High Refuge

So I have started yet another volunteer placement here in Paraguay, and hopefully I will be here until the end of my time now. I am helping at a place called Alto Refugio - High Refuge in english. This is a place that helps out adults and children who are infected, or affected by HIV/AIDS. It was started by a couple who are originally from Manitoba, but have grown up here in Paraguay.

What do I do there? Basically the question is what don´t I do there. I help out around the office, in the kitchen, with the cleaning staff, with a clothing sale they put on every Wed, go on hospital visits, and help with a program called Dulce Refugio (Sweet Refuge) which works with the children who come in.

It is a beautiful ministry, and I am enjoying my time there immensly. I have made so many new friends, and everyone who works or volunteers there are so warm and welcoming.

There are about 5 people in Alto Refugio who can speak fluently about 4 or 5 languages, and to hear them come in and out of different languages is so cool! Lately I have been feeling that my spanish is ok, but I´m not really sure it´s where it should be after 4 months of being here. Listening to these people though has been giving me incentive to keep up my spanish studying, instead of being content with where it is now.