Experience of a life time…….

Today was extraordinary. I felt so many emotions coming here but they were all good. The butterflies in my stomach are crazy but an amazing feeling. Even waking up this morning I was super excited to start the day. The minute the kids' bus pulled up, everything, and I mean everything, went away-my worries, my thoughts, and my past. Everything at that moment was just about meeting and greeting the kids, nothing else. It was a time and a moment that I won't ever forget. I was greeted with all smiles and hugs. The first beautiful girl I met was Maura. She was so enthusiastic and awesome! She gave me a pack of cookies which was the sweetest thing ever! I met so many great amazing children. I saw inside of them and their happiness was beyond everything. It made me feel like the happiest girl in the world.
   We were all assigned a classroom and I got Marlene's room. She is the greatest teacher, she knows what to do and when to do it with the kids, and she cares about them so much! In my room the children's names are Sulema, Evan, Julio, and Michelle. We all worked on the sounds of letters, numbers, names of drawn pictures like triangles, and cats. and then just drew and colored. When Sulema was born she had a high fever and they didn't have money to go to the doctor. So from there she got brain damage. Although she is absolutely fabulous, she loves hugs and kisses! A lot of the kids that are blind and deaf had an infection in their ears or eyes and they couldn't afford a doctor, and so then that caused blindness and deafness.
   By lunchtime for the kids, which is 10:30, they all ate and in the meantime I hung out with Douglas and he was deaf. I signed and wrote words on a piece of paper with him, and he is the coolest kid and very funny! At 12pm all the kids went home and they still gave hugs and kisses. After they left Marlee and I went on home visits with Whitney, Magali our social services worker, and Anna our translator. The first home we went to was made out of tin in the slums. The girl's name is Marlin and she is 26 years old. They did not know her disability, but we think it's Parkinson's. Her mother is verbally aggressive with Marlin and Marlin is severely sunburned everywhere and had scabs on her and what I find is very very awful. She was perfectly fine, I mean a normal kid up until she was 14 she sold tortillas and she played everything. What I find seriously unacceptable is that she has no pants nor underwear; her pants are a blanket. She has no shoes, no socks, and severe lice. The mom Nellie took absolutely no care at all and the grandkid takes better care of Marlin than her. By the end of the session Magali and Anna decided to take her to the school, Escuela Especial, which was an astounding thing.
   The second house visit was just so frustrating. Even the other one was, but this one was just bad. They lived in a small area and they are getting the other building fixed up for another room. The children's names are Franklin and Clara, twin 16 year old brother and sister, both with Cerebral Palsy. Franklin is toddler size and Clara looks like a 6 month old newborn. They had no diapers on but there were diapers scattered around the floor. The smell was all urine and it was just nasty, so I felt so bad. The mom was doing very inappropriate adult stuff when we walked in. They do get checked on every so often.
   This was a great, emotional, day and inspiring in every way. It was so wonderful, there are no words to explain my happiness and emotions. There was something new every second. I would take bullets for these kids, honestly I would do anything, anything that is possible I would do it. My experience has been changing my life every second and minute. I cannot wait and I eagerly look forward to tomorrow!

Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.

Sai Baba