Living Our Calling - Education and Healthcare

Esthela and Isabel are in so much more need then the obvious healthcare. Our hope is to help Esthela and her mother raise out of the poverty that they have been in for such a long time. There is the old saying "give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat forever." That is our heart, to lead them to a higher standard of life. This takes some time though and isn't an over-night process. Neither Esthela nor her mother read or write Spanish. Although I have experience in teaching, I have never taught someone to read and write in Spanish. It is one thing to teach it as a second language, to someone who already knows how to read and write English, but completely another thing to teach a grown woman and a 10 yr. old girl how to read and write their own language (when it is my second language). In God's faithfulness He has brought along an elementary school teacher here in Ensenada that is willing to come and help us educate them! She will direct us in where to start and we will work with them throughout the week. Esthela already knows her vowels and is starting on the consonants. Her mother however is harder. She loves and cares for Esthela a great deal, but her entire life has, in one way or another, been secluded from the world. She never attended school, but isn't only uneducated academically. We had to teach her how to put a seat belt on in the car, show her how to use the electric stove, how to wash clothes in a washing machine and explain to them the concept of what a country is and that they are indeed Mexicans. For us as Americans sometimes it is hard for us to really believe that there are people so secluded from basic education. It's mind boggling to me, but that is because of our culture and where we grow up. Another challenge that we have is helping her mother gain confidence in this city, which is much larger then the small village she grew up in. The best thing for Esthela would be if they both moved to Ensenada permanently. If they moved back to the little town they currently live in Esthela won't have easy access to the doctors that she will need to visit all her life. Little by little we are educating her. Little by little we are taking small steps to improve their lifestyle. It takes patience and much repeating of things that I consider "basic knowledge".