I thought that Jef, Marta and Daisy were getting a chance of a lifetime when they had the opportunity to attend Antigua International School, a bi-lingual, College Prep, k-12 school in Antigua, Guatemala. When I visited the school, I was blown away! I can tell you that if I lived in Antigua, I would be doing everything I could to enroll my own children in this school. Should the kids who live at Semillas de Amor be any different? Just because they do not have a traditional family, does that make them less worthy? The answer for many of us who love these kids was NO! So many of the supporters of Semillas de Amor offered sponsorships and donations to make it happen. The children were also awarded scholarships by the school, making it possible! A big thanks from these 3 kids to you, who saw their potential and made a difference! The kids are doing great! They are loving their new teachers, the school and the new friends they are meeting. They have play dates and overnights with friends at Semillas de Amor and spend time at their new friends’ homes! Isn’t that what a kid’s life should be like? Very few children, who live in an orphanage, ever leave the walls of their home. They don’t have the chance to meet new friends, interact with them and learn important social skills! I love that Nancy Bailey sees the importance of this and the donors who love these kids, see that it happens!

Fast forward to Summer 2013, Another Chance of a Lifetime

These 3 children have dreams of attending college in the United States, and an unbelievable opportunity is unfolding. It looks as though Jef, Marta and Daisy have the opportunity to spend time this summer in the United States, actually living some time with host families! Kids who have no parents of their own, having the opportunity to live within a family unit, develop bonds and hopefully lifelong connections. This is not adoption related, as most of you know, adoption is not currently available to Guatemalans outside of the country. All three kids will be in California this summer, because it’s a new program and it’s very important they remain connected. This will be exciting but pretty scary for these kids! But the possibility exists in future years to become a host family, if the program is as successful as we believe it will be!

No doubt, this will be expensive. With flights, Visa’s, passports, ground transportation and food while in the U.S. it looks as though it will cost around $5800 for the 4 weeks. I know it seems like a lot of money. But let me explain how important it is for kids who live in care to live life as normal as possible. Most times, children in care never have the opportunity to live in a typical family unit, they don’t share individual birthday celebrations, and they never have family vacations or family traditions. When they grow up, they often have no meaningful connections and struggle in adult life! Living in the U.S. for a month will help them with their English language skills, but more than that, it will give them lasting memories and build lifelong skills. You can be part of that!

How You Can Help!

Let’s do this together!  Most donors are not wealthy people! They aren’t people who can give thousands of dollars. They do it a little at a time. Even if you don’t have thousands of dollars to give, you are so very important!  It only takes 58 of us giving $100 each! Or 290 of us giving $20! Can you give up 4 Starbucks coffees so these 3 kids can realize this dream? Can you do a small fundraiser in your community?  Do you know others who might want to join in?

Our family is going to consciously think of ways we are saving and will put that money in a jar for the fund. Instead of ice cream out, we can save $10 by eating store bought ice cream. I’m giving up Starbucks for a month! It will be worth it to see the smiles of Marta, Jef and Daisy, kids we have grown to love over the years! (and I love my Starbucks) I am going to ask all of my birthday gifts be made to Semillas de Amor for this fund this year. We are not a wealthy family, but we are committed to do our part! There are other families doing the same!

You can do it for Daisy, Marta and Jef!

Many of us have suffered financial setbacks through the last few years and money is just not available. If you can, donate! If not, just share this page with others who might be able to help. If you want some ideas about fundraising or have some ideas you’d like to share, email me at msebasti@aol.com.

If we all share in this “chance of a lifetime” we can make this happen!

Don’t forget to follow the kids at Semillasdeamor.org  and on our blog as well as Facebook!

And most of all, don’t forget Marta, Jef and Daisy!  They need you, you make the difference!

Please go to our Crowdrise fundraiser page and make a donation today and then pass this onto family and friends so they can be part of the circle of support for these three amazing kids!

]]> http://semillasdeamor.org/2013/05/a-chance-of-a-lifetime/feed/ 0 http://semillasdeamor.org/2013/05/happy-mothers-day-from-semillas-de-amor/ http://semillasdeamor.org/2013/05/happy-mothers-day-from-semillas-de-amor/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 08:30:13 +0000 Nancy http://semillasdeamor.org/?p=5175

Join the children in celebrating mother’s day 2013!  Good food, skits, songs and May birthdays.  It was quite a day as the children celebrated all the moms at Semillas de Amor.

A special thank you to those donors who make our children’s lives so wonderful.  We are so grateful to you!

Celebrate a mom in your life and donate in her honor, to the children of Semillas de Amor.

You only have a few days, Mother’s Day is May, 12th!  So send us your favorite mom’s name and we will send her a video mother’s day card from the children at Semillas de Amor wishing her a Happy Mother’s day from Guatemala!

Click MOM which will take you to our donation page.  Make sure you put your favorite mom’s name and email address in the comments section, so we can honor her and your name so she knows who sent her such an amazing gift.  If you have questions, feel free to contact us at info@semillasdeamor.org

Here is Francisca’s story and her photos:

On the first day I walked from Barnes to Hampton Court.  The bank of the river was green and I passedKew Gardens and some beautiful houses such as Syon House and Ham House. We had lunch at Teddington Lock and I enjoyed getting Mum and Julio out of the maze at Hampton Court ( 13 miles).

On the second day I walked from Barnes to Westminster Bridge.  Lots of people were rowing on the river. The river is very different because lots of construction work is going on.  I visited The Battersea Dog and Cat home which was very interesting.  At the end of the day I met Dad at Big Ben (9 miles).

On the final day I walked from Westminster Bridge to Greenwich. There were lots of sights to see on the South Bank such as The Shard, The Golden Hinde, The Clink Prison and The Tate Modern. I crossed Tower Bridge and followed the north bank of the Thames past Canary Wharf to Greenwich.  Many streets are like the ones in Oliver Twist. It was fun visiting The Cutty Sark ( 8 miles).

Thanks to my support team: Dad, Mum, Julio, Uncle Peter, Auntie Claire, Auntie Veronica and Richard.

THANK YOU FOR SPONSORING ME. YOU HAVE HELPED ME TO RAISE £400 FOR SEMILLAS DE AMOR.

Last week Bella caught a mouse.  She didn’t kill it but mortally wounded it.  Esperanza picked up the little mouse, still breathing, and spoke to it, stroking it.  She put the mouse in a pot where it took its last breath. It is tough to explain to kids the difference between killing something, smashing a spider and having to get rid of mice. Spreading disease doesn’t make much sense to kids when they see the mice as “so cute”.  I have to admit that I use humane mousetraps in my house and release the mice outside.

Recently we have had an invasion of rats.  Well, I am not sure if it is an invasion since one is enough for me, but we have had several.  They are tough rats, gnawing through our wooden kitchen doors.  When the dogs are overnight at Semillas de Amor the rats stay

What the kids see

away.  But those nights when they are gone the rats come out!  We can’t use rat poison because of the kids and dogs it is just too dangerous, so traps were laid out.   The rats are big which means big traps, the kind you catch animals in.  Rat #1 was caught and disposed of.  We thought, “hmm….this will be easy”  But that wasn’t to be.  Rat #2 and the kids wanted to know what we were doing with them?  You aren’t going to kill them, are you?  They remember the giant gopher (the size of an opossum) that don Juanjo caught and released onto a nearby nonworking coffee farm.  Luvia and I talked and talked about how to explain to the kids that we had to destroy the rats because of disease.  However, our kids are smart and have been taught to respect life.  That rationale did not go over well for them.  Negotiating, being held accountable, pleading and in the end the rats are driven in their traps several miles away into the countryside and let go.  Hopefully, far enough away that they don’t come back for another feast and ride home.  Kids are great at keeping their adults honest.

I am a grandmother many times over. My youngest son adopted two children from Guatemala. The younger was a little girl who spent her early days at Semillas de Amor. These two children are absolutely special to me. I tear up when I think of the life they could have had in Guatemala and the opportunities that are now before them. Adoption is a joyous blessing, not only for the children, but for the families who are fortunate enough to share their love with them. Our little girl was one of the last to leave Guatemala before they closed the adoption process and she lived with all of the children left behind at Semillas de Amor. I wanted to do something, to get to know them, to share their life and help make them feel that they had someone who cared. And, perhaps a slight bit of selfishness as I pondered what to do with the rest of my life. It was reminiscent of the age old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” At 73 I was already grown up by definition, but was this it? Certainly not! There was still plenty of life in the old girl.

I decided to write Nancy a letter and used her email address on the website since I didn’t know how to get a letter to her. I told her who I was and that I wanted to come for a month. I would do anything she wanted and promised not to get in the way. Cooking, laundry, arts and crafts, music…..anything. I also casually mentioned that I did not speak Spanish……Hmmmmm. I assumed she might answer me in a few weeks. Twenty minutes later (I kid you not) I received an email……”Joyce, you are just what we need! When can you come?” I was blown away and so excited. I called my son and told him I had a job. He didn’t really think it was necessary for me to go back to work, but once I shared the circumstance, he laughed and was totally thrilled. He expressed how proud he was of me and that alone is something special that you don’t often hear from your children.

I began to put my wheels into motion and planned the trip for October. (No one told me about the October rains….OMG!) In 1993 I closed a 20 year party decorating business and had an abundance of craft items that I just couldn’t part with. I had rented a storage warehouse to make room for it. My family thought I was crazy. After all, what was I going to do with it? Well, 18 years later I knew. It was all going to be shipped to the kids. Ribbons, paper, fabric, balloons, glue, sparkles…..everything imaginable. (As a side note, the crate left in June, arrived 6 weeks later and in October, the same day I arrived, I finally paid off customs to get it delivered. It was an unbelievable experience that would take too long to describe. If you are familiar with Guatemala you get the picture.)

October 4th I was there. Nancy came to the little hotel to meet me for lunch. I sensed that she was anxious and wondered what she had gotten herself into…..a  month???

However, everything seemed to go well and she arranged for a driver to take me back and forth Monday through Friday. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go every day, but after the first week I admired the decision. I needed the down-time. Tired wasn’t the word for it. “No Molestar” was posted on my door. Time to unwind and regroup for the next week!

When I arrived at the school I was introduced as Mrs. Joyce. The kids just looked at me and wondered what I was doing there.

After taking a tour of the school and being shown where I could work it was time for lunch. It happened to be Children’s Day. I couldn’t really speak to them so as we ate lunch we just exchanged funny faces. Before I knew it I was racing with 5 year old kids carrying an egg on a spoon between my teeth. I was becoming their friend.

I watched as each child unwrapped their presents that “friends of Semillas” had sent. Such gorgeous rain gear and some toys. The children beamed with joy and they all donned their rain coat and boots for a group photo. Some of the children received photo albums from their waiting families and it was evident to me that they had a special bond with those people. Each one came over to me to share the pictures.

Later they watched and helped me unpack the boxes I had sent. They started to get the message that this was going to be fun. During my stay they learned to knit, performed the “Instrument Song” in 5 parts in English, made felt pumpkins and Christmas stockings, and constructed dolls and pom poms out of yarn. I introduced them to balloon sculpting and we decorated the gazebo for Halloween.

Because of the language barrier, I took my computer to school. I could type what I wanted to say and the translator on the web would say it back in Spanish. Where there’s a will there’s a way! Some of the older kids typed in reverse and it spoke to me in English. Otherwise, we resorted to charades, an exhausting exercise.They were so busy and Nancy allowed an open door policy. She let them take advantage of the experience while it was available.

All day long heads would be popping into the doorway of my room and I would hear Mrs. Joyce, Mrs. Joyce, Mrs. Joyce….over and over. That kept repeating in my head as I tried to go to sleep at night, but it became music to my ears.

I traveled prepared for Halloween. I packed my Peter Pan costume. Little did I know that the kids insisted on teaching this Peter Pan the Michael Jackson Thriller Dance and I would be part of their show. It has a graveyard theme and when the music ended I had no trouble playing “dead”. It was all part of my journey that created a special memory.

The visit came and went too fast. Honestly, no one enjoyed it more than I. On the last day there was a “goodbye party” for me. Lunch in the gazebo, gifts of their artwork, which I have hanging in my home, and lots of hugs and kisses that made me cry. I tried to make a little speech in Spanish. I practiced in the car everyday and Wilfredo would give me a thumbs up. I ended with “I’ll be back”. I’m not sure they believed that. It’s easy to just say it.

December, 2012. Yes, I was back. Three weeks this time. One week by myself and two weeks with my college granddaughter. She really wanted to go. She speaks Spanish and is terrific with children, so we planned it during her school vacation. We had actually planned to go in May, but a conflict made us reschedule it for her Christmas Vacation.

I wanted to surprise the kids, but they got wind of my return. As the van approached the school I saw the dogs and all the children lined up to greet me. I was home! And…..they understood that I meant what I had said. They trusted me and I know they loved me as much as I love them.

Raquel came the next week and I think she stole my thunder. They adored her! Everyday they would greet me with, “Good morning Mrs. Joyce, where’s Raquel?”

Actually, having Raquel there was a blessing in disguise. Of course, she always addressed me as Grandma! One day while I was helping the kids with a craft project a voice from behind me meekly said “Grandma?”. I wheeled around to acknowledge it and lo and behold it was Esperanza. She started to giggle and covered her mouth with her hand. I just looked at her, speechless, until I saw the gleam in her eye. She had reached out and made the ultimate connection in our relationship. I gave her a hug and a kiss and within a few days all the kids were calling me Grandma Joyce. Needless to say, I loved it. I could be the only grandma they will ever know.

This year they made lanyards and bracelets with gimp, the little ones made puppets out of paper bags and the older kids made sock puppets. They crocheted or used curling ribbon to decorate thongs, so cute! I also brought buttons that were made to insert into the holes of the crocks they wear. Star Wars, Disney, trucks, ice cream cones, Superman, etc. A lot of choices and each one picked what they wanted.

I brought them a Wii so they spent a lot of time golfing, playing tennis and bowling. Good training for hand to eye co-ordination. There was no fighting. They took turns and the older kids helped the little ones understand how it worked. I think Nancy added some CD’s and now they are dancing with Dora the Explorer.

We had a wonderful Birthday celebration. I had written ahead that I was a December baby and they had better wait for me since they celebrate all the birthdays together once a month. I made sure to pack a special hat for the party. We decorated with a Christmas/Birthday theme and enjoyed a special lunch in the gazebo. Nancy’s son Joel was there at the time and he, too, was born in December.

When the time came to leave there was a going away party. Raquel and I made an entrance wearing silly AirHedz. We asked Daisy to take a picture, but we had to wait until she stopped laughing. The kids were hysterical!

Several groups performed songs and dances for us. It was wonderful. After we hugged and kissed each kid we gave them “our gift”. Many days on the way back to the hotel we had Wilfredo leave us at the camera store. We had copies made of all the pictures we took. I had brought small albums knowing it’s difficult to find what you need in Antigua. Every night we would sit together and add the photos to the individual books. You cannot imagine how thrilled they were. They were laughing and screaming and running around the school showing them to all the staff and sharing with each other. I think Luvia lost count of how many times she looked at the same books. It was perfect, It was special. It was something that belonged to them! Something they could keep in their trunks at the foot of their beds. I decided that will be the goodbye gift every year.

As we left that afternoon, the children lined up in the driveway. Some standing and others just sitting on the curb. I couldn’t say goodbye again. As I stood by the car looking at them one last time, Jeferson waved and shouted out “See you soon”!….. Yes, I was Grandma Joyce. They knew I kept my promise and came back.They knew I loved them and I knew it was mutual. All I could answer was, “Sooner than you think” and we drove out through the gate.

What else can I say? I’m not sure if this defines these kids to anyone reading this, but it was therapeutic for me to sit down and write about my experience. It was life changing. This visit will be on my agenda, always.

These children did not ask to be orphaned, but if that happens to be their lot, there is no better place for them to be than Semillas de Amor. Such love, so much caring. They are individuals with unique personalities and talents. Nancy and the staff understand that and nurture all of them.  As they grow up their needs become greater to provide age appropriate education. It is a giant commitment, but thank goodness there are so many friends and supporters who help make it possible. Nancy Bailey is the most exceptional person I have ever known. She has devoted 20 years of her life building Semillas de Amor to give a chance to children of bad fortune in Guatemala. I think she should be featured on CNN Heroes.

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Swimming is an overall great sport for kids.  The children build on their successes, gain confidence and are safety proofed to be around pools.  Our older children all learned to swim a few years ago and love it.  Now the little ones are learning and loving it.

We are so grateful for such amazing sponsors and donors, the kids would not have this opportunity without you. If you aren’t part of our sponsorship/donor team just click DONATE and join our winning team!  Thank you from all the children and staff at Semillas de Amor!

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