Day #4 Update [October 16]

Dave got to sleep a bit later today, waking at 6am.  The next few days are being spent working with the students at Veracruz English Academy (VEA).  He began the morning with a 30-minute stop at V*rbo school for coffee and to visit with friends there.  He was able to give a ride to school to Novia, the former Principal of the school, and her two children.  Novia and her husband Isaac (who used to work at Casa Bernabe as the older boy's caretaker and now pastors a church) and their two children currently live on Verb* property.

After a short visit at the school, Dave stopped by Arturo's bakery at 7:30am to pick up pastries for VEA.  Arturo's wife, Arecely, was pregnant on our last trip and so Dave got to meet their 2 month old baby this time.  You may remember that Arturo is one of three brothers who we have mentioned before that grew up at C*sa B*rn*be and aged out of the orphanage.  He and his family are active church and community members in Veracruz.  

WIth pastries in hand, Dave then stopped by to pick up teacher Giovoni (VEA teacher) and they made their way to VEA.  Dave said the 8-10am class went well.  14 out of the 15 students were in attendance.  Dave worked with the class to open, then they broke into groups and he worked with Alejandra and Abigail.  They are two of the most advanced students.  Abigail is in her third year and Alejandra is in her second year; they have both come a long way.  Alejandra was one of the leaders, and the winner, of our field trip competition last summer.

At mid-day, Blanca prepared and served Regan, Giovani, and Dave a great lunch.  Blanca is a fantastic cook, so it is always a highlight of the trip when she prepares food.  The second class of the day runs from 1:30-3pm.  This is the largest class and has students ranging from third grade to the first year of high school.  There are 38 students in this class period.  

They started with reciting the Lord's Prayer in English.  The students then separated into two groups for a lesson, and then into 3 groups for other work.  Three students had a test today.  The third class of the day is from 3-4pm, while the last and smallest class of the day is from 4-5pm.  

VEA currently has a total of 73 students in the school and most of them have sponsors.  One by One, Inc. (OBO) (which likely includes you if you are reading this) sponsors as many as 26 of the students.  Sponsorship means OBO pays for all or a portion of their English classes at VEA.  But more importantly, we invest in their lives through an ongoing relationship with the students and families. 

☔ Rainy season in Nicaragua runs from about May through hurricane season in November and they had another extremely hard rain 🌧 today.  When it 🌂rains, the streets are flooded 🌊 for a couple hours or more, making it very difficult for people to move around.  Even so, after class, Regan, Giovani, and Dave went grocery shopping for their breakfast and lunch for the next few days.  After shopping they went to visit Melisa.  Melisa resided in V*rbo Orphanage at age 9 when her father left her mother, and her mother had no job or way to feed or provide for her.  When her mom was able, Melisa left the orphanage to return living with her mom.  Melisa would always find Dave when he was there to talk and use her limited English, which he loved.  She was very proud of what she learned and was always looking out for Dave to be sure he had water, etc.  Now she is 14 years old and is in need of some guidance.  Her father started talking to her by phone a few months ago, but he provides no support.  He has moved to the U.S. and has started a new family.  Last June, Regan, Blanca, and Dave invited her back to VEA.  It had been a few years since she attended.  She has been attending sporadically since June.  Since she was not in class today, they went to visit with her and her mother. The guys sat and visited with them outside their home for about two hours today and had a nice time.  Melisa made a commitment to return to VEA and to attend church with her mother.  Please hold Melisa and her mom in your prayers.

After a stop for dinner, Dave dropped Regan and Giovani at their homes around 10:15pm and he returned to the Team Center at CasaB where he was turned in by 11pm.  It was another full and wonderful day!  Thank you for coming alongside Dave on the trip!