Sorry for the delay in updates. On Monday afternoon, Mrs. Karen got word that a lady who was like her mother passed away the night before. She, of course, had to return to the States so I moved into the hotel and Stu and Michael moved into Mr. David's house. This made internet access a little more difficult, and honestly I was too tired to figure it out. I did one sweet message asking if we had fallen off the earth, but I assure you we were fine!
On Tuesday we spent the entire day at the school. Mrs. Karen had challenged all of us, especially the kids, to ask three kids what God was doing in their lives. It was neat to watch the kids think about and take on this task.
One thing David had requested was for us to figure out if we could get a basketball backboard into the country. The school is working to provide athletics for the oldest kids, as a way to keep them interested in school and out of trouble. Stu had one (that said "Tombstone Pizza" of course) and figured out how to check it in. Shirley, of all people, was the one to get it through customs, and Tuesday was the day for the guys to put it up. The men worked many hours on installing it and succeeded!
We spent many hours in the classrooms as well. My heart ached for the teachers as they did their very best, but their challenges are very great. Have I mentioned that several of the classes have 40 kids in them? And just like an American classroom, they all have differing behaviors, differing learning styles, and differing abilities. My heart ached also for the children as some completed the work diligently, some tried but quickly got distracted, and many never got past putting their names on the papers. I feel that one way we could be of help in the future is to help the teachers. (My teacher friends, I'm looking at you!)
Several of the men stayed after school to work on some plumbing and painting. All of the school's toilets were broken. Thankful for our men who are willing to do anything. The kids were pretty tired (ok, adults too). Todd took us back to the hotel and we were able to rest and reflect before dinner.
Wednesday was declared "American Day". We were playing games with the kids and fixing hot dogs for lunch. On the way to the school, we had to stop at the grocery store. Todd, me and Shirley in charge of picking up hot dogs, buns, chips, ketchup, mustard, and paper towels. (6 things - that was my job to remember!) It was an interesting experience but mission accomplished.
Our task was to run a "field day" for the school. We naturally put Michael in charge of this one. He was amazing. To say it was controlled chaos is an understatement. But with the people we had and the amount of discipline the kids were used to anyway, it was the best under the circumstances. They got to laugh and have fun and only a few got hurt. Mr. Todd became "jail". :) When a kid couldn't handle the excitement, we took them to sit with Todd. My favorite was that he started to use these opportunities to talk to the kids about the Lord.
After the field day we served hotdogs and chips to all of the kids. They were pretty pumped, though a couple weren't too sure about those hot dog things. Many had never had a hot dog.
After lunch we said goodbye to each classroom. We then took Alberto to take us through his village to hand out rice and beans.
Alberto is very special to David and Karen. He is one of 21 kids and lives in one of the most poverty-stricken villages called Steadfast. Alberto has worked hard to stay in school and do his very best. He told us about how he gets up at 2 in the morning to go hunting in the jungle behind his house. Once he saw a "tiger" in a tree, but he was not scared, he was very brave.
This was the emotionally toughest part of the trip. We saw the houses and conditions that many of the kids we had fallen in love with were living in. Alberto's house had three walls, with the house opening up to the jungle. There was a spot set up for them to cook over a fire.
One of our kids, Jacob, had become very, very close to Alberto. Seeing him having to say good-bye was heart breaking.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the Dangriga market and walking around the town a little bit.
We worshiped at a new church plant in Dangriga where the pastor is "Pastor Caleb" who also teaches at the school. He is a giant of a man with a very kind smile. The worship was pure and wonderful. His teaching was great, as he said that we weren't just going to read the Word, we were going to think it. He preached about how we are God's workmanship created to do His good works. An appropriate end to the week and a great reminder that His great works for us at Light of the Valley are not over.
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