In the Spotlight - Nuvia and Casa Nueva Esperanza
We recently asked our house parents and staff how the coronavirus and the quarantines are impacting their lives, their families, and the lives of the children they care for. Today we get to hear from Nuvia, house mom to the boys in Nueva Esperanza - all 13 of them! She and her husband Luis are our longest serving house parents.
The first time we heard of this disease, it was thousands of miles from us. Several times it was a topic of conversation and sometimes we prayed for those who were getting sick.
When we realized that the virus was approaching our country and that it had reached the United States and Mexico, we suddenly felt surrounded and a feeling of fear began to fill our hearts, however prayer and faith in God sustained us.
At last the first infected arrived in our country and overnight we saw how our world was transformed, and the children did not go to school. At first this was something fun, it seemed like it was a vacation. But today it does not feel like vacation, children are recognizing the adults are stressed, not only because of news from abroad, but because of the concern of our families and friends that we cannot see due to the current state. We are relying on God, the advice of the psychology team and of course, although we are “closed,” we always have the opportunity to get out of our house to breathe that air that only here at Casa Bernabe we can breathe with a unique landscape.
We are filling the empty spaces with soccer, marble games or board games, since these are times that children enjoy the most.
Between chores, virtual classes, tutorials, workshops, outings to play at the basketball court and soccer field, we try to resume a routine that is not usual, but with as much normalcy as we can. We try to lead a life with activites that divert our attention from the crisis that our country is experiencing.
The children ask a lot about the subject of the Covid-19 and we have tried to speak clearly to them, without trying to scare them, but on the contrary, trying to give them security.
Cleaning and teaching children to wash their hands was intensified in a more complete way, which has been a fun point for them, because they do competitions of who can last more than 20 seconds washing their hands.
The young people of Casa Esperanza help a lot in keeping the house clean. They still find it hard to keep order but we are working on it.
We have had times of prayer and devotionals in which we pray for family, friends and even those we do not know outside of Casa Bernabé. They feel the severity and heaviness of this crisis. The most difficult thing for our children is that they miss the external classmates with whom many of them have made friends, so we encourage them to pray for them as well. We have managed to have times of closeness which has strengthened the bonds of love between us.
It is important to know our children because we have had to face their very unique crises individually. This has given us the opportunity to comfort each one and help him understand, that we are there with him, they are not alone in this, not because we are good but because God loves him and us and has allowed us to be together and not go through our crises alone.
The children and adults of Casa Esperanza are very grateful for Casa Bernabé and each of its members, because this crisis does not feel so hard thanks to the support of the entire team. Each person at the Casa Bernabé has been key in the development of children's lives, from the directors to the smallest of children, we have been a family walking hand in hand with God to accompany us and take care of each other.
Nuvia has provided a beautiful, authentic, glimpse into what it looks like to be a mom and the only female in a house full of energetic males during these tumultuous time. She has tried to help us understand what it takes to care for children who have experienced trauma though times of crisis. You can see the love she carries for each of the boys God has placed in her care in this season of life. She and Luis remain grounded in the foundation of their faith, teaching and cultivating the same in the boys.
Nuvia has also asked for prayer for the boys.
Please pray for each young man in my house. Especially for those that the quarantine is emotionally affecting due to the separation of friends and their favorite people. Some of them are struggling with sadness in their hearts and they don't know how to express it.
Will you join us as we pray with and for them?
