know why the children love her.

After lunch, we met with sponsor children.  It was an amazing experience to see the changes sponsorship has made.  It has made a huge difference in these children’s lives.  You can tell it has made an impact in their lives. There was a child who rode his bike through the rain just to see Pastor Mike.  Kari met with her sponsor child, who took a one and a half hour bus ride just so he could put a face to the person who’s helped him throughout the years.  Many of the children came so they could say thank you and so they could finally see what their sponsor looks like.  Many of them have never seen what their sponsors look like.  So for them to see the person that is helping them means the world to them. 

Mark’s sponsor child was supposed to come tomorrow, because she was sick and even missed two days of school due to illness.  When Mark was told this, about 5 to 10 minutes later, she appeared through the door with her mom and sibling.  Kari and I had tears coming down our faces at the sight.  It meant more for her to see her sponsor, than to stay at home and get some rest. 

 

After meeting with the sponsor children, the puppet team went to a local community library and put on a show for 30 children.  The children were amazed when the puppets first came out.  They were giggling and pointing and signing along with the songs.  We had some balloons for them and it was as if they had never seen or played with balloons before.  All of the children said ¡Gracias! as they left.

Today truly was a day full of many blessings.