Week 1 at the Oasis

I've just about completed my first full week here at the Oasis! I arrived here on Monday morning after a couple days of orientation and sight-seeing (see previous post). Unfortunately I started developing a cold the morning I got here, but that hasn't prevented me from falling in love with this place and the wonderful people here!

The view that greeted me when I first arrived. This place is beautiful!

I've learned a lot about the Oasis as a ministry since I've arrived. I'm still learning a lot and might not have all my facts straight, but here's what I understand at the moment. The Oasis is a ministry of Kids Alive International, or as we call it in Spanish, Vida Para Niños. The Oasis is a site that houses girls (current age range is 4-17ish) who have experienced various kinds of abuse. There are currently 48 girls here and about 10 tías who live with them, as well as a handful of missionaries and staff who work here. (I've already mastered around 30 of the girls' names! Hopefully I'll know all of them by the end of next week.) The ministry provides for the girls' basic needs, such as safety/protection, a home (there are 5 houses on the compound), food, a warm shower, an education, etc., as well as counseling and psychological services, spiritual care, and most importantly, love. Another component of the ministry is its partnership with a church in the village of Zapote to run a school called Fuente de Esperanza ("source of hope"). Through the school and the work of the local church, the students there are able to receive a good, free education as well as benefit from occasional medical clinics. Another part of the ministry is Casa Ester, which is a transition home where the girls at the Oasis can live after they turn 18. They continue in their schooling but also must find a job to get some work experience. The most recent component of the ministry is a program called Keeping Families Together, which allows the administration at the Oasis to keep track of the girls who leave so they know how they're doing, make sure they're not re-entering abusive situations, etc. You can read more about the various ministries via this website.

Recess time at Fuente de Esperanza school in Zapote

Three girls at the Oasis

Before I arrived at the Oasis I wasn't quite sure what my duties as an intern would be. So far I have mostly been helping with administrative tasks, although there is still plenty of time to spend with the girls throughout the day and after the work day is over. In the office I have been helping with some sponsorship-related tasks, like translating letters from English-speaking sponsors into Spanish, as well as some other random tasks. Oh, and they're also having me teach gym class to some of the girls on Thursdays, which is kind of funny because I'm not really athletic at all, but I had fun doing it this past Thursday! I didn't expect to be doing full-time administrative work, but I'm actually enjoying the work a lot. And like I said, I still get plenty of time to interact with the girls and get to know them. It also helps that I'm living in an apartment on site at the Oasis with one of the missionaries, so I live really close to the girls and I don't have to worry about transportation or anything.

Inside my apartment

The view from my apartment window!

The weather here is beautiful. Even though Guatemala is closer to the equator, the Oasis is located 7,000 feet above sea level so the weather isn't unbearably hot. It's typically very pleasant during the day and actually gets pretty chilly overnight. It's also the rainy season right now, which means it will rain (often downpour) almost every afternoon or evening. But the daytimes are absolutely gorgeous, with plenty of sunshine and big puffy clouds.

Click HERE to see more photos from this week!


Please pray:

• For quick/complete recovery from my cold
• For energy to show the girls Christ's love as I spend a lot of time with them
• That the girls would be freed from fear, shame, hatred, resentment, emotional scars, etc. and that through Jesus those things would be replaced with genuine love, forgiveness, trust, holistic healing.
• That God would give me wisdom in effectively loving and serving the girls according to their physical, spiritual, emotional needs
• That I would continue getting a firmer grasp on the language so I can communicate better with everyone here. Thankfully it's been going pretty well so far, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.