Some time has passed since I've last written. Partly because my trip is coming to an end and I don't want to miss a minute of it and partly because well... not much has happened. We took a break over the weekend starting on Thursday because our hosts had a conference for other missionaries that they needed to be at. A pastor from California came down with his wife to help host us and a man from the church was our driver. They were all wonderful and showed us a wonderful time. We were definite tourists over the weekend. It was alot of fun and we saw some great stuff. On Saturday we went to the floating gardens. It was fun...
It was described to me like a gondalla ride but it was pretty different than that. The boat is alot bigger for one, and there is a big table in the middle of it. All 12 of us plus our driver Salvador's 3 kids all fit on one boat. The water is very let's say "murky" and there are vendors that come and sell you stuff all throughout the ride which turned out to be 3 hours long. I was expecting maybe an hour long ride at the most. 3 hours is a long time. So yeah it was fun and interesting. I did get a tan so that was nice. It was a really sunny day so a bunch of us layed out on the front of the boat to tan.
Salvador's kids were also especially cute. They wore us out but they were sure cute. They were such good sports even though I'm sure they could barely understand us with our broken spanish. The oldest one practiced her english with us too, so that was real cute. She was 5. I'll have to put some pics of them on here they are so cute. Especially the baby he is one and really tiny but has huge brown eyes. His name is Memo. So cute huh! It's a nick name for William, well William in spanish ( i can't remember what that is).
Yesterday we started working at a public health clinic in the morning and then we go to the red cross in the afternoon. They public health clinic is big and busy. I like it though. It's less trauma and more preventative care, like immunizations and screenings. I got to give some babies some shots today. Just like in Bethel, the sticker gets a smile almost everytime, I have to say almost because some kids even refuse the sticker.
Oh and yesterday my partner Kim and I were in the triage room where we took everyone vital signs before they were sent off the their appointments. Well I'm only one of 3 single girls on the trip so it's kinda a joke to get me a boyfriend/husband while we're here (well kim actually would like to set me up with someone she knows at home). Well a guy comes in to be triaged and he's cute and young and friendly and so Kim decided to be a little matchmaker, praise the Lord I was oblivious, I'm not sure how I could have been though. I heard her ask him if he had a girlfriend but then I didn't hear the rest. I guess while I was measuring him ect she went on to ask him how old he was and then to tell him since he was single I needed a boyfriend (this was all in spanish of course). I guess he turned really red. I would have turned really red too if I would have known what was going on. I couldn't believe her! It was funny though, but i'm just glad I was oblivious at the time. Oh Kim...
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Things are really good but I still really appreciate them and know that they are making an impact. Please continue to pray for strength for the team and especially our translators/hosts. Also continue to pray for our spanish and communication! And for the doctors and nurses that we are able to be in contact with that we would be a blessing to them and especially for Dr. Arenas. Also I've just been feeling so incompotant, especially today. I just really want to be helpful to the people here and it can just be so hard when I can't say what I want to say or when I don't understand what is going on. I feel like i'm forgetting my language skills and my nursing skills!
On a happier note Carlos tells me that I should come back here for a year and partner with them as a missionary. Wouldn't that be incredible. There is a nurse here that goes to his church here who runs a non-profit clinic and she said she would love to have me come back and work with her. So maybe if I can work real hard on my spanish this summer.... i can come back...
Who knows but i'll definetly pray about it.
Love you all and I'm starting to miss you guys too.... ;)
Tricked you with my title, didn't talk about fruit at all. There is a lot of fruit here though and i love it. Especially the little miniature bananas.
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2 comments:
Guillermo!
Alessandra! Hola mi amiga bonita! Your blogs are adorable, and I love reading them:). As I was reading, I had so much admiration for you (and it grows the more I think of you and all you're doing). You are an incredible lady, and I know God smiles really really big upon you. He's so proud!! Sometimes it's hard to see things as they really are when we're in the midst of them, but I can tell you from an outside perspective that what you are doing over there is life-changing for the people you encounter. Everyone you smile at, everyone you pray for, everyone you stitch up, everyone you comfort, every doctor you assist, the translators who enjoy your charisma, the other girls who feel supported by your encouragement, your professors who are so proud to have a student like you. I do not exaggerate when I say that you are a nurse I'd pick in a heartbeat!!! I know that I have never had a nurse that would compare to you, and that's without even seeing you on the job! Every student doubts their skills, and every trainee has moments of insecurity, especially around so many professionals!! On the other hand, I bet those professionals are incredibly impressed by you. Maybe they even question their abilities after working aside such a talented young lady!
You're going to have to show off your Spanish when you come back! I bet you're learning a whole lot more than you think. I bet you're finding that language only goes so far too!:-) It is so true that body language- our expressions, how we interact with others, our general disposition- speaks far louder than our words. Even if someone can't understand what you have to say, I'd be willing to bet that they feel immediately at ease because of your warmth! Your love for the people is exactly what God wants and will use. He'll take care of the rest from there:-). Some of the most amazing experiences come out of what seems imperfect...in my own experiences, my fondest memories of Italy revolve around the fact that we couldn't understand each others words:-). Haha! It was so humorous. Somehow, we all communicated and got to know each other in other ways. I will never forget anyone I met there, and I know the people in Mexico City will never forget you;-).
I think you are amazing, and I admire your boldness and intelligence. You have come a long long way! It's amazing that you are in another country administring the skills you've learned from books, and ministering to people all at once! You are a girl to look up to:-).
Have a safe trip back! We'll be glad to have you home!!
Love you chica,
elise
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