Tag Archives: Accomplish

Simple Quote Sunday

Although I’m not a fan of re-using quotes, I figured that in honor of running in today’s Miami Half Marathon, there is no better individual to quote than a well-known runner and co-founder of the New York City Marathon.

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”
-Fred Lebow

Although Fred Lebow’s quote is geared towards running, the same holds true for anything one sets his or her mind to. There is satisfaction to be found in accomplishing any task at hand, which is just one of many reasons to always persevere and never give up—even when faced with a trying situation.

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Misioneros Del Camino: Changing Societal Norms

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Throughout the past month, I have been discussion the incredible milestones that Misioneros Del Camino has accomplished thus far. As the story wraps up to today’s present date, I wanted to share a video with pictures that show some of the beautiful children who have been saved by Misioneros Del Camino.

Some of the countless children who have been saved by Mami Leo can be found in the video below. It only takes one person to make a difference, as Mami Leo has done, and just one person alone has changed a generation of children. This is evident in the fact that over the years many of the children from Misioneros Del Camino have grown up to be inspirational figures to the other children and have become exceptional figures in society. It is always such a joyous moment when we get to see them graduate from school and enter into adulthood, thus breaking the cycle of abandonment, neglect, and abuse. The success of these young adults is truly an incredible sight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO-BuoKrV9o#t=254

Some of the Beautiful Children at Misioneros Del Camino
Just a Few of the Countless Successful Stories at Misioneros Del Camino

 

Reaching New Heights at Misioneros Del Camino

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Throughout the past month, I have been discussion the incredible milestones that Misioneros Del Camino has accomplished thus far. As the story continues, we pick back up in 2011.

As you might remember from a previous post, in 2006, a neurological center was established on site, providing care and numerous therapies to children with various neurological disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and many more. In 2011, an expansion on the neurological center was completed in an effort to provide service to more children than our current facilities would allow. The expansion was devoted to both occupational and sensorial therapy.

Occupational therapy consists of teaching children everyday skills from getting dressed, to writing and more. Sensorial Therapy deals with sensory issues such as not being able to eat certain types of food, not being able to stand in a bright room, and more severe issues like the inability to sense hot or cold and high sensitivity to touch. To put this into perspective, imagine if someone touched you and it felt as though thousands of ants were crawling on you. Many children with Autism and sensory disorders cannot even be hugged or touched by their mothers because of such sensations. But thanks to the generosity of such great supporters, more will children will be able to hug their mothers and accomplish ordinary tasks that we would normally never even think twice about.

One such child who benefits from the therapies offered at the neurological center is Darlin, who is pictured below being carried on her mother’s back. She is four years old and has cerebral palsy. They live in a very poor village about 20 miles from the Neurological Center. To bring Darlin to therapy, her mother has to carry her daughter on her back to take a bus that leaves her about 5 kilometers from the Center, and then she walks the rest of the way with her daughter on her back. To return home, she does this again. She has been doing this since 2011 to help her daughter. Darlin has made fantastic progress! She is starting to take her first steps and is saying a few words. Hers is a long road, but there is hope. A few short years ago, she would not have had any hope or access to help, but thanks to the Neurological Center, that is no longer the case.

Expansion at the Neurological Center
Some of the Various Therapies at the Neurological Center
Darlin and Her Incredible Mother

Misioneros Del Camino: The Opening of a Neurological Center

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Throughout the past month, I have been discussion the incredible milestones that Misioneros Del Camino has accomplished thus far. As the story continues, we pick back up in 2006.

In 2006, a neurological center was established on site, providing care and numerous therapies to children with various neurological disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and many more. With a great team of certified therapists, psychologists, and doctors, hundreds of children are able to obtain the necessary treatments that they wouldn’t be able to receive anywhere else.

In addition to special education, various types of therapies are provided to the children at the neurological center including: speech, physical, psychological, occupational, and sensorial therapy. Neurological and psychological evaluations as well as parental and therapeutic training seminars are also provided so that the children can learn to overcome the obstacles faced with their neurological disorders to the best of their abilities.

As you can see in the video below, all it takes is determination and a dream to make a difference in someone else’s life, which is exactly what Mami Leo has been done for nearly thirty years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0mi8kCMyZ0

Special Education at the Neurological Center
Various Therapies at the Neurological Center

Wishing You the Happiest of New Years

I have spent the past few months debating how I would make my comeback to the world of blogging. If you have been following my posts over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed that I was unsuccessful at finding the perfect excuse to make up for my absence. Out of fear for being gawked at by the blogging community (and quite frankly, myself too), I won’t spend too much time mentioning that the last time I posted on here was last New Year’s Eve, promising to post more often throughout the new year. I also will try to not shed too much light on the fact that I don’t recognize the updated WordPress layout, and it took me a second to remember the password to my account. You know how it is when life gets in the way, or at least you know how we use that excuse to cover up for our procrastinations. But enough about that. The New Year starts in just a few hours, and for those of you who aren’t already drinking and celebrating, like myself, odds are, you’re probably debating what kind of New Year’s resolution to set for yourself. Will you finally try to shed some weight, or will you decide to go ahead with the plans of taking your dream vacation? Will you spend more time with family and friends, or will you dedicate this next year on receiving a promotion at work? As you can tell from last year’s resolution on my blog exactly one year ago (which is probably the post underneath this one), I swore to blog more and continue writing for all of my readers (aka my mother), but more importantly for myself. I clearly didn’t go through with that resolution, so here is a little guideline that I will be trying my best to adhere to this next year. I hope it will help you in your resolution-making process, so here it goes.

~Here’s to saying, “I love you” more often, and meaning it when we address those we care for.
~Here’s to rekindling old relationships that have been on our to-do list, while strengthening the relationships we already have.
~Here’s to learning how to trust, both in others and in ourselves.
~Here’s to trying to find a positive in every negative situation we encounter.
~Here’s to making an effort to find joy each and every day, while accepting sadness and using it as a means of finding a positive in every trying obstacle we encounter.
~Here’s to laughing much more than we already do, and making time to laugh at ourselves as well.
~Here’s to knowing that it’s okay to cry if we need to.
~Here’s to not caring about what others think of us, and only caring what we think of ourselves.
~Here’s to enjoying the nature around us and appreciating what we have and our surrounding environment.
~Here’s to planning a trip, whether it be across the country, across state boarders, or even across the street to catch up with a long-lost friend; but here’s to executing this plan and actually going through with it.
~Here’s to setting goals, and attaining every goal we set.
~Here’s to understanding that mistakes are inevitable, can and will occur throughout our lives.
~Here’s to getting back up after being knocked down by a temporary failure.
~Here’s to eating healthier, but not forgetting the importance of splurging on a heavenly piece of chocolate cake.
~Here’s to exercising more often so that our doctors can leave us alone.
~Here’s to saving up money for a rainy day, but keeping enough around to binge on an exciting shopping adventure.
~Here’s to finding a hobby and finding a passion, and fully enjoying them both.
~Here’s to learning a new skill, trait, or language, and sticking with it until we have mastered it efficiently.
~Here’s to anticipating the future, but always remembering to live in the moment.
~Here’s to connecting to spirituality, whether it be through religion, a high being, or just finding one’s own peace.
~Here’s to finding meaning in each of our lives in all that we do.
~Here’s to making a difference, not just in our lives, but in someone else’s life.
~Here’s to giving without expecting to receive, and receiving with the utmost appreciation.
~Here’s to hoping I don’t regret not having proofread this before leaving my house.
~Here’s to blogging more than once a year so I can see what it’s like to post on days other than New Year’s Eve.
~Here’s to an incredible year ahead of us filled with health, happiness, and an abundance of love and support.

From the bottom of my heart, Happy New Year and it’s great to be back here with you.

New Year

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

It has been quite some time since I consistently posted here on WordPress. I can use the excuses of having been busy with classes, finals, the daily stressors that use up our focus and energy, or I could just pick one out of a hat, because believe me, there are plenty of excuses I’ve been holding onto.  However, in the scheme of things, I don’t really have a legitimate excuse to not have been blogging, except for the fact that I was tired. Since my return from Spain in August, I no longer had exciting adventures to share. Any and all progress made with my book had come to a standstill, so I hid from writing. I avoided it at all costs and tried to put my focus anywhere else that I could. However, in the end, for us bloggers and writers, there is no avoiding writing so here I am, facing my fear and returning to the blogging world. There is a lot to talk about since my absence so I hope you’re prepared. Not to mention, I hope I’m prepared too. And within the next few weeks, I will be working on independent publishing so that I can finally accomplish the goal of publishing my book. This is where I would insert the saying, “Here goes nothing,” but I’d like to rephrase that into a more positive one. There is no harm in trying to accomplish your goals, for regardless of how successful you think you may or not be, you’ll always be successful for having known that you did what you set out to do. So as I was saying, “Here goes something.”