One of the greatest and most challenging parts of being a missionary is learning a new culture. Although I have been around the Hispanic culture my entire life, every country has its own nuances and customs that you must learn. The Mayan culture of Santa Maria is even different from the Ladino, or non-Mayan, culture here in Guatemala. Many frustrations and even comical moments can come from not understanding the new culture.
One of the frustrations I have faced is what appears to be a lack of consistency and concern from the parents about their child’s education. Now that school is over, the parents are responsible for sending or bringing their child to therapy. Many children have failed to attend lately, and it has become frustrating to see the seemingly lack of interest among the parents. I am very grateful for the parents who do bring their children, but it is easy to become disheartened when so many parents do not seem to care.
One of the frustrations I have faced is what appears to be a lack of consistency and concern from the parents about their child’s education. Now that school is over, the parents are responsible for sending or bringing their child to therapy. Many children have failed to attend lately, and it has become frustrating to see the seemingly lack of interest among the parents. I am very grateful for the parents who do bring their children, but it is easy to become disheartened when so many parents do not seem to care.
However, God has truly been teaching me patience and compassion towards these families lately. I have seen how difficult work at home is for the mothers. Their days are spent doing hard labor just to meet their basic needs. Recently, I had the chance to visit some of the parents in their homes. It was definitely a humbling experience to see the conditions that my students live in and to find out that some parents are actually interested in their child’s education. Although it is important to instill in these parents the importance of education for their children, it is also vital to remember the challenges they face on a daily basis. I am grateful for the lessons of patience that God is continually teaching me here in Santa Maria.
The Daily Grind
The month of October is always a busy month as it is the end of the school year. The children officially finished classes the 12th of October, but there was still much work to be done. Teachers work until the end of November here. Many children continue to come during the break for extra help with their studies.
The 6th and 9th grade graduates at Nueva Vida
During this break, I have set up a schedule to see many of the students for speech therapy during the week.
Many of the parents who have brought their children have been able to sit in and watch the therapy sessions. This has been a great opportunity to show the parents what I am working on with their children and give them strategies to use at home. One of the mothers who has been coming has a 10 year old daughter, Limni, who is deaf. She has been attending the sign language class for parents and is also coming with Limni for speech therapy. We are reviewing the signs in therapy and working on putting sentences together with the signs. It is so encouraging to see the mother’s interest and excitement in learning sign language for her daughter. What a blessing for Limni to now be able to communicate with her loved ones!
As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we have begun sign language classes for parents and for all the teachers. These classes are going very well, and the teachers seem very enthusiastic to learn the new signs. The teachers and I are also meeting one more time each week to review the signs and role play different classroom situations.
At the end of October, I had my first visitor to Guatemala from the States. My long-time friend Devon came for about 5 days, and we enjoyed touring around Antigua and its vicinities together. Devon was also able to visit the school and even sit in on a sign language class. That was quite an experience for a person who doesn’t even know Spanish! Thank you Devon for your visit!
The teachers learning Guatemalan sign language
