Our Journey Through a Bucket of Emotions and Gamut of our Teaching

Our morning started with delicious coffee and Sandy’s sharing of information on Mexico’s struggle with violence.

Following this, we visited the Ensenada Hospital. We can only share our key moments of this visit. The director, Dr. Johann Galvin, “I have this, I don’t have that. I work with what I have.” Elias, the tattooed older man who called us over and told us he knew Canada and to please pray for him (we gave him a blanket and distributed another dozen in total). The little baby, abandoned at birth and now 9 months old yet still looking like a newborn, yet we are grateful for the love and care she receives from the nurses. Amerika, working so hard to promote breast feeding and seeing results with earlier discharge from NICU with better weight gain and no recent cases of necrotizing fasciitis. We leave behind prayers frrom our hearts and our love. Sometimes this is all we can do.

Then home to El Refugio for tortilla soup for noon time dinner.

Then walk to local school for two separate classes with grade 5/6 split into boys and girls. Two hours zoomed by teaching about self-esteem, puberty stories, a skit and dream boards. Our lessons were timely as there have been many attempts locally to abduct children and I ask myself why do we live in a world when a child in his question to us asks why do men try to steal children and a voice answers from his friends "they want to take our organs" and though we talk about this I am left with a depth of sadness that cannot even explain this to me let alone a child. I don't have an answer but dive within myself to a well of faith hope and love that surrounds us all and hope this is enough to  stem the tears.

Home to make lunches for our dinner and trip to Casa Esperanza, a home for moms and children victims of violence. What an amazing uplifting place and what power in the room. And kudos to our team of Vera, Deb V. and Laura who entertained 17 children under age 6! “They had an absolute ball!”

We ended our day sharing what impacted us.

Debbie V: For me, it was the kids and how they came to life laughing and playing with the balloons we blew up for them. Some of them had us making bouquets of at the most 5 balloons and at least 2.

Barb: And for me it was feeling like a wave rising with each experience and then settling and rising again, until finally settling after the power and strength experienced in the women’s group. Ending the day with a prayer for alll whom we touched this day.

Off to bed now, two very tired EVE’rs.

Debbie V. and Barbara M.