Bringing �First Moments� to Donors and Sponsors as They Visit NPH Homes

Below is a reflection written by Gaby Driessen, Regional Manager of Child Sponsorship in NPH USA�s Midwest office, about the wonders of introducing new visitors to NPH homes for the first time. 

I directed my first trip to NPH nearly three years ago, so my first NPH visit experiences are long gone.  I don�t feel the nervousness of driving into NPH for the first time; rather, I feel comfort and familiarity.  I do not get anxious about meeting the peque?os for the first time; rather, I feel excited to see them again and pick up right where we left off a few months ago.  I do not get to fall in love with NPH for the first time; rather, I continue to fall more and more in love with the organization and its people.  Since I no longer have those �first moments� when I visit a NPH home, bringing new donors and sponsors to visit one of the NPH homes is, in my opinion, the best part of working for NPH USA.  To witness someone step onto NPH grounds for their first time, build meaningful relationships with the peque?os, and feel so at ease and at home is so remarkable.  With each trip that I lead, I am given the unique opportunity to see the light flicker in someone else�s eyes when they realize that by visiting NPH they are helping break the cycle of poverty.

In a recent trip to NPH Guatemala, I asked the trip participants to share their �aha!� moments.  What about NPH has surprised you the most?  What has made you realize the importance of you visiting NPH?  What has been your favorite moment thus far?  One participant, who was visiting NPH for his first time, shared that his �aha!� moment was when he realized that NPH is the Kingdom of God.  His answer left me speechless.  My entire education, kindergarten all the way through college, had been in Catholic schools, so at a remarkably young age I had been taught that the Kingdom of God was Heaven.  One high school religion teacher liked to say for those of different faiths, �The Kingdom of God is a place where love is all around.�  The trip participant went on to explain his reasoning for believing that NPH is the Kingdom of God � he witnessed Fr. Wasson�s pillars of unconditional love, shared responsibility and helping others in every child, caregiver, teacher, nurse, gardener, international volunteer, visitor, donor, and sponsor.  He explained that he had never seen so much love in one place, and, in his opinion, all this love could only mean that NPH is the Kingdom of God.  Throughout the rest of the week, I kept an eye out for Kingdom of God moments. 

On the last day of the trip, the youngest boys section walked past me, each boy carrying a large garbage bag filled with folded clothes.  When I asked where they were going with all the bags of clothes, they explained that they were walking into town to donate the clothes to those in need.  All of sudden that lesson from my sophomore high school religion class of love being all around made sense, as did the trip participant�s �aha!� moment; there, in the midst of the Guatemalan highlands, with a volcanic and mountainous background, on the grounds of a place that provides a home, healthcare and education for approximately 300 children, I was standing amongst a group of nine-year-old boys who were, and are, living the Kingdom of God.  

We are rewarded and receive far more from the children than we can possibly give to them.

Scott Lane, great Friend and Sponsor, shares his thoughts about his latest trip visiting the peque?os of  NPH Nicaragua! The children are truly amazing, and you can get the chance to meet them when they visit the states on their upcoming tour to the Midwest. Learn more here!

Reflecting on our third trip to the NPH home in Nicaragua, I am once again reminded of the faithful, loving community that is for us indeed our extended family there. We are surely �one and holy� as a Church at NPH Nicaragua. 

The preparations for Semana Santa were in full gear the week we were at the home. We participated in Stations of the Cross and Sunday Mass. These were of course as familiar to us as if we were at home in Chicago. We were further blessed to participate in the pilgrimage to the National Sanctuary of Jesus Del Rescate in Popoyuapa. 

We were amazed by all the changes from the previous year. The home now has a full time, resident priest from Spain. We renewed and deepened existing relationships with Angela, the nurse from Switzerland; and made new ones with Tina, the art therapist from Holland, and Lilly and Verena, the occupational therapists from Austria. In the past year, the home has completed the school building, computer lab, a large and modern clinic, two additional houses, and a fabulous guest house. 

This amazing amount of work and progress are only possible through the generous support of dear Friends of the Orphans from around the world. So many people are making a significant difference, and we are privileged to witness such faithful, loving support transforming lives child by child exactly as Father Wasson envisioned. 

And, yes, that brings me to the centerpiece of all the effort, support, and love - the peque?os. Everyone�s efforts are laser focused on the love, care, and development of the children at the home. While it�s hard work, it is such a joyful and fulfilling mission to be a part of. It is a highlight of our year to once again meet with our two goddaughters and their friends. We are rewarded and receive far more from the children than we can possibly give to them. 

Our friends ask us if we are on a �Mission Trip� by which they mean building homes and other such worthy causes. We build relationships, provide support, play games, lend a hand, teach English, help with homework, and live our faith by trying to do many small things with great love. Love does conquer all and that love, every day, starts with the tias and tios that care for the children. They are at the front lines of everything that happens in the NPH family. The transformation of our children�s lives begins with them. They truly amaze and inspire us. 

Lastly, we are so excited that our family is coming to Chicago this fall. To welcome those, who have been so loving to us, to our community and home will be an incredible experience. Please come out to see, support, and meet the peque?os of NPH Nicaragua! �?Somos una gran familia!� (�We�re a big family�). And, my big Nicaraguan family is coming to town! Your life might just be the one that is transformed.