Coming back to Granada after Christmas break, I really wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to any of the ministries that we had been doing for the past three months. That's not to say that they weren't great ministries or that God isn't/hadn't worked through them, but I really didn't feel excited or passionate about getting involved in any of them longer-term. I remember letting God know that if I was supposed to be excited about serving in a particular way, He'd have to bring some new ministry opportunities into the picture.

     Introducing La Corazon Contenta (The Happy Heart), a new school starting here in Granada for kids and adults with special needs, anything from
deaf/mute to ADD to Down's syndrome. Here in Nica they are considered
cursed and are usually hidden away from the rest of the world; the
teachers have actually had to go house to house all over the city to let
families know about the school. I have never worked with special
needs children before and I admit I was a little nervous about going
in for the first time, but after that meeting I just fell in love
with some of the kids! There are three girls especially whom I am
getting to know: Maria, Xiomara, and Josseling. They are all deaf and
learning sign language. Of course it's not American Sign Language so
it's been interesting to communicate with them, remembering to use
the new signs they are teaching me and also to talk in Spanish at the
same time... sometimes I get pretty confused but they are patient
with me. Oh, and the rest of the kids melt your heart - I can't wait to start introducing them to you guys, even if it is over the internet!

     As far as I know,
it is not a Christian school, but we are not discouraged from talking
about Christ either! Praise God! It is a great opportunity to just
show these kids Christ's love in a community where they are ignored
or abused. As the director Paloma told my group before our first
meeting, these are precious students who are pushed away by even the
poorest of the poor. Woohoo, I get to help change that!

     Even in the week and a half that I have been helping there, I have seen changes in the attitude and behavior of the kids. The first day we were there, I met a young woman named Arcely (which probably isn't spelled correctly but oh well). She stood in the corner all afternoon, clutching her purse to her side like it was her life, refusing to interact with the other kids, and sharpening a pencil so she could scratch her skin with the point. She had two seizures during the first hour, I think mostly because of all the new stimulation around her. When I went yesterday afternoon, the kids were having a party to celebrate the end of the summer session. As soon as I walked through the gate, Arcely ran to me and gave me a huge hug and smile, and I noticed that her purse was clear on the other side of the room., with no pencils in sight. She interacted with the other kids, danced and played pata-pata-ganso (duck-duck-goose), waited reletively patiently in line for her turn to whack the pinata... it was such a change and I almost cried out of joy. I'm a little teary as I write this. THIS is the kind of difference I've been hoping God will use me to make in others lives. And I'm finally starting to see it!!

     Prayer requests for this ministry: