A Family of Visitors

     The start of the new year brought with it several visitors for us.  In fact, at one point we had two different visitors staying at our house at the same time!  Nevertheless it was a great time and a great experience.  We got the opportunity to visit with friends and share a little bit of our experiences with them while they got an opportunity to see a completely different culture and do some service work, sharing Christ's light in a very unique setting.
     Our first group of visitors was a family who brought down their 2 children, ages 10 & 12.  While it certainly was an adjustment going from 32 degrees to 82 degrees, I think they managed just fine--especially when it came time to visit the beach!

With Conejo students after craft time

      My friend is a certified teacher in the U.S. and so she was very happy to help in any capacity in a few village schools.  The first day we drove her and her 10 year old daughter to St. John the Baptist R.C. school in Conejo village where we spent the morning tutoring students.  After lunch we were able to share a craft project with the students.  The children in the upper and middle divisions made a necklace with wooden crosses and colored beads depicting various aspects of our faith.  One of the teachers enjoyed the project so much that he wanted to make a necklace for himself so I would consider that to be a success.

At the HOPE shelter work site

     While we were working with the students, my friend's husband and their son spent time working at a site to help construct the town's first senior center.  I think they quickly learned how labor intensive building projects can be here without the use of modern technology.  
     On the second day their children got the opportunity to visit our daughters' school for the morning.  Since they are similar ages to our oldest daughters, our friends were able to shadow the girls for the morning.  This was a unique experience for them, especially since they are used to dry erase boards, computers in the classroom, photocopied handouts for assignments and no uniforms.  They both enjoyed the experience and did very well with their visit.
     That evening even included time by a small campfire as we listened, played and danced to drumming by Emmeth Young, arguably the best Creole drummer in the country.

Doing the Harp Dance for us at Otaxha

     The last "work day" here we were able to tag along with another service group from St. Louis as we visited Otaxha, a more remote village near the Guatemalan border.  Several of us enjoyed helping with the craft and science projects that the group had planned while the boys certainly enjoyed playing soccer during break.  My friend's husband was also able to look at the school's computer lab which runs on a generator as they had several computers that seemed to not be running properly.  We were also privileged to have lunch in the principal's home where we got some more time to visit with the group and the teachers.  After lunch the students put on a large presentation to thank the group for their dedication over the past week.  The presentation included some great songs, ethnic dances, and even included a Thank You gift for each person.  We were very touched by this, especially myself and my friends who had only visited for just one day.
    One of the things that Andy and I notice about our privilege of living and serving here with our family is the unique opportunity that our children get.  Children experience the world differently than adults do and it never ceases to amaze me some of the experiences that our children get--experiences that we as adults could not have.  I was so excited that our friends decided to come and bring their children.  Of course school is important but I think that what their children were able to learn and experience in the last week was invaluable compared to what they could've learned in the classroom.  I know that these are experiences that they will soon not forget.