The big news of the week is that the Nursery was finally opened and we have it up and running. Wednesday was the big day and, as well as our own thirty kids, we had invited the kids from other nurseries in the Parish. So there was a big crowd of parents, leaders and other invited guests. WE had also invited the Children’s charity (INFFA) who provides the meals and wages for the mothers who take care of the kids through the day. I was called on to say a few prayers and bless the Nursery but the main event was the singing and dancing by the kids themselves. It was a fantastic day and great testament to the generosity of people back home that such a building could be put up in rapid time. Some people have asked me am I mad to have thirty kids (soon to be 65) right beside my house – would it not be too much noise. But hey, is there not a quote in the Bible “Let the children come to me”?
The other big event of the week concerns the proposed trip of the youth group here to Scotland. One of our big headaches is getting all the paperwork together. So Monday was “Passport Day”. Having had loads of experience of Ecuadorian bureaucracy, I had fully expected to arrive at the passport office to be told that we did not have the relevant papers or that the office was shut for Christmas. But the eleven who need passports arrived at the Passport office and six of them were seen right away and had their passports in twenty minutes. The others –who are the under-agers – had to return with their parents the next day. So, after a week, we have nine of the passports and it will be a matter of days before they are all in. The next step, of course, is to get an entry Visa to the UK for which we will all have to travel to Quito in the first week of January. Exciting times!
The School building continues to come ahead and the floor for the second level was laid last week – they do not wait around. With some good news coming from home re donations etc, I decided to move ahead with a further two classrooms. With the school expanding next year to take us up to 4th year of secondary school, then more space is needed. Since the space on the ground is limited, we need to build up. The other building story concerns the laying of the community football pitch – this has been an idea of mine for some since the communal pitch beside the school is mere dirt and, when the rain comes, it is impossible to play on. Having received some cash from Celtic Charity Fund and others sources, I was keen to move on. So it looks likely that, when we go to Celtic Park with the Ecuadorian youth in February, we will be able to report a new football pitch.
I had a tearful moment earlier on in the week when I went to the Opening of the new offices of the Plan International charity – once again I was called in to bless the new place. After the prayers and the obligatory dances, we went inside to have a slideshow presentation of some of the kids from our own area who have been taken away from street work and have gone into education. As I saw the kids telling us how hopeless life was on the streets (selling sweets and slippers), I realised that charities like Plan really do make a difference.
But the funniest moment of the week has to be my encounter with Pedro. He is an old man who wanders into any Church group that is taking place – Rosary, youth group, whatever. He is lovely and always has a friendly smile and embrace. He stopped me yesterday and asked if Tracy and Suzanne were coming over for Christmas. I was taken aback to say the least – and that he had remembered their names after seven months. I thought to myself how attached the people get to all eth Scottish friends that have come out.
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