Traveling Katie

Where Have I Been?

travelingkatie — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:43:39 +0000

I don’t have a lot of time, it’s 3:40pm on Saturday afternoon and I still need to shower and get ready for this evening’s youth service. I just wanted to give a quick update…

February: WE BOUGHT A CAR!!!!
March: WE’RE MOVING (Tomorrow)!!!
Why I haven’t blogged: other than being really busy (we’ve had three back to back teams this month alone), the internet service provider we use at the office it seems has decided to block wordpress.com which is where my website is hosted so I’m only able to access it from home, and let’s be honest… blogging isn’t the first thing I think about when I get home from a day of work. I’ll blog again as soon as possible with pictures of the new digs and the car!

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad…

travelingkatie — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:44:25 +0000

If you’ve ever worked with kids, or had kids, or spent any time with kids you know that they can be super sweet, or uhh not. When you spend any significant amount of time with the same kids you learn their patterns, good or bad. Today in Segundo Paso I shared with the kids about Thanksgiving and why we celebrate it in the US. I then asked them to share some of the things they were thankful for… learning, my little brother, my nephew, learning about God, chocolate, etc… When I shared the stories I did it with a couple of pictures that I colored and then let them know that they would have the opportunity to color their own picture a little later after they finished their homework (if they don’t bring their own we give them some to do).

One girl, who is normally very sweet, came up to me and said she wanted to color, I asked her if she had done her homework and she said she had. When I asked her to show it to me she kinda looked around a little, I told her she had to do homework before coloring. A little while later she came to me with a completed math homework sheet, but I recognized it as the homework of another girl so I called her out on it and told her she had to do her own. She ended up not completing any homework, nor did she get to color. A sad day for this girl, although when it came time to leave she said she was going to stay at the church with me and hugged me, so she must not have been too upset with me.

Another young girl who is always a handful came to me and asked for a picture. I told her that she had to do homework first, she put up a little fight and when I repeated the conditions she said “okay” and did a homework page quickly and then came to me to get her picture to color. This girl has learned how to manage her behavior a little through coming to Segundo Paso. It’s been a long road with her, and there’s still much to learn but I’m continually encouraged to have patience with her and continue to encourage her to improve despite her difficulties (which, unfortunately, are many).

It’s not always easy to have patience with the kids, but it’s always worth it. Here are a couple pictures of some of the kids that come to Segundo Paso. Next week we’ll be having a celebration with the kids and one select member of their family as we give certificates of completion, book-bags with school supplies, and certificates of achievement to the kids. It’s been 7 months of learning and growing and frustration and joy with Segundo Paso. I can’t wait until we can start again next year and make it bigger and better!!

More Forgotten Pictures: July

travelingkatie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:57:58 +0000

I found some other pictures that I had not uploaded yet, check them out:

From July:
Yeril and I went to a Quinseñera
We had our first (hopefully) annual soccer tournament for the youth at the church)
We had several carnivals for the kids this summer, check out the one at our second kids’ center location
The Refuge Project got a new wall… check out how the old one came down!
A couple pics from Segundo Paso

From August:
Crossroads Church Team doing a Clown skit

2011 Support Raising trip to the States

travelingkatie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:03:28 +0000

so I’m finally getting the pictures from our trip to the states back in August out there for the world to see if they so choose…. click here to see the pics.

The Sweetest Thing

travelingkatie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:29:09 +0000

Last Wednesday we had a really difficult week with Segundo Paso. There is a local marching band that has been preparing for an event that they have coming up this weekend and they have been practicing in the street in front of the church. This was particularly distracting last Wednesday and as a result we could not conduct business as usual with the kids at Segundo Paso since they all wanted to watch the band and they couldn’t even hear what we were saying anyway. Toward the end of the day each week we go to the park to play, so we finally decided to just go a little earlier. We had already given the kids their snack (a little milk and Ritz crackers).

One of the girls who is particularly difficult each week had not eaten her crackers yet and when we went to the park she sat and continued to watch the band for a while. I encouraged her to come with me and play with the rest of the kids, she gladly got up and came with me but quickly turned around like she had forgotten something. I watched her go back to a kid we had passed that was also watching the band, sitting in his wheelchair, and she gave him her crackers. I almost broke down crying right there in the park from watching her make such an unselfish decision. When she caught up to me I told her “that was a really nice thing you did” and she looked at me like I was crazy and said “what did I do?” when I told her that I saw her give her crackers to the boy she just shrugged and said “oh” and then ran ahead to play with the other girls. A little while later she said to me “ya know it’s because I didn’t really want them anymore”. It was the sweetest thing!

Newsletters: November 2011

travelingkatie — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:21:45 +0000

Check out the November Lozano Lowdown!

And you win… a new car…

travelingkatie — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:35:22 +0000

Click Here to see the video version of our testimony about how God protected us while going to get some fried chicken. Also, because of this incident we’re raising money to purchase a car. As a missionary, all of my income is given by the generous donations of friends, family, strangers, old co-workers, milkmen, geologists, former girl scout troop leaders, etc. That being said, it is hard for us to save money without extra financial gifts. If you’d like to help us increase our mobility and safety by making a donation toward the purchase of a decent used car, you can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking here, or if you don’t care about tax deductions you can send a check to Katie Lozano at an address that I can provide for you upon request.

Robbery: The Aftermath

travelingkatie — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:03:42 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, or didn’t read my last newsletter (shame on you), Yeril and I were robbed last month in a taxi in Managua.

If you have heard/read/etc. you may be wondering how we’re doing now taking taxis…

Unfortunately, this event has affected how both of us look at the people around us. I don’t have the same innocence/trust that I had before. I look around and I see dishonest people, I see people who given the opportunity would steal something from me, I think carefully about what I take with me at all times… it’s different, but it’s life. Maybe I should have thought a little more like this before as well. Maybe it’s not bad to be more cautious. However, when we were coming home last night from the store and needed to take a taxi it took us just a little too long to actually accept a taxi. It was hard because we wanted to take one that looked trust-worthy, but you also don’t want to stand in the same spot too long waiting to choose the right one because that gives time to the people on the street to check you out and make plans. We finally chose a taxi that we both thought looked safe, and right after I sat down I thought “I’m such an idiot… I didn’t pay any attention to the number… again” then I prayed. I got a little uneasy as we turned down the same street where the other taxi driver had picked up the two men who assaulted us. We arrived home and discussed how it’s not fun to have this new development in our attitudes.

Even as we examine the street where we live we feel like it’s getting just a little more dangerous. Our house at the mechanics shop we still feel is very safe, but the street and neighborhood at night is something that we take a little more seriously. Our 6 month contract at our apartment expired the day after we returned from the states so we’re extending for another 3 months and we hope to find something a little bigger and more comfortable (hopefully an attached kitchen) during that time. There are a couple of options in Yeril’s parent’s neighborhood but it’s far away from the church so without a car it’s not real practical for us.

We were not able to raise enough money while in the states to purchase a car, but we’re still hoping and praying for more support to come through to help us save and buy one. We were able to save a little and invest a little so we can get started towards buying a car.

Please pray with us for safety, that we’ll be able to find the right house to rent in a safe/close location, and for the finances for a car.

Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Newsletters: August 2011

travelingkatie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:50:07 +0000

August has been a busy and exciting month for Yeril and I, please check out the newsletter to find out more about what we’ve been up to.

August Newsletter

Dr. Seuss vs. Youth… and Pan Chiquito

travelingkatie — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:15:22 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I took on a new challenge… preaching to the youth. I didn’t do too bad, the last two weeks I took on a whole new challenge… reading Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who, in Spanish to 5 year olds. Which is harder?? By FAR Dr. Seuss!!! Two weeks ago I started reading the book to the kids during Segundo Paso and this week when it was time to finish one of the kids asked if we were going to finish the story about the elephant. I was happy that they were actually asking me to read it! We were able to finish the story but it was much much harder than speaking to the youth. Thankfully 5 year olds are pretty forgiving with my Spanish.

On another note… This week a couple of the girls in Segundo Paso asked me where Pan Chiquito (little bread) was so I asked them who that was and they informed me that it was my husband. He was giving guitar lessons to a couple of the boys and these girls were going to be next and wanted to know where he was. When I asked him later about the nickname he told me that they had asked his name so that’s what he told them it was. I’ve seen the girls a couple more times since Wednesday and they always ask about Pan Chiquito!