First Day On The Job!

Monday was my first day "on the job" at Nueva Vida. I have to honestly say that I was a little bit nervous, considering I had just met the Speech Pathologist that I was to work with the day before (she is great, by the way), I can't speak Spanish, and I have little experience with children who have disabilities. However, as soon as I walked into the school, I was greeted by 4-5 students who all just wanted to hug me and hold my hand. Jennifer showed me around Nueva Vida and introduced me to the faculty who is mainly comprised of Guatemalan teachers, a few American missionaries, and some special needs students who graduated from the school and are now employed by the school. The school day began with a large group assembly where the children sang songs, watched a puppet show, and were introduced to the Bible verse of the week. The assembly ended in the children dividing up into groups with their classes and the teachers praying over them. I spent most of the day assisting Jennifer with speech therapy sessions, besides recess time where I excused myself to go play on the playground with the kids (no shame) :D The children loved to have their picture taken - here are a few of my favorites. 


All the students gathered in the court yard for their assembly

Puppet show during the Assembly

Cute girls!

The ladies' man with his cute girls!

These three precious girls are not only adorable but also deaf! They are signing "I love you"

This is Kaela. She is the sister of one of the students who comes in for therapy. She is also my personal Spanish tutor. During her brother's session, I was given the task of keeping her entertained. During that time, she helped me build up my Spanish vocabulary. I would point or hold up an object, ask "Que es eso? (what is this?) and she would give me the Spanish word.