I realized that it was a family I was so lucky to be a part of…

Below is a reflection written by former international volunteer and current Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Associate Board member, Courtney Gomez, about her year volunteering at NPH Guatemala.

 

In orientation, meetings, and activities at NPH, the philosophy of NPH-that we are all a family-is regularly discussed, but the truth is, I've heard this in other schools I have attended or jobs I have had. I distinctly remember looking around one day with my girls, watching a soccer game, and I noticed the majority of the children at NPH had gathered around the field. Some were enthusiastically cheering for their favorite tío or uncle as staff at NPH are referred to. Some were at the game but playing with the younger kids, or hanging out listening to music with their peers or biological siblings. Whichever task the pequeños chose to do, there was a great sense of familiarity and belonging amongst them all. It occurred to me this day that this really is a family, and as girls ran up to me asking when I was going to open Chicas Poderosas or if I wanted to play cards, I realized it was a family that I was so lucky to be a part of.

 

Now as I get ready to leave this family and home that I have become a part of, I can’t help but think about all the things I will miss. Not big moments or events, but the little things that make us a family are the things I can’t imagine my daily life without. The way the volunteers help each other through the ups and downs of being away from our own countries. The way everyone tries really hard to pronounce my strange American name. The way my girls will yell "no one more time" after playing the same card games for hours, and despite the fact that it is time for bed, how I will try to fit in one more game. The way they tease me for loosing repeatedly or laugh at me but help me when I say a word wrong. The way they paint my nails in brightly colored patterns, or the way I can walk into a section or the cafeteria and be greeted by kids yelling my name with smiles and hugs. 

 

I am truly grateful to everyone of NPH Guatemala for letting me into their lives, for touching my heart and for impacting my life in ways I will never forget. 

The trip instilled in me a lifelong commitment to helping and supporting NPH…

Below is a reflection written by sponsor and Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Associate Board co-chair Bo Mlnarik.

 

I first visited an NPH home as a sophomore in high school.  My local parish sent a group of young people each year to the home in Mexico, and I was fortunate enough to join one of these trips.  The initial experience was incredible and overwhelming.  The kids and the home were so full of love and appreciation that it forced me to look at my own life and values in a way that I hadn't ever before.  The trip instilled in me a lifelong commitment to helping and supporting NPH as I witnessed firsthand the impact NPH's mission has on the children and community.  I have since been back to the Guatemala home three times, and each time I am reminded of how special and important that mission is.  NPH seeks to break the cycle of poverty in Latin American countries by providing the very basics of life: food, shelter, clothing, etc., to under privileged and disadvantaged children.  Most importantly, NPH provides these children with the essence of a happy and fulfilling life: education, faith and family.  The family community and sense of belonging that all children crave is the very fabric of the NPH home and is what makes it such a special place.  I have no doubt that the work I do and the money we raise to support NPH's continued mission goes to great use, and I look forward to staying involved with this organization in a meaningful way for the rest of my life.

 

 

The trip to NPH Dominican Republic was a beautiful, eye-opening experience...

Below is a reflection by Emma Towne of Northeast Catholic College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic. 

 

For me, the NPH Dominican Republic mission trip was a lesson, first and foremost, in giving. Giving on a mission trip sounds complicated and hard, but as I discovered, giving does not consist of many difficult tasks, but in seemingly little things that must be done with your total self.  When first touring NPH, I was swiftly captured by a little boy who proceeded to teach me how to dance the salsa. At first, taken aback by his boldness and not being much of a dancer, I thought hurriedly of ways to politely get out of dancing. But then I realized that the purpose of this mission trip wasn’t maintaining my own personal comfort, but giving myself, even when it was annoying and uncomfortable, or simply a nuisance.

 

Throughout the course of the week, I reflected on what is meant by the words: give yourself. Giving yourself on a mission trip does not mean you show yourself off, or have a set plan in mind that absolutely must work. “Giving yourself” is when you set aside your own desires and focus completely on the person next to you, listening to him, playing with him, enjoying him. You must cast aside your own ideas and visions of glory and be content with playing on seesaws and kicking deflated soccer balls. The paradox of giving yourself is that you also must be receptive to love, in the varying forms it takes. At NPH, love was expressed through the children’s constant hand-holding and playing with our hair, their unceasing hugging and dancing, which made me mildly uncomfortable as an introvert. And yet here was the call to love! Love is simple and uncomplicated, but it demands surrendering yourself, even when it is awkward or painful, or simply not in your comfort zone. It was this that I found the most arduous—because it demanded me to surrender myself for the sake of someone else. Yet when I surrendered myself, I was rewarded with the greatest of gifts: the friendship of a child.

 

Of all the wonderful things that I saw and experienced while in the Dominican, it was playing with the children that struck me the most. At NPH, the children are so joyful and happy, despite the circumstances many have faced. There was a love of life that was delightful to witness, and an energy and enthusiasm that was certainly hard to keep up with! Their openness was a blessing to us on the trip, as we struggled with Spanish, the heat and basketball. The children gave us so much, more than we could possibly ever give them.

 

The trip to NPH Dominican Republic was a beautiful, eye-opening experience, a trip I am very happy to have undertaken. The exposure to an entirely different culture, poorer than America, yet rich in faith, love and joy, has influenced me incredibly; it taught me about love and self-gift, and what happens when you truly open yourself up to others.

 

The Langugage That Everyone Can Speak

Below is a reflection from Sydney Mailloux of Northeast Catholic College on a recent mission trip she took to NPH DR.

Normally we do not think much about language. Most of the time, we are surrounded by those who speak our native tongue—we take for granted the extraordinary ability to understand and be understood. But despite our native tongue’s extreme importance in our lives, there is a language that all people of every race can speak, a language native to all people of all time. The instinctive understanding of this universal language appeared more and more evident to us in different forms throughout the week, in three major areas: in our work, in our interactions with each other, and in our interactions with the people at NPH.

We drove down a highway lined with palm trees to arrive at the Dominican NPH house on Monday evening. Our work began the next day. Throughout the week, we painted a house, worked in the kitchen, and worked on a farm. Despite the sometimes oppressive heat and exhaustion that we earned during our work, we were also the glad recipients of much joy—joy that springs from helping others with love.

We shared that joy with each other. The songs we sang while we worked, the jokes made, the conversations shared, and the friendships forged are all things that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Not only did we have the opportunity to help others through our mission work, we also had the blessing of lifting one another up, comforting each other in our difficulties and sharing one another’s joys.

We learned much from our work and from each other, but we also learned much from the children and others we came in contact with at and through NPH. So many of them come from difficult backgrounds and harsh pasts. Many of the children we met at the home come from weak or broken families—sometimes no families at all. Many of the people we met live in difficult circumstances for one reason or another. The people we met have very little in the way of material riches, but they possess interior treasures one can only marvel at. Their openness and kindness to total strangers was nothing less than inspiring; we went to give and received so much in return.

In the end, we did not come away fluent in Spanish. But we became more and more proficient in the language that everyone can speak. We learned charity for God’s children, friendship with one another, and love and esteem for every individual person—we learned to speak with greater fluency the language of universality, the language of love.

 

I owe a heartfelt thank you to NPH Honduras…

Below is reflection written by sponsor and Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Associate Board co-chair Allison Ahern.

 

Traveling to the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH) Home in Honduras in 2012 was a rare and special opportunity. I feel abundantly blessed that I was able to spend time with the children there, as they quickly refreshed my perspective on having compassion for others, showing gratitude, being generous of spirit, and the value of service. I witnessed the children's unquestioned willingness to share love. I also saw the positive impact of the NPH Model, for I was welcomed into a large, considerate family, in which the oldest members care for the youngest, and everyone sacrifices for the good of the whole. I was humbled by what the children have and do not have. Overhearing that some of the littlest ones graciously prayed to God for chicken, watching all of them lick their bowls after each meal and seeing the ongoing efforts to repair the roof over their heads, made the news that the NPH Homes need financial support very real. What these children do have though is a tremendous opportunity to succeed in this life, despite what they have already lost. Through NPH's support, which is truly the support of their "family," they can thrive academically, learn a practical trade, and grow into adults while enjoying happy, healthy and safe childhoods. This leads to what I consider a successful life, being able to support oneself and one's family while giving and receiving the love of God and neighbor. I owe a heartfelt "Thank you" to NPH Honduras for this reminder, and I look forward to journeying back there in the future.

 

I fall more and more in love with the home and the pequeños...

Below is a blog post from MW sponsor Maeve Dowdle! Enjoy!

I have been to the NPH Guatemala home twice now and each time I go, I fall more and more in love with the home and the pequeños.

 

This past summer I traveled once again to NPH and met a girl at the home who is my age. We instantly became great friends. I don’t speak much Spanish and she doesn’t speak much English, so it was difficult to communicate. At first I thought that since I couldn’t really talk with her that we wouldn’t be able to get to know each other. We would play a game where I would give her English words and she would have to translate them and then she would give me Spanish words and I would attempt to translate them.

 

By the end of the trip I had learned so much about her. I learned that she is an amazing artist, she loves to play soccer and is a very good goalie, and she loves listening to all kinds of music. She and I became very close and would be together a lot of the time. She would try teaching me the things she loved. She tried teaching me some of her favorite songs, how to play goalie the correct way, and how to draw. None of it went very well but, we had a great time, laughed and bonded over it.

 

Spending time with her and seeing her laugh made me realize how in order to make a difference in someone’s life, there is no need for a huge grand gesture, but simply being there and being present makes a big difference. I hope that I made a difference in her life because becoming close to her and being with her has made a big difference in my life. NPH and the pequeños have grown so close to my heart and I cannot wait to visit the home again. ​

You can visit an NPH home on one of our many trips too! Learn more here!

Some highlights from 2015 by region!

Midwest

1. In February and March of 2015, the song and dance group from NPH Guatemala toured the Chicagoland area for 18 days in order to spread awareness of NPH. Their performances touched the hearts of our many generous supporters and brought a little bit of Guatemalan sunshine to the chilly Chicago winter!

2. The NPH USA Midwest office directed multiple mission and donor trips to many of the NPH homes this year including NPH Honduras, March 20th to March 27th, NPH Guatemala, April 6th to April 12th, NPH Guatemala, June 8th to June 15th, NPH Nicaragua, June 22nd to June 29th, NPH Guatemala, July 28th to August 4th, and NPH El Salvador, November 11th to November 15th!

3. The 2015 NPH USA Midwest Gala was held on Saturday, September 12th at The Standard Club in downtown Chicago where hundreds of guests joined us for a live and silent auction, dinner, and a program featuring keynote speaker Wilmer Arias, a current pequeño at NPH Guatemala. After the Gala, guests headed to the After Dark, the after party hosted by NPH USA Midwest Young Professionals Board, for drinks and dancing.

 

Upper Midwest

1. The UPM celebrated two new events; the Sizzling Soiree and a photo gallery/competition where everyone who visited one of our homes was encouraged to submit a poem or photo to be featured on their Holiday card.

2. Teresa Ritzinger, Sarah Molitor and Dana Parisi organized a Faces of Hope event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where 200 people attended to learn more about NPH and our kids.

3. UPM volunteers organized many events and trips throughout the year to support our homes. They included the East Ridge HS Golf tournament, HNOJ trip to Mexico, Christmas stocking project, St. Thomas More trip, and HelpSystems tacos and auctions. UPM volunteers are making a difference!

 

Northwest

1. We graduated the fourth and welcomed the fifth annual cohort of 6 young leaders from NPH to the Northwest for a year-long program of study and leadership development.

2. We had 10 volunteers from the Northwest who lived and served at one of the NPH homes in 2015.

3. Our Associate Board for young professionals ended its fourth year with a bang, sponsoring a variety of fun and successful events in Seattle, including Carnaval for a Cause and Hunt for Hope.

 

 

Southwest

1. In November, the Southwest Region had its first vision trip to Guatemala. Vision trips are designed for supporters to experience first-hand how NPH transforms the lives of our children. Guests stay in visitors' housing at the NPH site, eat and do chores with the children, but most importantly, they get to spend time with the children to form lifelong bonds. Time is also set aside to meet with the country director, as well as visit a nearby attraction. These trips are shorter, but are great for supporters who want to gain a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of NPH, or for those who want to become familiarized with NPH.

2. The Southwest Region was able to introduce many people to NPH through our Power of One luncheons in Phoenix, AZ and Danville, CA as well as through the Pequeno Tour where the Grupo Musica y Danza from Guatemala shared their culturally rich musical and dance performances in Danville and San Pedro, California.

3. 2015 marked the year the Southwest Region celebrated its 50^th anniversary. Guests and staff alike were honored to support Father Rick Frechette during the gala event held in November!

 

 

Mid-Atlantic/Northeast

1. Over 20 passionate NPH supporters have joined the Child Sponsorship Ambassador Program and are helping to connect more people with children in our nine NPH homes through promoting child sponsorship.

2. Our 6th Annual Irish Hearts for Orphans event was a huge success and an amazing time was had by the over 300 people who attended from the Boston area Irish Community.

3.  Seven schools in Massachusetts opened their doors and hearts to the children of NPH Mexico this fall during our 2015 Pequeño Tour. Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, Sacred Heart Academy in Kingston, Duxbury High School in Duxbury, Thomas A. Blake Middle School in Medfield, Pingree School in Hamilton, Governor’s Academy in Byfield, and Glen Urquhart School in Beverly all welcomed the children and generously supported them in their fundraising efforts.

 

 

 

Poem Wins Writing Competition in UPMW Region!

The Upper Midwest Region hosted our inaugural Photo Gallery Opening on December 3^rd at the NPH USA Office in Minneapolis.  We had nearly 80 entries for the photography and writing competition.  The gallery was curated by a committee made up of Pequeñas who grew up in our NPH Mexico home and members of our Associate Board.  The following poem that won our writing competition was read by author Bridgette Springer at the event!

We hope you enjoy the small glimpses into life at our NPH homes as much as we do!

See our previous post to view the winner of the photography competition or stop by our office in Minneapolis to see them on display.

As we walked to her section,

she asked me

“Do you ever look up at the stars

and think that we all see the same ones?”

 

“Yes,” I want to tell her, a year later.

I think it every night that I come back

to my parents’ house

from a life that’s so different

from mine in Guatemala.

As I walk to the garage,

I whisper “noches” to the stars,

in hopes that my boys,

looking up at them from their bunkbeds,

will hear it

and know that I’m thinking of them.

 

-Bridgette Springer, 2015

 

Upper Midwest Photo Gallery and Competition!

The Upper Midwest Region hosted our inaugural Photo Gallery Opening on December 3^rd at the NPH USA Office in Minneapolis.  We had nearly 80 entries for the photography and writing competition.  The gallery was curated by a committee made up of Pequeñas who grew up in our NPH Mexico home and members of our Associate Board.  The following photos each won their category.  Local friends, please stop by our office in the next year to see the photos on display. 

We hope you enjoy the small glimpses into life at our NPH homes as much as we do!

Check back for our next post to read the poem by the winner of the writing competition. 

Overall Winner (as chosen by Gallery Opening attendees)

Photographer: Kyra Knoff

Category: Food | Guatemala | 2014

“Let me help you out there”

 

Photographer: Sarah Cerkvenik

Category: Artistic | Nicaragua | 2014

 

Photographer: Martha Driessen

Category: Culture | Guatemala | 2015

“Quiceañeras”

 

Photographer: Steve Bernstein

Category: Home | Honduras | 2015

 

Photographer: Catherine Deeney

Category: Love | Mexico | 2015

“After sponsoring a Godchild for 16 years, I finally was able to visit his Mexican NPH home, and received bountiful amounts of love”

 

 

Photographer: Martha Driessen

Category: Nature | Guatemala | 2015

 

 

Photographer: Gaby Driessen

Category: Play | Honduras | 2014

“Brincando”

 

 

Photographer: Max Bernstein

Category: Portrait of a Pequeño | Honduras | 2015

 

 

Photographer: Mary Clare LeFevour

Category: Selfie | Mexico | 2015

 

 

Photographer: Gina Reis

Category: Judges’ Choice | Mexico | 2014

Photographer: Beth Gillaspey

Category: Faith and Festivities | Nicaragua | 2008 

 

Photographer: Brook Ament

Category: Judges’ Choice | Mexico | 2015

 

Your home is where your heart is...

Written by Communications Officer, Konstantin Bilozertsev, a heartfelt piece on a volunteer named Claire and her experience living with the pequenos for a year at NPH Mexico.

On our big patio, in the middle of its choir of excitement, surrounded by all of the children playing together, Claire was playing soccer with some of her boys. During this joyful night, a thought suddenly came to her mind. It was a thought as clear as the water of love and as warm as a mother’s hug. "How could I ever not extend?" she asked herself surprisingly. With sudden clarity, Claire could not see herself leaving this place. NPH Mexico had become her home, and over a year later she is still here. "I can’t imagine my life without this place; it's my second home," says Claire. What makes a home? What has tied this ribbon so gently? In the beginning, it didn’t wasn’t as easy with all the changes and challenges of the first months as a volunteer. It was when she got to know her boys, with all of their faults and unique personalities, that she felt that indescribable feeling of unconditional love.

Claire’s boys are sweet and a bit mischievous. Having already worked as a school and preschool teacher in the US, she was prepared for "the tattling and fighting, which any other kids do at their age." But here there was a lot more waiting for her. The more time passed, the more intensely she became involved with all of the children individually, with their little quirks and colorful personalities. "There are always both good and crazy days, but I know them too well to ever stay mad at them. I’m not just a teacher here; I’m their support." Over the last one and a half years Claire has changed. With the challenges of being a caretaker for thirty attention-seeking children, she has learned a lot from: lessons on discipline; teaching social skills when it may be hard to show patience at times; listening to them when they need someone to lend an ear; and to answer all kinds of questions. "We are here so they feel trust and not abandonment," she says with quiet passion. "We are their source of love and attention. Through all of the changes and uncertainty, we are the constants for at least a year. We are whom they can turn to and lean on."

In her time here she has learned to be more flexible and to go with the flow, how happy it makes one to appreciate the relationships with the people around you, and that what you share is more important than what you have. "My way of life," she reflects, "has become richer, and that’s all because of the intense involvement with the home and the wonderful people who work together to make something fun and significant happen." Claire is assured she gained much more than she possibly could give. Every time she visits her home in the US it feels like leaving behind her other life in Mexico.

 

 

To see her teaching the children in special education at school with loving patience, to see her motivating her kids doing chores with animating warmth, to see the anticipation in the eyes of bigger kids from other dorms when they are coming over to talk or even just for a hug, just makes you smile and think she must be very happy here. She weaves her work by heart, and its beauty is visible. Proudly, with a bittersweet and loving sadness in her voice she adds, "Since I arrived, they have already have grown up so much." And obviously her heart has, too.