April Fun!

And the journey continues! I am 10 months in. It's hard to believe that there are only 3 months left in my volunteer time at NPH. The time has gone so quickly and I am already dreading not being able to see the children and staff here everyday. Plans are coming together for beginning my private practice in July in Guatemala City, and I continue to feel God's blessings in the form of new challenges and the opportunities those challenges bring to better myself. 

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks!

The 40+ teenagers who are in the confirmation group that I am helping with in Guatemala City.

My friend Pamela and I are part of the leadership group.

I was so surprised at the number of teens who come out each Saturday from 3 to 5!

My parents came in town this weekend and gave me one of the biggest surprises of my life! My former professor at Saint Mary's and greatest mentor, Dr. Latham, flew down with my parents on Friday to visit me for the weekend!

She hates to fly and hates to be away from her family, so I was just floored that she took the time and energy to come down here. It was so wonderful to show her and my parents my life here in Guatemala and I was thrilled to have them all here. 

My parents stayed at a hotel at the base of an active volcano called Fuego. There were little bursts of air every few hours, which sounded like thunder, and then you could see smoke coming from the top. It weirded the visitors out, though I am pretty used to such things after having lived here for 10 months.

I got to bring a couple of friends out to the hotel. Even though communication was limited between my parents and friends, I was so glad that we all got to spend time together!

Angelica, me, and Pamela.

My mom and me :) 

My dad and me :)

The parental unit.

A family project with siblings, and their uncle. We walked to watch him play soccer in nearby Parramos.

The littlest sibling fell asleep during the game. :)

Love to see siblings having fun together!

We had an NPH workday this past Monday where all children and staff members worked in different positions around the house in teams of about 20 people. Teachers worked as the cooks, directors as farmers, Tios as gardeners, and so on. My team painted the playground equipment outside of the baby house.

This is the "before" picture. I'll have to add an "After". We used green and yellow paint to spruce this playground up.

Some members of my group were pulling weeds and watering plants.

This little one got to rest on this day.

With my dear friend Angelica, who is the lead Montessori teacher here at NPH.

Love this girl. Our speech therapy time is mostly spent with her telling me the gossip of the house: Who came to visit last week, which children disobeyed their tios, and which songs we sang at Mass.

Special Olympics practice in the capital. The physical therapist and I go with the kids every other Monday for a couple of hours to train.

The kids take it very seriously.

The guy in the front is always very excited to go. He thinks he is in charge of our team, and every other team for that matter. 

A fun day outside with the little guys.

A pensive pose.

This little guy just arrived at NPH a few weeks ago. His baby teeth have all rotted, but he is in great spirits and is acclimating well to his new home. 

This guy is always all smiles!! :)