Good things happen in the middle of it All

I have had a difficult couple of days. Working with a Peruvian counterpart isn't always easy. There are communication problems and cultural differences and a different sense of urgency. We have been jointly planning a HopeHouse Inauguration/Mother's Day celebration for tomorrow. However the details of coffee, music, and even the invitations have been left to the last minute. I do not work like this. Afider does. Tomorrow I will embrace the day knowing that things will work out according to the last minute plan.

We have also been working like crazy with GyC to coordinate interviewing our final 10 families in the health project. To our surprise this week we found out that the last village bank that was invited to participate in the "Improving Homes, Improving Health" project is under the umbrella receiving assistance from another Health project in the area. I wish in Cajamarca there was a network of NGO's that could share their projects and information with one another to prevent double "coverage" of assistance. I am happy for the families, but stressed for us as an institution, as it creates more work to locate needy and willing to work families. The wonderful thing about working with GyC is that they have such a great attitude. "We can find more families. There is a sister of a loan recipient that has 10 kids, all under 12 years old. We'll interview them."

When I feel the stressors of my work I have to remind myself of all the Good. Otherwise, I might just literally stress myself out. The Good stuff includes:

A poncho class that ran itself this week without my constant intervention. And, with a low budget - less than $10 - 11 women were able to learn 3 new stitches to use in creating their future ponchos.
Through teacher and class evaluations this week our literacy students had rave reviews of their teachers. The students vocabulary is increasing and their handwriting is becoming more clear. When one of the students, Maria, couldn't write the number 3, I felt as if my problems were minimal. Speaking of literacy - I have all 10 official Ministry of Education certificates signed and stamped to present to the women tomorrow in our celebration. WOO-HOO! To be quite honest, I wasn't completely sure I would ever receive these certificates.

There is always Good. Just got to keep your eye out for it.