Evelin's here!

Been a blogger delinquent lately. Consider it making up for all my extra-long previous posts.

Major update is-- Evelin moved in with us this week!!!
Crazy how quickly things can change. Elodia and I went on Saturday to talk to her parents about a plan for her after I leave, and I was expecting them to *maybe* let her start coming to Orange Walk with me on Mondays and/or Fridays, just to try it out. Lo and behold, they were okay with the idea of her coming to stay at Nancy's during the week and going home on weekends, like Sulmi does, and they were ready to start Monday!

Elodia and I were stunned and elated. It was so great to see her in a classroom environment where she's learning all day, can communicate w/ all of her classmates and her teacher, and has friends she already knows from church. I hope she makes it through the homesickness and really thrives here.

In regards to Mitchel and Laisha, I'm starting "classes" with their older sisters after school. We'll only have 4 before I leave, but it's something. They are doing a good job lately of helping Mitchel w/ his homework, and Melissa, the 16yo, says she wants to become a teacher, possibly of Deaf students.

Christopher and Carlos are continuing to work on the Spelling Bee, and Ana-- the 15yo Deaf girl that was supposed to come back to school after Easter, just showed up today! Right after Evelin has left, unfortunately, but it will be good to have her there.

Someday before I leave (it keeps getting postponed) teachers from the school for the Deaf in Belize City are supposed to come and start teaching the Deaf students in Corozal one afternoon a week. I hope to meet them before I leave. Today a boy from Paraiso, a town just north of where I work on Wed & Thurs, came to visit the school. He is a 7yo Deaf boy, the only Deaf student at his school w/ no interpreter. His mom's doing a good job of teaching him signs and reading at home, but it was hard to know how much he is missing.

So that is the latest. It has been both hard and good to be here for an extra month. There's never enough time to do all the things one wishes could be done. Looking forward to seeing all of you sometime in the near-ish future.

Hope all is well wherever you are.
Paz

ps. Rock Chalk!! KU won the Final Four and I got to see the game, woot!! The girls cheered with me using loofahs as pompoms:D.