Saturday, January 11, 2014

Buying School Supplies for the First Time: Day 1,179

So, today I went to the grocery store with Edgar to buy school supplies for around 49 children.  I think I could wrap up this blog post right there.

At any rate, 5 hours and approximately Q6,500 later, we left the Bodegona with the majority of what we need for those 49 kids for the upcoming school year.  Most lists also ask for things like "A roll of toilet paper" and "a small towel;" so, since we were exhausted and very hungry after 5 hours, we just didn't get those things (yet).

Edgar and Ismael's father did me the favor of taking the school supplies out to their house today.

Tomorrow I'll leave right after church to head out to Los Encuentros to check over the lists and label the bags. I'll make a list of what is still missing and look for it in the market on Tuesday.

Also, on Monday afternoon, we're taking four children to the doctor to see what, if anything, can be done for them.  Two are "special needs," one is missing his left hand (never had one), and the other is deaf (and maybe dumb...and maybe not).

I think I noted today that at least the daughter of the woman who I mentioned in the last entry will be going back to school.  I could, however, have a "Maria Elena" in the program who I'm not thinking of.  (The mother's name is Maria, and I have the daughter listed as just "Elena," but most Guatemalans have two names, and if mother and daughter are both "Maria," then it would stand to reason that the daughter would go by "Elena."  Their is only one last name noted, but it is the same as the mother's.  However, there are lots of people with that last name in the program; it's like saying "Oh, there was a Johnson on the list.")  Whether this is true or I am mistaken, please continue to pray for this family with me.  I am still highly concern about the mother.

Also, in regards to running as low-cost of program as possible, I'll be noting the reusables which we are giving each child.  At this moment it would be highly time-consuming to ask each family if they have a pencil sharpener for each child (etc); so this year, from pencil sharpener to scientific calculator, I bought everything on their lists.  Next year, I am not buying another pencil sharpener, another pair of scissors, another scientific calculator...no.  Maybe if there comes a day that a family needs two calculators (one for each of two children), I'll have to get them another one, but I'm not made of money, and I have to be a good steward of the money which is given to me.  Of course, any new family which comes into the program will receive their whole list the first year.  That's really the only way I can be sure that they all have what they need for school.

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