We have been receiving many (anonymous) donations from our wishlist…and are so excited to use these new resources to improve our English and Leadership Skills! So, to all you donors we can’t thank personally, please know we are very grateful!
Often we think that our lives are the worst, but it is not true. I had an experience that reminded me of this.
I went to visit a place in Seattle called “Nickelsville,” where the people only have tents to live in. There are approximately 30 families that live in this place where they survive on donations that people give them. There is a storage house in the middle of the site with food so that anyone can take food if they need it. Unfortunately, they don’t have running water or electricity, which makes their survival more complicated because water is such an indispensable requirement for life. Also, the rain complicates their lives; it is cold and fills the compound with mud. Unfortunately, Seattle is a very rainy place.
Many of the residents do not have jobs and the ones that do have jobs make very little money. This makes it difficult for them to purchase the few things they need.
At tent city, I realized that my life is easier than theirs, that I have a better house, I have clothes, I have 350 brothers and sisters, yet sometimes I still do not appreciate what I have and complain that I have too little. It makes me very sad to see other people suffering. I loved to share with the people at tent city while they gave us a tour and we talked.
I thank God for what I have and I ask God to strengthen those people so they are able to continue moving forward. Also, I know that I can help them with the little I have, because I know that happiness is found through sharing and I can do this with anyone in the world.
Through this experience, I learned to appreciate my things, to share, and above all, to thank God for what he has given me. I know that we are all brothers and sister in this blessed world.
On Sunday January 13th I went with Kara and my Leadership Group friends, Celson, Doris and Jacinto, to visit St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Renton. I enjoyed it, but it is different from our Catholic church where we are members. I felt comfortable participating because it was similar. We pray to and serve the same God. The only difference was the Eucharist. The bread and wine were different, but they are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus. In this worship service, the people were very kind and friendly. It was a very special experience. I thank God for giving me this experience, and I ask that God bless Roger and Judy and all the members. Thank you for inviting us.
On Sunday, we welcomed Kara and the leadership team to our service of worship. Kara has visited St. Andrew in the past, but for most of the pequeños this was their first worship experience in a Protestant church. The visit coincided with the welcoming of new members into the congregation, which provided the opportunity to emphasize our ecumenical ties to Christians around the world. The service included a sharing of the Apostles’ Creed and an open invitation to participate in the Sacrament of Communion. Following the service, members of the congregation who visited NPH Honduras in July, hosted a lunch at the church for our guests. It was a great honor to welcome our NPH guests, and to deepen the relationship with our Christian brothers and sisters in Central America.
Thank you for a great visit!
Jacinto talking with Pastor Scott about his part in the worship service.
Talking with church members who visited NPH!
Friday was a day I awaited with great excitement because we were able to tour a new tunnel being built with our friend Dawn, the head civil engineer of the project.
Every day we took the bus to go to school, we looked curiously at the people working along the road, wanting to see what they were building but having no way to do it. Until one day I realized my friend Dawn, who volunteers with NPH, was the director of the project!
I asked her if it was possible to go on a tour because I was interested in what they were building. She told me we could go on a tour, which made me very happy. Finally the day of the tour arrived and everyone from the leadership program met in Dawn’s office where she had prepared a power point presentation. I could see how excited she was to show us the famous tunnel. She was also with one of her work partners. The tunnel is a large Seattle project that is replacing an old highway that is in bad shape. All of the presentation was interesting for us and we had a moment to ask questions. Fortunately, there was someone there who spoke Spanish. It is a project that requires precision and a lot of experience in civil engineering. We all learned a lot that day.
After a moment, I thought of all the people who helped us there and gave us the tour. They were all very professional, very experienced people who have important positions in the state of Washington. The gesture they made by spending time to share their knowledge with us was very impressive, not everyone with important positions are willing to do this.
Thank you for this great opportunity!!
Viernes un día qué esperé con muchas ancias, por qué vamos a un tour de un Túnel en construcción con nuestra amiga Dawn, ingeniera civil, directora de la obra.
Todos los días qué tomaba el bus para ir a la universidad, miraba a la gente trabajando y tenía la curiosidad de saber qué era lo qué iban a construir y quería ir a ver pero no era posible. Hasta qué un día me di cuenta qué mi amiga Dawn qué colabora con NPH era era la directora de la obra le pregunté si era posible qué de ir a un tour porqué estaba interesado en saber qué es lo qué estaban construyendo y ella dijo qué si, eso me alegró mucho. Hasta qué finalmente llegó el día, todos los del programa de liderazgo nos reunimos en su oficina, ella estaba preparada para mostrarnos una presentación en power point , veía su cara con mucha emoción por enseñarnos hacerca del famoso tunel, también estaban con ella unos compañeros de trabajo. Éste túnel es un proyecto muy grande en la cuidad de seattle para reemplazar una antigua carretera en mal estado. Toda la presentación fue interesante para nosotros y tuvimos un momento en el qué podíamos hacer preguntas , afortunadamente había una persona qué hablaba español. Es una obra qué requiere de exactitud y mucha experiencia en ingeniería civil, fue un día de mucho aprendizaje para todos nosotros.
Después de un momento pensé en qué las personas con quien nos habíamos relacionado y qué nos dieron el tour son personas muy profesionales, con mucha experiencia, son personas qué ocupan puestos importantes en todo el estado de Washington, pero me impresionó mucho el gesto qué ellos hicieron en compartir tiempo y conocimiento con nosotros, pues no todas las personas con puestos importantes son capaces de hacerlo.