August 1, 2010

It's been awhile since the last post. We've had some really good days over the past week or so. For the past two weeks, we've been teaching vacation bible school at the church in Tulyehualco. Pretty much over the course of the two weeks, there have been approximately 40 children ranging from ages 3 or 4 to 15. Miranda and I were prepared to teach the 16-18 year olds, but we didn't have any show up. So, our lessons consisted of English to the 13-15 year old class. In my normal prepared way, I brought enough Spanish language books with English translation so that we had many topics to cover with them. For the most part, they were pretty enthusiastic to have us teach them a couple of days a week (remember they are teenagers, so they didn't pay that much attention to us, but they got the gist of it.) I enjoyed it, but like everything else we've experienced here, the language was a little bit of a barrier. Although with this crowd (and the fact that we were teaching English), it seemed to be a little easier to connect with them.

By Thursday of week 2, we were all wondering if we could maintain our stamina for one more day. The great news was that we were going to a nearby park for the final day of vacation bible school - finally, something that requires no words for me...playing sports! This was the highlight of my week - playing with children outside in a park for several hours...talk about feeling right at home. And the trip turned out to be a blast. I played basketball with some of the older kids and adults, followed by a quick lunch. After that, many of the groups walked around the park to see what was there, so Bobby, Miranda, and I headed out to look at everything too. Finally, when we returned, the class of 4-6 year olds told me to come with them. Of course, I agreed to go immediately. Walking with two tiny girls in hand, we made our way around to see the ducks, the fish, the turtles, and all sorts of insects and snails. Children will always be children - picking up things as they go, showing them to you in their proud way, always excited about their find, but even more excited to have someone tagging along and interested in them.

Finally, we rounded out the day's activities with a very modified version of futbol (or soccer as we know it in English). Keep in mind that the last time I played soccer was on a grass field at the Asheboro YMCA and I was twice as big as all the other boys running around me...in other words, at least 20 years ago. Things were a little different in our experience here, but it was still fun. The best part was that it didn't really matter if I had played before, much less remembered any of the rules or what I was supposed to be doing during the game. We were all just running around, kicking the ball, and laughing at each other! It was great! This day was definitely a gift - spending the day with the children of Tulyehualco, experiencing another slice of their culture.

Another wonderful gift was the opportunity to spend one final Sunday at the church in Tulyehualco. We originally thought we would be at Sonia's new church closer to the downtown part of the city as she would be presented to the congregation that morning. In typical Mexican fashion, the plans changed (for the better) and we were able to worship with our brothers and sisters in Tulyehualco one final time. During this service, we were able to watch all the children perform the songs they had practiced for the two weeks, as well as to receive their diplomas for VBS. Miranda and I were also recognized for our work in the church these past six weeks of the summer. Following the service, the people of the congregation bid us farewell and wished us luck for the remainder of our trip and time in seminary. In a way, it was hard to believe that this part of our journey was coming to a close.