Hello All, the weeks have just
been flying by. Can you believe there is only 6 weeks left?
One of the ministries that I
am going to miss is Corazon Contento. Corazon Contento is an educational
facility for the disabled. Monday and Thursday mornings are spent teaching. I
work in the beginner class, with the students 
that need the most help. We have
10 students who are categorized into this class, but on a daily basis only 6-8
show up. We work on the alphabet, numbers and common words. One of my
favorite students to work with is Gabriel, He is 15. With Gabriel every day is something new. We
work a lot with speaking, he can yell syllables, but putting the syllables
together is a trick. I have learned that you have to make everything a game;
otherwise there attention span is lost after about 45 seconds. When I am
teaching him we see who can say it the loudest, quietest and who can say it
while touching their nose. We also have a game called Un Dedo (One finger) and
it’s just a pointing game: point to my nose, eye, shirt, and then the number in
front of us. PICTURE: Gabriel, Joann, and Nataly
We arrive at 8am. We greet the kids and then help clean a little bit. At 8:30
we start class. Normally, we work on numbers or letters at this time, doing
worksheets, coloring, or some other kind of teaching tool. At 9:30 is recess.
As much as I love working here, it is kind of exhausting, so I take this 20
minutes to walk down the street with a few other girls from my team so we can
swap stories and regroup. We come back at 9:50 and it is time for Common
Situations. Here the students learn more practical knowledge: how to clean,
brush teeth, fruits and household objects. One day when we were working on
colors, we read the book “brown bear, brown bear.” I was sitting with Gabriel
and we would make up a sound for each animal and then say the name of the
animal. The sounds were kind of funny, and we were probably slightly disruptive.
From 10:50 to 11:50 is dance class! We play some Nicaraguan music and dance
around the class room. These kids know how to dance, and most of them show me
up. Following, we set up tables and the kids have lunch.
Sometimes for common
situations, we are asked to put together an activity for the kids to do so that
the teachers can have a meeting. The most recent activity was the Olympics.
First, we all made flags with the children’s names on them so they could
decorate them and have them to wave around. Then we all marched around the yard
to the Nicaraguan national anthem waving our flags, this was our opening
ceremonies. Then we played a few games and relays. We had made gold metals for
each of the students and the day concluded with a presentation of metals and
cheering and applause.
This ministry has been such a
blessing. I love working with the kids. It has taught me so much
patients. It can get frustrating trying to work with the kids. How do you
explain to a child how to hold a pencil? Or that the alphabet has an order?
However, the small victories are what make it worth it. I remember when Gabriel
first counted to 10 or when Nataly, a 6 year old with down syndrome, finally
started talking. She was always afraid to talk, but one day she just started
and now doesn’t stop. I see God so much through these children. The way the are
trying and the way the smallest things fascinate them.
Another fun story…
We have chickens living at our
house. On March 31, Manny, the Nicaraguan who lives at El Puente, bought two
chickens. He though they were going to be dinner the following night. However,
the next day April Fools day, they came in very handy. The girls kicked chickens
out of our house 5 times before 9am. But during men’s bible study we got the boys back.
Hiding all their shoes and spirderwebbing a room. When the Kayes found out that
we had chickens they loved the idea and today we are supposed to get 10 more.
Our chickens have already kind of multiplied and so our grand total will be 15
or so. They are pretty fun to play with in our free time. The eggs are good
too.
This weekend was fairly
relaxing, seeing as how all the boys are gone. Seth, the male leader, took all
the boys out into the wilderness from Thursday morning to Saturday night. They
are going to spend that time in solitude. They built lean tos and are solely
spending time with God. I am excited to hear about their experiences, but
please keep them in your prayers.
I look forward to seeing all
of you, welcome to the month of April!
Annie Valenziano.
