wed.  june 24.  2015

today is the day-that we decided to have the village kids help us pick up trash around the village.  for some reason, guatemalans have the most beautiful landscapes, and they throw their trash on the ground.  we gave them all a latex glove, and a bag to put trash in, and they were off!  kids kept coming back multiple times for more bags, and loved it.  they thought it was a game-i think.  one girl brought back a bag of leaves, so i’m not sure if they understood what we were saying completely.  they were rewarded for their work by receiving a waffle with nutella-which is a huge treat.  then we found napkins thrown on the ground that they had had with their waffle, so once again, maybe not grasping the whole no garbage on the ground thing.  alex taught them red light-green light.

we went to the field to play with the new ball and jump rope we had gotten in pana for them.  they loved them-it’s amazing what one toy does, and they try it once and pass it around.  they wanted to go to the park next and we hung out there for a bit, and then they wanted to go swimming in the lake-so we headed down with them.  it was awesome.  cam jumped in, then alex and madison.  so much fun.

we headed up to dinner, with our group of kids following us wherever we go.  an older woman was coming down the sidewalk, and stopped me.  she introduced herself, and asked us what we were doing.  we told her were staying here for 6 weeks, and we play and do art with the kids.  she turned to me and said, “your halo is blinding.”-and walked away.  brought tears to my eyes.  i don’t feel like we are changing anything, but just playing with kids and building friendships.  it was such a kind compliment.