I can’t believe how quickly a week can go. The team has arrived safely back in Minnesota after only a few minor delays. I’m still processing a lot of what I saw and what God has taught me throughout the week but want to finish sharing some of the experiences we had before I forget them.
On Wednesday, we worked with the kids in the morning, continuing with our evaluations and recommendations for each child. In the afternoon, we met with the parents. When I started at Gillette, there was a story that was shared during new employee orientation that I shared with the parents. It is a beautiful story about taking a trip to Italy but ending up in Holland. We switched up the locations a little bit so it would translate better but the message stayed the same. Having a child with special needs is difficult in any culture. Through the story we were able to give parents permission to grieve the normal life and child they expected and celebrate the beauty of the child they have been given. Many parents felt they were cursed or had done something wrong to receive a child that was different, but we were able to share that their child is a gift from God, not a curse from him. He loves each child, each family and has a purpose for their lives. There was laughter, a few tears, and many asking when they can book their ticket to Italy. After the story we shared a few general tips for use at home after completing most of our evals such as correcting W-sitting and allowing kids to try new things, fail, and be available to assist not complete the task for them. The teacher and social worker from Guatemala shared about violence against kids with special needs and the laws in place that protect the kids. She shared about alternative forms of discipline and how harmful violence and abuse can be in a family. This was probably the most impactful part of the presentation in coordination with the Gospel presentation given about the Good Father who loves his children. One of the fathers came up to her afterward and thanked her for sharing. He was ready start over, stop hitting his kids and wife, and gather more information that could offer him support to change.
Wednesday night, I got to work with another one of my favorite kids of the week. Eddie’s parents were told when he was born that he would never walk or talk. His grandmother didn’t accept this and whenever she heard there was a therapist nearby she would take him by bus or on foot to wherever that therapist was. Eddie is now 15, enrolled in mainstream school and able to walk without an assertive device. He lives at the mission where we stayed with his family. His grandmother and advocate passed away a couple months ago and I was asked if I could evaluate him to give ideas for exercises. He is an incredible kid, extremely hard worker, and talented artist who dreams of becoming a graphic designer. We had a lot of fun working out together. Once we were done, he stayed to help us with drawings for flashcards we were making for the school. He also taught me that donkey’s were brown, not grey, who knew?
Thursday was our last day with the kids. We worked with the teachers to develop a morning routine that involved physical activity, social interaction, counting or letter practice, and the calendar. There are a couple kids in the class who are unable to speak or have difficulty speaking. Stephanie, our speech therapist, is fluent in American Sign Language so she taught a few signs and put together a book that can be used for further study in communication through signs. During our morning greeting, each person took a turn greeting the person next to them by name. There was a boy named Fransisco who is deaf standing next to a boy named Juan who has down syndrome. Fransisco greeted Juan in sign language and Juan returned the greeting in sign language. Juan then turned to Maylissa, who likely has undiagnosed cerebral palsy, and greeted her with his voice. It was neat to see he could differentiate how to communicate with each of his classmates.
The parents and teachers surprised us on Thursday with gifts and tasty treats as a thank you for working with their kids throughout the week. There were more than a few tears as we said good-bye and left that day. The kids had worked their way into our hearts and it was difficult to let go. Rachel reminded us during devotions the next day that God loves these kids more than we do. We have to trust him that there was purpose in our coming to meet them just as much as there is purpose in our leaving. He will take care of them and grow the seeds of love that were planted throughout the week.
We left San Lucas on Friday and made our way to the coast and black sand beach. We spent the afternoon in the sun chasing waves and being chased by the waves that crashed into the surf. We swam, collected sand in our swim suits, and enjoyed one another’s company before heading to Antigua for a debrief and day of sight seeing. It was a great end to a fun and busy week.
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