By Katie
So, what do you want to know? Is there anything that you've been wondering about our lives here in Honduras, about the ministries we're involved in or any other random question? Now's the time to ask! Feel free to send us an email or write a comment here if there's anything you'd like to read about in a blog post or newsletter.
I came across the idea of asking for suggestions while I was preparing for a workshop on newsletter writing at our last all-country meeting for Diaconia. It was a fun workshop for me because I got to bring out some old language arts tricks and got to teach computer skills too with my newly-learned Spanish-language computer teaching skills :)
I'm looking forward to hearing from you all!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Big Changes for Danya
By Katie
It's been quite a ride since I last wrote about Danya about two weeks ago. She's seen more changes in her life than any one person can imagine with two brand new ways of communicating now. But, more than anything, she sees herself as an important human being, a child of God equal to all the other children of God, even those without disabilities. The difference is startling. Let me tell you the story...
It started with Danya finally going to the specialized school like I mentioned in the last blog. At the school she's starting to learn sign language. Hopefully by learning sign language she'll eventually be able to communicate more complete thoughts. She's also taking language therapy classes where she'll learn to improve the limited speech abilities that she has. Here's a video of her and I practicing the vowels in sign language.
But the changes certainly didn't stop there! After communicating with every single person possible in both the United States and Honduras, we succeeded in getting Danya and her dad Elvin to Tegucigalpa to get hearing aids. She arrived one day early and had all the stuff she needed (even though we had a few frightening days before hand of thinking she was missing some paperwork and ear molds). The medical mission from the Starkey Foundation came to the swanky Hotel Honduras Maya in Tegucigalpa. We got there at 6:45 am and left around 11:45 am with Danya hearing the sounds of her environment for the first time.
Her dad and I had a lot of fun letting her walk in front of us and then calling her name, just to watch her turn around, the signal that she had heard us calling from behind. It was really fun to watch people around the hotel who were experiencing hearing for the first time like Danya.
However, learning sign language and hearing for the first time were just signposts of the true transformation that happened with Danya. Not long ago she was a naughty little bugger, bent on doing her own thing and never helping her mother. Her dad reports that after five days at school she was already showing signs of calming down, maturing up. While we were in Teguc together they stayed at the Diaconia Office where she helped me cook and do the dishes. She was keeping her dad and I on track much of the time, being sure we got out the door on time and were ready when we needed to be at the brigade. It's clear that she fully understands the sacrifices being made for her (her dad takes every Monday and Friday off of work just to bring her to school, and she understood that I have been working very hard on her behalf too and that people have helped me financially so that I can help her). She has taken it all to heart.
It's been quite a ride since I last wrote about Danya about two weeks ago. She's seen more changes in her life than any one person can imagine with two brand new ways of communicating now. But, more than anything, she sees herself as an important human being, a child of God equal to all the other children of God, even those without disabilities. The difference is startling. Let me tell you the story...
It started with Danya finally going to the specialized school like I mentioned in the last blog. At the school she's starting to learn sign language. Hopefully by learning sign language she'll eventually be able to communicate more complete thoughts. She's also taking language therapy classes where she'll learn to improve the limited speech abilities that she has. Here's a video of her and I practicing the vowels in sign language.
But the changes certainly didn't stop there! After communicating with every single person possible in both the United States and Honduras, we succeeded in getting Danya and her dad Elvin to Tegucigalpa to get hearing aids. She arrived one day early and had all the stuff she needed (even though we had a few frightening days before hand of thinking she was missing some paperwork and ear molds). The medical mission from the Starkey Foundation came to the swanky Hotel Honduras Maya in Tegucigalpa. We got there at 6:45 am and left around 11:45 am with Danya hearing the sounds of her environment for the first time.
Her dad and I had a lot of fun letting her walk in front of us and then calling her name, just to watch her turn around, the signal that she had heard us calling from behind. It was really fun to watch people around the hotel who were experiencing hearing for the first time like Danya.
However, learning sign language and hearing for the first time were just signposts of the true transformation that happened with Danya. Not long ago she was a naughty little bugger, bent on doing her own thing and never helping her mother. Her dad reports that after five days at school she was already showing signs of calming down, maturing up. While we were in Teguc together they stayed at the Diaconia Office where she helped me cook and do the dishes. She was keeping her dad and I on track much of the time, being sure we got out the door on time and were ready when we needed to be at the brigade. It's clear that she fully understands the sacrifices being made for her (her dad takes every Monday and Friday off of work just to bring her to school, and she understood that I have been working very hard on her behalf too and that people have helped me financially so that I can help her). She has taken it all to heart.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Fiftieth Wedding Aniversary
By Katie
We were invited to a fiftieth wedding aniversary celebration by a couple who raise pigs with the pig project in Guanabano, a community about 45 minutes away. María Ilda Mendoza de Rocha and Matilde Rocha have been married for fifty years and celebrated it in a grand style. In a society where marriage by law and in the church is not common, to celebrate a fiftieth anniversary is unheard of. No one that we talked to at the event had ever heard of anyone celebrating fifty years together before. It was a great testimony of what a happy, healthy marriage can mean for a family and an entire community.
We were invited to a fiftieth wedding aniversary celebration by a couple who raise pigs with the pig project in Guanabano, a community about 45 minutes away. María Ilda Mendoza de Rocha and Matilde Rocha have been married for fifty years and celebrated it in a grand style. In a society where marriage by law and in the church is not common, to celebrate a fiftieth anniversary is unheard of. No one that we talked to at the event had ever heard of anyone celebrating fifty years together before. It was a great testimony of what a happy, healthy marriage can mean for a family and an entire community.
¨Welcome to the Golden Wedding
Rocha-Mendoza
50th Anniversary
The happy couple: Matilda Rocha and María Ilda Mendoza de RochaDuring the ceremony their daughter-in-law María Elena and her sister sang the most beautiful ranchero song we have ever heard. We thought they sounded a little like the Indigo Girls of rural Honduras.
He is in this wedding, blessing the multitude.
The Rochas have 13 children and many grandkids and great grandkids. Some of them still live in Guanabano. One son named Delson lives in Worthington, Minnesota and works for a farmer there. It´s a small world!
The evening ended with a delicious meal for everyone who attended. Pictured here are some of our co-workers and friends. L-R: Roldan and Conchita, María and Matilde, Rigoberto, Nicol and Rosa.We counted it a rare priviledge to be invited to attend such a great event. We´ll never forget it!
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