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!