today was the first day i helped with school. oh. my. goodness.
the kids aren't quite used to people paying such close attention to them, so they were confused when they found out they couldn't just leave the classroom to do whatever they want, whenever they want. chuy, the main teacher, had a month and a half of training that was squeezed into less than 2 weeks. he's doing a great job but is slightly overwhelmed. it's hard too because with some of the kids, i haven't built that rapport yet, so they don't listen to me and don't really have any reason to listen to me.
the curriculum isn't designed for kids with special needs. there's not a lot of interactive, hands on activities, and it's geared toward kids with a supernatural attention span. right now, a lot of kids don't want to be at school. i understand that. but chuy and i need to make them want to be at school. here's to hoping next week will be miraculous!

alexzander, teddy's 3 month old brother, is back. he had some major surgery and his clubfeet are in casts. the good news is he can breathe now! and it's so fun to have a newborn back in the big house :)

martin, an older guy who works at gabriel house, was finally at the big house for most of the day. he has been going to training with chuy for the conafe school, so he would pop in after training to say hi and then head home. he is so great...he's a pastor and has a great heart. he's one of those people that just gives off good vibes. he does a lot of physical therapy with the kids, too. he took me into this extra room today and showed me all these toys...i told him it was like christmas! there were more exercise balls, foam mats and tubes, stand up wheelchairs, and leg braces. woo hoo! we found leg braces for jaime that keep his legs straight, and an arm brace for angelica that stretches her arm and hand out.
martin was telling me that the doctor said jaime has the potential to walk. he needs a special walker that keeps his legs in the right position all day long, and if he has enough time and practice with that, he should be able to walk someday. martin was saying that we should pray for the walker and for strength for jaime - some kind of blessing that will enable him to walk. tonio overheard the conversation and as martin was walking away he pointed to himself, did the sign for pray, and pointed to jaime's legs. then he put his hands on jaime's legs, bowed his head, and started to pray! my heart just about burst. tonio can't talk or walk. he has a head full of thoughts and ideas that he can't express. just like the sisters, his personality and disposition is beyond the capacity of my imagination. how can anything else be as important as when this precious child bows his head to pray for his brother?