Community Service

Sunday was a special day!  We arrrived at the school where we were going to work and were warmly welcomed by a group of 3rd - 6th graders.  This was a big deal for them because it was Palm Sunday, a very special day for them as it starts Holy Week.  The teachers, atudents, and parents made a special sacrifice to be here today because they were so deeply appreciative of us volunteering our time to help them,
  Our students were paired up with one or two Costa Rican students and they began to share, in their own language, questions that they had prepared,  It was awkward at first, but slowly, you could see the kids light up and begin to understand one another through their words, gestures, and body language.  Tes, Justin Bieber is very popular in CR!
  I sat in on a game of King Frog with  Maddie, Ms. Nichols, Emily and their 2 Costa Rican friends.  It was a real pleasure to watch Emily explain and lead the group through the game and see how quickly the new friends picked up on the game.  As I walked around, it was really neat to see all of the kids smiling and communicating!
  Next, we broke up into 2 groups and began painting 2 different classrooms.  There was paint on many surfaces other than the walls, but the smiles and enthusiasm abounded.  Our students worked very hard on this painting project!  Half way through, we took a break and were treated to several dances by the Costa Rican students reflecting various aspects of their culture.  They were great!  We then did an impromptu demonstration of baseball!  We began by singing the national anthem and they played a quick game of baseball, letting our actions explain the game.  We ended by singing ¨Take Me Out to the Ball Game.¨
  We then finished up the painting and clean up and we took a break where we had a great spread of fresh fruits.  Watermelon, Pineapple, and Papaya were scoffed down like there was no tomorrow.  The kids were playing pick-up soccer and baseball as well during this time.
  Just before we left, we presented then with a very generous amount of school supplies that our kids brought with them.  The Costa Rican teachers concluded the day with a warm and generous thank to all of us.  Parents, you would have been very proud of your children today!
Mr. Williams