River Rock Church Team

10/14/13

Day number 1….Today we had a tour of the facility, and got to have question and answer time with the founders Jerry & Susie.  For some of us it was the first time we had heard the story of how Esperanza Viva came to be, and for others it was a story we had heard many times before.  But Jerry has a way of telling the story with new insightful details each time we hear it.  No matter how many times we will hear the story I don’t think any of us will ever forget the story of Juan.

The best part of the day is the time with all the kids.  Our activity today, as part of the beatitudes, was meekness. The kids enjoyed the description of meekness as power under control, like a great warrior horse. They got to paint and color; it was just fun to see them all be so creative. There were many beautiful horses to see at the end.

Many hugs were exchanged with kids that remembered those of us returning from years past, and lots of introductions for the new members. 

I was pretty excited to show off my new found Spanish vocabulary, which is sorely inadequate, but the kids had a great time quizzing me on the colors and the food at lunch. The highlight of my day was getting to see my sponsored kiddos. One was very shy and would only wave at first, but when reminded that I was his sponsor he warmed up quickly. He led me about the playground and got me to climb the structure with him. We had a great time laughing and giggling over the silly pictures I was taking on my phone. The second is very reserved, well around me anyway, but we had a nice time during the activity creating our pictures together. I look forward to as much time as possible with all the kids.

After dinner there was a zumba session with the older girls, and a rousing game of Uno. If we were not already tired enough the zumba took what energy we did have and zapped it. The “uno” game started out as a small affair, and turned into a whole table of players. Games in the evening are a fun tradition with the older kids and a great way to interact even if you have little or no Spanish skills.

We are looking forward to tomorrow and our work project, gardening and mending, and lots more fun time with the kids.

Written by Dawnette