last day :(

Yesterday was the last day at the school. I knew from the moment that I woke up that it was going to be hard to say goodbye to the kids that I had grown to love so much. I had never expected that it would be as hard as it was to say good bye.

When we got there we had so much to do. People were running around every which way, trying to get things ready for the kids. Everyone was blowing up balloons, papering food, and giving out clothing.  After about 5 minutes we had a good system going, Kevin set up the computer Meaghan and Douglas gave out the clothes, and Makena and I set up the party space.  After it was all set up kids from the home visits started showing up. Marisol was there with her parents lots of others were there also.  I was so happy to see them showing some care towards their kids and being a part of their lives. Once lunch was ready the kids ran to the lunch room and were so amazed by all the work we had done. They ate their lunch and kept coming to get more!

After lunch we did all the dishes, and then started the fiesta. We had two piñatas I think everyone loved those, even the parents were diving for candy.  The kids were so pleased; they sat us all down and read their thanks. Then they called us up one by one and gave us Nicaraguan gifts to show how much they loved having us there to help. It meant so much more than another gift I had ever gotten because they have nothing, yet they joined together to get us each something.  After lunch was over the kids had to go home. I was so sad to see them go. I have grown to love these kids so much and it just rips me apart to see them all leave, so happy and know that they will go back to school on Monday and none of us will be there.  I gave hugs to everyone, but I will miss Ramón the most. He had a smile the lifted your heart, and a laugh that was so contagious.  I only spent a day with him but that day was the best day of my life. I will miss him dearly.

We left the school and went to Carmen- margarita’s house for a going away party that the teachers had made for us. There was a DJ and huge speakers. The girls were trying to teach me how to dance and shake my hips but I just couldn’t do it. It was so bad that I made everyone laugh.  Again it just shows how much they grew to love us.  I will defiantly miss this place, and I will try really hard to stay in contact with all the kids. 

Thankful for a copy machine

This morning I was sitting at the school waiting for all the kids to arrive.  Little did I know the bus had broken down and the only kids that were at the school were those who had walked there.  I was sent to Yahoska’s class. For about an hour it was only Ramón and I. Our first activity was playing with clay. We made butterflies, soccer balls, shapes, name tags, numbers, and letters. It was so amazing to see him say the words or letters out loud along with the picture in front of him. He was really interested in my soccer ball sculpture, so I took him out to the basketball court and had him play soccer with me.   After about 5 minutes he was doing better than I was. He hit the ball directly to me no matter where I was.  Another child arrived late and we asked him to join in on our soccer practice. Both kids couldn’t stop smiling; they loved it so much, they even asked if I would take them out to play tomorrow too. I think that it was the most fun I had had on this whole trip. When the teacher called us in I was sad that it was over, but I was also so surprised that we had been outside for an hour and a half.  Time flies when you are having fun!!

After lunch was over Crystal, Kevin, and I helped Yahoska with her lesson plans. That meant that we sat at the table for the rest of the day making copies of the paper (the kind that we all  used when learning how to write in kindergarten) by hand. I would trace the lines in pencil, Chrystal would put marker over the penciled lines, and Kevin would erase the left over pencil marks. That was a ton of work and I am so thankful that I have a copy machine.  Luckily we had a printer donated with a copier on it. The teachers will be so thankful that they no longer have to go home and copy on a piece of paper 9 times so their class can do one activity. Thank you so much for the printer.

I realized that tomorrow is the last day that we will have with the kids and I am so sad that our time will be over.  I have made such great friendships with these kids and it will be really hard to say goodbye to them.  These kids are so amazing and their hearts are so huge. They are just waiting for someone to accept them because their parents don’t always realize how amazing they are. I feel as if I have given them more of a reason to want to come to school.  I have given them that acceptance that they are looking for.  I get to go home to a loving family and friends, but some of them will still go home to the same uncaring and/or abusive family.  I wish them all the best and hope that someday things will change, that someday they can be looked upon as the amazing and beautiful people that they are.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.  ~Mark Twain