NOE's Impact

I awoke this morning at 5:40 to the sound of people's excited voices. i was startled and disoriented until i remembered that i hadn't slept in my bedroom (so it wasn't weird that i was hearing about 100 voices).  I realized that i was still in the van at NOE, where i had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep, but had been since 5 o'clock int he afternoon yesterday.  Yes, for those who like mind puzzles, you figured it out, i spent the night at NOE.

When Luis/Brian Overcast got to NOE at 6 am he saw me and said, "wow, you stayed all night???" I said, "Si, por la experiencia." (Yes, for the experience.)

Let me explain. Today and Monday are the biggest days at NOE because it is registration for the year.  In the past i have experienced registration for high school as waking up and getting ready at 6 am to stand in line when the doors opened at 7. The wait wasn't too long, i was with my friends, and the whole process was over by 9 am.  This registration was ENTIRELY different!!!!!

I arrived at NOE at 12:15 yesterday to help finish cleaning out the classrooms. i saw a family sitting outside and thought nothing of it (it is very common because there is shade by NOE so families are often there in the afternoon.)  However at 3:00 when Erick and i left, there were 5 families. That was a little weird.  Erick turned to me and said, "they are waiting in line for registration."  I said, "but registration is tomorrow, at 9 am!!!" And he said, "yes, but people want their spot, so they wait ad spend the night here in the ark and then get their numbers tomorrow morning." i was ASTONISHED!!! It was about 20 hours before registration and there were already 5 families waiting.

I went back at 5 with Erick to NOE to be briefed on the schedule for registration.  They have it organized really well so that it only takes a family about 5 minutes to be completely registered for classes at NOE.  I decided that i wanted to spend the night at NOE, to experience what these families go through to ensure that their children have a place there.  When we went outside after the meeting at 6, there were now about 10 families.  We hung out there for a while and i found out that several of my friends were going to spend the night too. Even though they were already guaranteed a spot because of their level of English, their younger siblings were not, so they came with them.  I got my stuff from my house at 7:15 and then stayed at NOE.

We had a blast!!!!! I brought henna tattoos and had my laptop with me so the kids were enjoying my music. I also now have a fan, a little girl named Katzumi who is probably about 8 years old. She stared at me for about 2 hours and then finally got the courage to come up and talk to me while i was with Erick.  She couldn't stop smiling because she was using broken English and i was using broken Spanish, but the communication went really well. She hung out with us, watched me give henna tattoos, and listened to em sing to the songs on my laptop, she wanted me to sing Selena Gomez, but i didn't have any, so i played a Justin Beiber song just for her.

The energy coming from our group was the only energy in the room.  Most of the adults were sitting in chairs reading or talking quietly to each other.  It was moving to see the commitment these people have to their children, and the hope for a better future for them.  Some of our group left, and things started winding down around 2 am when we all went to the van.  We spread out and listened to music for about another 2 hours because the lights were on in NOE so it was really hard to go to sleep.  I kept looking out the window and seeing people falling asleep in their chairs.  I imagined how uncomfortable they must be, because i was uncomfortable and i was sleeping in a van! That was at least carpeted!

Then at around 5:40 i was woken up by people getting excited. Luis/Brian comes at 6 so families were getting in order so they could receive their numbers.  When Luis got there everyone was silent while he talked and explained the process. Everyone was given a number and the approximate time that number would be called. They were instructed to be there early though, or they may get skipped.  The families all left and Luis took me home to get some much needed rest.

I wanted to go back this morning and watch the registration, but i woke up at 11:53 and it ended at 1 so i wasn't able to go.  I was still happy though because i got to experience a big part of NOE that isn't often thought of.  When Luis came to talk to the parents, one of the first things he said was that he appreciated their sacrifice.  Sacrifice indeed!!! It is obvious that these families care a lot about their children. They want a bright future for them and they know that NOE can help provide that.  NOE is making an impact and i am honored to be here and be a part of what God is doing though this INCREDIBLE ministry!!!