Tim and Krystal walked the kids to school again. Jenn and I walked to the other house with a suitcase full of soccer balls to give away. We didn't take a tuk tuk although we maybe should have. We grabbed our two suitcases full of legos to take to the school and two suitcases full of school supplies. We also had a bag for each teacher with lotion, a frame, a book, a bar of goat soap, nail polish, lip gloss, etc. It was only 20 minutes up to Santa Maria de Jesus. A nice short drive and where we built last year. Made me miss those families. We'll be going back on Tuesday to see them with the kids. Can't wait.
We watched a little video about the school process. He talked about how he came to work at From Houses to Homes...and how he spent time in an orphanage, but was able to get a good education. I love watching people who are passionate about their jobs talk about them. He cares about the people of Guatemala and it shows. He understands that it's about the big picture. It's not about just giving them a home. It's about getting them to understand what hte future is like...and to get them to see the value in education. They want to make sure they give the kids affection at school so that they want to come back. They said they realize they don't always get it at home. Every Tuesday they have classes for the mothers to learn about different topics...parenting, finance, etc. Once a month, the fathers also come to the school to learn. It's completely free for these children to go to school.
We visited the classrooms and gave the teachers their bags. The little kids came and ran to give us hugs. Sweet little things. Can't wait to go back to see them on Tuesday.
We took the long way back to the work site. There were protests closing some of the roads. Oscar drove us back to the site so he had me call the kids so that he could tell the driver the back way home. Nice that he's thinking about things like that. First thing we did when we got to the site was eat lunch. We also handed out the soccer balls we had brought. I had to save some for the boys I'd promised them to yesterday. I had four hidden. The boys asked Elmer and Byron if they wanted to go play again today....so they took off for a game of soccer. Three of the boys from yesterday showed up after they left. I gave them two balls and then went down to the soccer field with them and told them they'd have to get the third ball from the boys when they were done playing. It was the Americanos against the Guatemalans when I left. A little boy came up to me. he must've only been 5....and said 'hello my american friend'. So stinking cute. On the way back to the house, I stopped to talk to an older man in the village. he thanked us for building. So nice to be able to affect these people in a good way...and leave a good impression on them. My friend Henri showed up right before we left and thankfully I had a ball for him. he can't come right after school because he is watching his siblings.
We poured the floor today. We told Hector and Juan Jose that they should leave face prints in the concrete. ;)
We passed another funeral on the way home today.
We finished a little after 3 and came home. Jenn, Krystal, TJ, Adam and I went to the Bodegona to get chips and beer for Tim. We also stopped at the Mercado to get soccer jerseys for the two boys at our house and a loaf of bread for our house and each of our workers.
Mayda made an amazing meal, again. After dinner we came home. The kids swam again and we went through our suitcases looking for things for Juan Jose and Hector.
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