NPH is a big and great family! It is where the impossible is made possible...

Below is the testimonial speech Roxana, a pequena from NPH El Salvador and current Seattle Institute participant, gave at the recent Faces of Hope in Bellevue, WA, along with the testimonial her host mom then gave.

Hello!  My name is Roxana.  I�m from El Salvador.  Thank you for coming.  Today, I would like to share about my life.

June 15, 2004. What were YOU doing?  Me?  That was the day I went from being an adult, back to being a kid again.  Being an adult?  What a bummer�I was only 10!

My mom just died from cancer, and Papa?  Well�he just fell apart. My sister and I became in charge of my other brothers and sisters. You see, I am one of 7�I have (Manuel, Joaquin, Serguio) brothers, and (Sulma, Gloria, Maritza) sisters.  I am the second oldest.

Now, you are probably thinking �Roxana must have been scared.� Or, �She was probably worried about what she would do.�  Actually, I was not thinking any of that.  I just did what I had to do for my family.  There really was no alternative.

But, if it weren�t for Rubia, my godmother who was always taking care of us, June 15 would never have been. Rubia knew that we needed help � and she introduced us to NPH.  And I feel like I was born again.  I became part of a bigger miracle with even MORE brothers and sisters.  My brothers, sisters and I were now home.  Because, NPH had taken ALL of us.

I started school again.  Ah-I was SO far behind.  I was only at a third grade level!  After being at NPH, I was so dedicated to school, that I went from grade five to grade seven.  I skipped a WHOLE grade level!

And, I had SO MANY other things I could do:  choir, dancing, riding a bike, swimming. I was SO excited.  And�.the FOOOOOOOD!

I joined the dance group at fourteen.  Out of many girls, Rebeca and I were selected to travel to the US to dance and perform.  We went to Arizona, Seattle, Minnesota and Chicago! It was SUCH an experience! Maybe I even met some of you back then�?

In 2009, I did my first year of service by taking care of the two to six year-olds and working in the sponsorship office. My second year of service, I was in charge of the six to seven year-old girls.  Then, I moved on to the sixteen to eighteen year-olds.  During this ALL this time, I was working on my high school degree! I received my high school degree in two thousand eleven. I was SO proud of myself for finishing.

Currently, given my past experiences, I found my passion in psychology.  Which is what I am studying  in university. So far, thru my studies I have discovered more about myself, and I know that I have grown as a person.  Before getting an education, I didn�t think anything was possible.  Now, thru NPH and my university, I know MANY things are possible. When I finish my studies, I want to take what I learned in school to help other people discover more about themselves, so they can overcome the difficulties in their lives and a achieve their dreams.

Except for my older sister, who has a family of her own now, my other brothers and sisters still live in the home in El Salvador.  They are going to school, doing their years of service, and enjoying all the other things I did when I was there, like dancing, singing, swimming and learning.

And for me?  I am here in Seattle, studying English and leadership this year. It has been amazing so far!  And I can only imagine what the rest of the year has in store for me. This summer I will return home to El Salvador to finish my studies.  My hope is to surpass all your expectations for me, and to become the person I was meant to be.

NPH is a big and great family!  It is where the impossible is made possible. Where dreams can become real. When I talk about NPH, I say �It is MY family�.  That we always help each other. It is not just about each person; it is about ALL of us. For me, NPH is MY everything.

Before I go, I would like to thank Father Wasson for his vision of NPH. It is the best thing I have experienced.

Do you want to learn more about NPH and others like me? I want to invite all of you to please come visit us!  See for yourself what your support can do. COME! Make memories with us!

Thank you for all you do.

******** 

Good afternoon!  I�m Christina Buchholz, and our family has the honor of being Roxy�s host family this year.  There are so many reasons why it�s been such an amazing experience for all of us.  The best part is having another female in a house full of guys!

Our family�s NPH story is a short one so far.  Short but sweet. A short while ago, our youth minister at St. James, Joe Cotton, introduced our Youth Group to NPH.  Joe inspired our Youth Group to take a trip to Nicaragua.  So, off our family went with the group: my husband, our two teenaged sons and myself. We weren�t sure what to expect.  Well, in just 10 days, our family was transformed�it was both eye opening and heart opening.

When we got to Nicaragua, here�s what we discovered: We weren�t visitors.  We became part of the NPH family.  The peque?os made sure we knew this. We also got to meet and get to know the two children, a boy and a girl, that our Youth Group had been sponsoring. They braved sharing not only their haunting stories, but also how they, and their siblings, came to be at NPH. These two children had such desperate backgrounds and yet they, and the other peque?os had clearly come to know a place where they knew they could love and be loved.  Where they were part of a community, rather, a family. A place to trust, to laugh, to learn, to grow, to have hope. That place was NPH. 

With each �hola�, each hug, each memory made together, we sensed the peace and security these children experienced in this NPH home. The volunteers and faculty we met as we visited the casas, classrooms and the clinic were incredible. The dedication and care they shared as they served this community really highlighted how every donation, every sponsor, was being leveraged in the best ways possible for the peque?os.

At the end of our 10 day visit, it was really hard to leave.  It was like leaving home after a family visit. Upon our return to the States, our family couldn�t stop talking about our trip. After only a few months, and countless hugs, unbelievable memories, we decided we needed �more NPH� in our lives.  We had already decided that we needed to go back, and found other ways to stay connected. This summer we will meet another child we sponsor.  We are a home stay family for the NPH students studying in Seattle.  We plan on visiting El Salvador, because if we don�t Roxy might disown us! And we are now part of the NPH NW Regional Board, sharing with anyone who will listen the amazing accomplishments of this tremendous organization and inspiring others to participate.

I�d like to ask you to do me a favor. Today we are learning about and supporting the schools and education programs of NPH.  Now think of your own classroom experiences.  Was it learning to write your name and read in kindergarten?  Was it playing at recess with your friends?  Maybe it was the walk to get your diploma on graduation day? 

Now imagine that instead of being in the classroom every day, you wander the streets.  That instead of playing at recess, you are six, working for a small nibble to eat.  That learning to write or read is not even a remote possibility because the only thing you can hope to learn is where a safe place might be to lay your head down tonight.

I�ll end with one of those transforming moments for our family from our trip.  Our group had just finished an exercise where we were rewarded with pieces of candy.  My husband Dave had his candy in his hands, which did not go unnoticed by one of the peque?os.  He pried Dave�s hand open and boy, did his face light up! Dave handed the two pieces of candy to him.  The peque?o noticed that Dave didn�t have any candy left for himself.  That little boy gave one back to Dave so he too would have a piece. What a generous little heart!

Today, I ask that you show the same generosity as that peque?o. Give so that little boy, and all the other children in the 9 NPH homes, can have a childhood, full of days in classrooms and recesses, too. Give that they may discover that many things are possible, and that they seize those possibilities because of NPH, and because of YOU. I would like to end by saying thank you. It is inspiring to me to be in a room with so many generous hearts. My family and I are thankful that you join us in supporting the mission of NPH.

 

Former Seattle Leadership Student from Guatemala Changed by Time Spent in U.S. With NPH Family

Below is a reflection by former Seattle leadership student Jacinto Arias, who is currently working at NPH Guatemala.

It's been almost 2 years since I came back from Seattle. When I look back I realize that I am not the same person that I was before. I experienced ten months filled with hard work, joy, games, homework (grammar), and meeting so many people. I met really good people. I don�t remember some of their names, but I have their faces in my mind. 

In the beginning, it was really hard because I was really far from my friends and my family, and of course the language made my first weeks harder. During my stay in Seattle, I could find unconditional love from my host family (the Callans) and in their house I felt for the first time in my whole life, a real family. But now you will say: Why are you saying that? You are in NPH and NPH is a family and its true, but there I experienced having a mom and dad, where they took care of me very seriously. I remember this phrase from Cathy Callans: I take my role very seriously. She said that when she saw that I was doing something wrong or something good, as well. They treated me as a son and their kids treated me as a brother. Their kids (Jonathan, Matthew and Molly) always had time for me and they argued with each other in order to know who had the best Spanish.

 

I was used to having so many people around me and when I went to Seattle it was really different. I lived in a big house for 5 people and for me it was really difficult to get used to it. Sometimes I got frustrated because I was alone at the house and I had just one channel in Spanish, but because of that experience I got to learn more about myself. I realized that at NPH I did not have enough time for myself, and in Seattle I had that time and I could know more about myself: goals, objectives, fears, etc.

No matter where I went, I found good people; people who were and still are interested in NPH. Something that really impressed me was that even though they did't know NPH, they believed in us, they believed that we would be successful and we would change the world. I admire NPH USA a lot because they work so hard every day in order to help us and get more people involved.

Kara King, the coordinator of the program, always trusted in us. She is an amazing person and always listened to us and gave us advice.  She is totally convinced that this program is worth it, which motivates me to keep working and helping others. I know that I cannot do everything, but I can do something and that something I will do well.

People from the States and all the people that help us, thank you so much for your support. I have no words to thank you nor a way to pay you, but I am truly convinced that one day YOU will have your compensation.

Jacinto Arias

Absolute Joy Found by Being Host Family for an NPH Student: It's All About Giving Back

In recognition of National Volunteer Week April 12-18, enjoy this wonderful reflection by NPH USA donor, volunteer and sponsor Cheryl Goodwin as she recounts her and her husband Paul's experience hosting NPH student Magda in their home.

When we agreed to be a host family for one of the NPH Seattle Leadership Institute students this year, I knew that I would be glad I had done it. My family has been involved with NPH since 2007, when my oldest daughter worked at the regional office. She invited us to a Faces of Hope event that introduced us to NPH, its founder, and the children who are part of a large, loving family.  Shortly after that we sponsored our first godchild from Guatemala, and then a second one. 

I have been a Table Captain at numerous events, volunteered in the office, and am currently serving on the Regional Board.  This past summer, I visited the home in Guatemala and was able to meet my godchildren and see first-hand that everything that I had heard about NPH was true. I remember clearly driving through the entrance of the grounds and being brought to tears by the beauty of it all, especially in contrast to the poverty we had passed through on the trip from the airport.

During this trip I was able to visit with several of the young men and women who had been through the Leadership program in Seattle during the past few years.  It was good to see them living out what the program was aiming for � providing leadership and support to their sisters and brothers at NPH. I was also introduced to Luisa, who was planning to come as one of this year�s students.

Paul and I have always opened our home to others.  Our children�s friends were (are) always welcome, extended family members have lived with us for several months, holiday gatherings are frequently at our house, and we have had weekly meals with a  large group of friends for nearly twenty years.  However, in recent years, I kept feeling the call to show �hospitality to strangers.�  We had been asked to consider hosting a student the prior year, but for several reasons had decided it wasn�t the right time.  The idea had stayed in my mind, however, and my visit to the home in Guatemala made everything so much more real than it had been before.  So, when Kara King (the director of the program) asked us to consider it again this year we said yes. 

To be honest, even after saying yes, I was nervous and uncertain about whether or not it was a good idea. Our student, Magda, is from Honduras and she spoke very little English.  Since neither my husband, my mother, nor I speak Spanish, I was worried about how we were going to communicate.  The first couple weeks were a bit of a challenge, communication-wise.  The translation programs on our cell phones were a life-saver, allowing us to at least get the basics of what we were trying to say across. However, we were able to laugh as we fumbled our way through unfamiliar words and as Magda�s English skills increased and we learned a little Spanish, communication became easier.  We now have long, detailed conversations with only the occasional look-up of a particularly difficult word.

I had also worried that we wouldn�t be exciting enough for her � we don�t have kids at home, we aren�t soccer players, and are pretty busy with work commitments.  But we can, and did, provide an opportunity for her to be part of our family, with all of our quirks and goodness. Our friends and church family have loved getting the chance to get to know her.  I was rather surprised at how quickly Magda began to feel like another daughter to us.

As I mentioned earlier, I knew that I would be glad that we had agreed to be a host family and that it was the right thing to do.  What I hadn�t counted on, however, was the joy I would experience in the midst of it.  I love introducing her to our family�s traditions, taking her to our favorite restaurants, participating in holiday activities, spending the evening watching a movie at home, and even helping her with her homework.  I am humbled by the fact that she has been willing to share her life story with us and that she trusts us to love and care for her.  I am blessed by her generosity and kindness toward her brothers and sisters at the ranch. I am impressed with her hard work to learn a new language and a new culture. I know she will take a piece of my heart with her when she returns to Honduras at the end of June, but am comforted by the knowledge that I now have another reason to visit the NPH Ranch there.

An added benefit of being a host family is the opportunity to get to know the other five students and their host families. Each of them, Luisa, Samy, Lucre, Florine, and Nelson, are wonderful individuals who challenge and bless me.  As I near the end of this year, I am saddened by the fact that I will miss them all and so very encouraged by the good work that I know they will all do in the future.

I am grateful that I have been able to play a small part in their lives. I would do it again in a heartbeat.