THE END.

Well, I have been back in the United States for almost a month now. While it's a big change, so far everything has been really nice. I'm just slowly adjusting, settling in, and figuring things out. It's been amazing to see family and friends. I do miss NPH, but right now I'm where I need to be and it feels GOOD to be home.

Thank you to everyone who read even one post from this blog. It definitely provided the necessary motivation to keep writing. I hope this blog has inspired a few would-be NPH volunteers. If you're thinking about doing a year of service with NPH, I would definitely say to go for it. As one fellow volunteer told me, "We only regret the things we don't do." So do it!!! ;) A HUGE thank you to family and friends for walking the journey with me... I could not have done the year without such great support from so many wonderful people back home. Seriously.

I would like to apologize for a total lack of blogging during my last few months at NPH. I guess you could say I was too busy having the adventures and making the memories to find the time to write about them. There really was just so much going on at the end! To give a taste of what was happening... (Basically, all the blog posts I never got to- sorry!)

• Touring Granada in Nicaragua at the end of the NPHI Medical Services taller/workshop

You gotta Granada.

• Proyectos familiares (family projects), proyectos familiares, and more proyectos familiares
• Climbing Volcan Tajumulco to watch the sunrise from the rooftop of Central America (one of my favorite moments)

  

  4222 m- highest point in Central America

• A visit from a dear friend from America, which included...
• Renewing my visa in Belize

not tooooo shabbyyyyyy

• The Caribbean side of Guatemala- Rio Dulce and Livingston

hot. humid. but nice.

• 4 day hike in the mountains of Guatemala from Nebaj to Todos Santos

Guatemalan mountains. Powerful.

• Quinceañeras

Volunteers can look nice on rare occasions.

• Visiting Honduras to use the last of my vacation days, where we saw...
• Copan Ruins

world traveler Jess

• Roatan of the Bay Islands

really great ferry ride over...

• Cayos Cochinos

Paradise FOUND at Cayos Cochinos. AMAZING.

• NPH Honduras

Yay NPH homes!

• Despedidas! (goodbyes)
• With my section, Santiago

me with one of my kids :)

• With the whole home
• With the clinic
• With other volunteers
• With other children
• With other employees
• With places
• With routines
• EVERYONE/EVERYTHING.
• FIESTAS.
• Spending time being with people. (You know, what really matters.)
• Packing up...
• And of course, constantly working on medical school stuff and preparing a little for life after NPH. No one wanted to think about it too much, but it had to be done.

Like I said, there was a lot going on. Sorry again about choosing sleep over blogging! ;)

I thought I'd share the testimonial about my experience I wrote at the end of my year. It expresses a lot of what I would like to say.

My decision to do a year of service with NPH Guatemala after graduating from college has easily proved to be one of the best ones of my entire life. I cannot imagine a better thing to have done with my first year out of college than this. While that time is generally one of growth and change no matter what, spending it with NPH Guatemala exponentially increased that process. Something was always challenging me and the experience was ever changing, but the difficulty and diversity pushed me to grow even more. At the same time, my memories are overrun by countless moments of joy, laughter, and love from the year.

For my job, I worked at the home’s on-site medical clinic as the Clinic Assistant. I had to act as a sort of hybrid pharmacist-accountant, which meant I gained many new skills since I had studied neither pharmaceutics nor accounting! Working alongside local Guatemalans presented enriching cultural differences that could both frustrate and humble me. It was also a joy to walk alongside some of the children on their medical journeys as they received operations that would truly change their lives. As I pursue my own career in medicine, I will constantly draw upon the experiences from my year in the NPH Guatemala clinic.

My favorite part of the experience by far was accompanying my section of kids. I spent several evenings each week with a section called Santiago, which was a large group of boys ages 12-15. A handful in the best way, they could always put a smile on my face. It was such a pleasure getting to know each one in a deeper way as the year went on. I can now tell you how Jaime’s character calls him to protect the weak and that Rosman loves to write songs in English. I also really enjoyed the little moments with kids from outside of my section, such as holding sweet Gerson’s hand and listening to him whisper a prayer on Christmas Eve. Such moments were surely gifts from God.

Even beyond my job and my kids, there were still so many other wonderful aspects to this year. Living in community with other volunteers from all over the world made me more considerate and globally aware. The obligation to speak Spanish both at work and at home forced me to vastly improve my language abilities. A simple lifestyle and witnessing poverty challenged me to ponder bigger themes in life, such as suffering, materialism, faith, and my values. Central America became my playground as I traveled around it when I had vacations. This year was such an ADVENTURE in so many ways and provided many incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

My year of service with NPH Guatemala has changed me for the better. Never have I been called to love so unconditionally. I learned to measure my success at the end of the day not necessarily by how much I got done but rather by how patient, positive, and kind I was. I would like to thank NPH Guatemala for welcoming into their home and making me feel like a part of the NPH family in a way that was greater than I ever could have imagined. The beautiful memories, experiences, and lessons from this year will stay in my heart forever. I am overcome with gratitude for the huge blessing that was my year of service with NPH Guatemala.

So yeah, that's that. In my first blog post (GAME TIME.), I talked about wanting to come back as Jess 2.0. That has definitely been done. NPHI is a wonderful organization, and Guatemala is a fantastic country. Don't pass up a chance to visit it. There is an infinite more amount of things I could say, but I'll just close with one more giant... THANK YOU!

"Keep the earth below my feet,
For all my sweat, my blood runs weak,
Let me learn from where I have been,
Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn."