December 8 - It's been a while since I've written, but I'll try to keep it short.

The last day of classes at the high school was on Friday and it has been a hectic few weeks to say the least. As the school year came to a close, so did the student community service program that I was working on. As part of the program we threw parties at each of the places we helped out at, and these were a lot of fun. On Tuesday we organized a baby party for the abandoned babies at the maternity ward next door to the school. I rented a Santa Claus outfit (you can see the photos in the link) and I managed to make a few kids cry with my costume. Nevertheless we put on a nice party for the kids.

Wednesday we closed out things at the Missionaries of Charity house for disabled and retarded women. We put on some music and danced with the some of the residents as well as the kids from the daycare. It was a moving experience to see all the joyful expressions on the faces of the people there.

On Friday we had a party for the children at the San Pedrito orphanage. We ran a toy collection at the school so we could give the kids some gifts at the party. It turned out that we didn't organize the gift giving well and it got a little ugly. Since most of these kids have never received any gifts from anyone, they rushed us when we started handing out the toys. Some of them were complaining when they got a toy they didn't like, and others would try to go through the line several times, saying they hadn't received anything. This kind of experience reminds one of how tough these kids have had it, and how they react accordingly, never trusting adults.

Still, I enjoyed the party because I got to visit my godchildren Azucena and Pedro. As part of our community service project we prepared kids for their baptism and first communion. We asked people from the community to sponsor kids as godparents, and we got a good response. Still, there were a couple of kids that didn't have sponsors, so myself and another teacher volunteered for the job. Thanks to a donation from a family member of mine, we were able to buy the kids some nice clothes for the event.

Now that the school year is pretty much over we are preparing for a summer program. The volunteers will be organizing a vacation camp for kids from really poor areas of this city of Chimbote. We will be recruiting kids from the high school to help us tutor kids in Math and Reading, while providing games and sports. Please pray for this summer mission, as it this will be its inaugural year.

Finally, I'll be heading home to Laredo on March 2nd. And I start work at National Instruments in Austin in April.

Peace and blessings,

Gerardo