Hello everyone. Yes, twice in one day. We were back a little early today, so I can update the blog and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

A fairly light day today. Only one stop, the little village of Santa Maria de Jesus outside of Antigua. Sta. Maria is a poor village on the side of the volcano I was talking about in the previous post. We were at the Nueva Vida school in town, an impressive place. It was started by a nurse, Judy, in 2000 to serve kids with disabilities. These kids were not able to be served in the public schools, and the closest private schools are in Antigua, making it very difficult both economically and physically for parents to get schooling for their children with physical or learning disabilities. Judy saw a need, and with no background in education or administration, put together the things necessary to start a school for these kids. The school started with 8 students and 1 teacher and has now grown to over 80 students and a new building. It is beautiful and has the only elevator in the town. Much of the school has been built with local labor and volunteer mission groups from the US. Judy and her principal and teachers do such a good job that the local schools now refer not only kids with physical disabiities but also learning disabilities there. A special thanks goes out to Amy, the occupational therapist who works at the school. She took great care of us, showed us the school and introduced us around, was my translator for two more handwashing sessions, and took a group of us students into the home of one of the students to talk to and get to know the families being served more. Thank you Amy for your the care you took in making our visit so meaningful, and for the special love and care that you have for those students.

We have met quite a number of Americans who have moved to Guatemala and dedicated their time, energy, and lives to making a difference for the people here. All of us have been overwhelmed by their ambitious plans and the energy and enthusiasm they have for the work they are doing here. Not only have they touched the lives of the people here in Guatemala, they have touched our lives too. After just one short week, we have been changed forever by what we have seen.

I do have one short story to add to the post. I have started to introduce myself in Spanish before I do the handwashing lessons. I say my name and that I don't speak Spanish, but that my friend (insert name of translator here) speaks Spanish, so I will speak in English and they will translate for me. I did two sessions today, and the first session's intro went without a hitch. However, in the second session I told the class Me llamo es Nathan y yo no hablo ingles. Oops. I guess I'm beginning to get a little mixed up down here. Apparently I have reached the point where I don't know what language I speak anymore.

I end tonights update with a special note to Jose. He was brave enough to send his wife to Guatemala and stay home with their 5 kids, and he wrote a comment on my pray for me note about going to the market with 10 women. You have a wonderful and caring wife who makes this trip so much fun. Thank you for sharing her with us.