Things have been busy as of late, real busy. Our summer has gotten off to a great start. After the Grove City College team, from Pennsylvania, we had a two week slot with no teams. It was a good time to really get involved with our summer interns and prepare together for the teams to come. After those 2 vacant weeks, we had a team come from The Well Church, in Fresno. I had a great group of ladies who were really fun to have at the site and to see them using specific gifts and talents they had with the kids and older ladies we visited. They even survived the infamous aerobics class! After a jam-packed 2 weeks, the Well team headed back to CA a week ago. And last Monday, our next group arrived: highschoolers and young adults from Savior's Church in Visalia and Heritage Church in Bakersfield. With one week down in their two weeks here, they've done great! My group at the Social Services site in Las Fuentes has been really good about diving in (sometimes literally) with the kids. Yesterday, for example, we had aerobics in the morning, in which their enthusiasm has lead me to have more difficult workouts, as I find my self laughing. at them. a lot. it's pretty great! After aerobics, we planned some activities for the following week (as the kiddos at our site have their 15 days of vacation from school). Then, as we were finishing lunch, it began to rain a little bit. The students got super excited to play in the rain with the kiddos---good thing! So, we headed back to the church and rounded up a bunch of kids, in a pied piper kind of fashion (which i love, by the way). We divided into teams when we arrived to the play (the big field area where we play with the kids). Not long after we arrived, it started raining pretty good. Soon, the field was transformed into a giant slippery sliding mud bath! The kids of the Fuent made it their personal goal to take each of us down in the ginormous puddle that we basically had to tread water and swim to get out of. The team fully embraced every part of this, not holding back at all and I know that the kids of Las Fuented LOVED it! It was also pretty hilarious to see everyone running around completely drenched in the muddy mess: the little kiddos and team members alike with mud beards, mustaches and uni-brows. It was beautiful! I truly believe that investing quality time in these kids in Las Fuentes is key. And being willing to be ridiculous and maybe look foolish for them and with them speaks volumes into their lives, in showing them that they are loved and have worth. I don't know all of the stories of the home lives of these kids, but I do know that something draws them to our activities and they keep coming back and wanting more. Sooooo, I don't know all the details of hows or whys, but I do know that we will continue to be obedient to what God's called us to do in Las Fuentes, as nebulous as it may seem to me or others at times. =)
Just a few pictures of the Fuent with the Well team:
Sam and Courtney with some kiddos at the Play Azul
Annalee (who's been the amazing intern at my site) with Raul playing a more difficult version of jenga?
Sam turning the jump rope for Angie and Tatiana
Megan and Tatiana <3
