Just an Update...

So I thought that it might be a good idea to update everyone on how I've been doing, and the work I've been doing at the school!

My time at the school is going well.
The school is split up into two sections. There's the school area (for the higher functioning kids) and the early intervention area (this is also where children who are severely impaired are). I've been spending the majority of my time in the school area. This is mostly due to the fact that the moms stay with the kids who are in the early intervention area, so it doesn't feel like there's as much that I can do to help there.
It's been going pretty well. It's very tricky and frustrating that I can't speak to the kids very well. I feel so lost on some days, because it's like I've completely lost my voice.
When the kids get there in the morning, they sing and do some sign language work. Then, they go to the class area and do crafts, homework, fine motor skill work, and things like flashcards to learn animals, flowers, etc. I just help out wherever I'm needed. They also have a computer program that they do dictations with.
A week ago, Jackie, another American who was working at the school, left after being there for one month. She is a professor at a college in Massachusetts and does Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy. I really enjoyed having her there! It was really nice to speak English, and I really learned a lot from her!
I am now 'in charge' of doing a side lying board for kids who are severely impaired. Basically, most of these kids spend all of their time (literally!) on their backs, and some of them are developing severe scoliosis because of the positions that they are in all the time. This board is so that they get time to lay on their side, and while they're lying there, I do sensory stimulation. Some of the kids don't even realize what their hands can do...so I rub things with different textures over their hands, arms, and faces. It's interesting to see the different reactions based on the child!
Per Jackie's suggestion, we also started a store...which I am also in charge of! Basically, we went to the market and bought a bunch of trinkets that we're selling to the kids. They earn tickets based on their academic/behavioral performance over a week's time. Each ticket is worth 1 cordoba. They come to me with their tickets, and I give them the number of cordobas that corresponds with the tickets. They can then purchase things based on how much money they have. It's nice for them to have experience working with money, and get a reward for doing well on their school work! They love it too!
I just found out today that I will be working with a kid on Friday afternoons being his 'aide'. He's new to the program, and they aren't really sure what to do with him sometimes-his reactions to certain situations need to be re-directed. So, they're hoping that maybe having someone work one on one with him will help...so I'm going to give it a try, and have some ideas of what could be done to make both his experience, as well as the teachers', be better, especially since he only comes once a week!
That's pretty much what's been going on at the school. Outside of school, I've been hanging out with some other missionaries down here--trying to get connected! It's the one thing that's especially hard about living with a host family. I'm kind of disconnected from other Americans. I'm also hoping to take a general Bible class for the rest of my time here, so that I have something to occupy my nights, and it will definitely be good for me in many other ways!
Thanks SO much for the love and support! I SO appreciate it!
Love,
Rachel

A Mother's Love

You’ve all heard the analogies and the poems expressing the love that a mother has for her child. It’s true. The love that is shown by a mother to her children is inexpressible and true. I’ve always known that. I have a mother that shows that kind of forgiving love to me.
I've never seen a mother's love as amplified as I have seen it here. You know that children with special needs have a hard time in the States being accepted and loved by society, and sometimes, even their own families. All the mothers that I have met and observed here have a love for their child with special needs that melts my heart. It humbles me and amazes me.
They are so poor, some living in tiny houses made of scrap metal and wood, doing everything they can just to survive. Despite their circumstances, despite the trials that they face every day, they love their children, especially their child with special needs. It would be easy for them to hand them off to an orphanage, abandon them. Their lives are challenging, their stories heartbreaking, their children precious. Yet still they press on and love with all they are.
Like I said, we think that some children have it bad in the States, and some children do struggle in the States. Nothing compares to the struggles of a child with special needs here. It's drastic, real, and tragic. The mothers don't have lifts in their homes to move their child around the home, they don't have wheelchairs to get them around the neighborhood, they don't have handicap accessible vans, and they don't have houses considered adequate for occupying a person with special needs.
These mothers carry around their children everywhere, no matter how big they are. They have no choice. You should see some of the kids at the school. It's not that they're big-most of them are as thin as a rail. They are just long and with the way that their bodies are because of their disabilities, it's not always easy to pick them up and keep a good grasp on them. If you've ever worked with a person with a severe disability, such as severe Cerebral Palsy, you know what I'm talking about.
As I was talking to another person at the school today (who's American), we were discussing this very thing. How long are these mothers going to be able to do this? Their backs eventually aren't going to let them, and they're going to have severe problems when they keep lifting their children despite their pain. They do it despite their pain.
They love tirelessly, smile despite their circumstances, and what do I get out of it?
A challenge! What if I loved like that? No matter how much pain (physical or otherwise) it causes me, to love my enemies, and not only my enemies, but everyone around me.
When my body or my mind says "I can't take it anymore!", I press on and keep on loving!
So much easier said than done, but a good challenge none the less.

Thanks so much for reading...love you all!
Rachel