The kids went to school at 8 and were headed to Iximche. It's a Mayan site a little over an hour away from Antigua. The field trip leaves at 8:15 and gets back at 1:00. I talked to Leslie this morning. She is going to order the kids pizza for lunch since they have a break from 12-2 and we'll be in Tecpan. She also had some mosquito repellant for them to put on. If you are ever in Antigua, I highly recommend PLFM Spanish School.
The guy from Compassion called at 8am to tell us he was here and ready to pick us up. WHAT? They were supposed to be here at 8:30. Nobody is early here. I told him I was a 10 minute walk away!
Omar was our guide and his English was amazing. He lived in the US for 15 years. We drove past El Tejar. It's amazing how much faster that ride goes when you are INSIDE the pickup instead of OUTSIDE it.
We got to Tecpan and parked near the church and had a 3-4 block walk to the Compassion Center. When we got their we got a tour of the facility. It wasn't what I'd expected, but I find that things rarely are here. Jose showed up with his mother and his younger brother Gerson. He was all smiles. His mother said that he was so excited that he hadn't slept the night before at all. Scott and Shelly have exchanged letters and pictures with him for the past two years. He comes to the program in Tecpan on Mondays and Wednesdays after school. On Saturday they have a sports program he can attend. They feed the kids at the program, have them brush their teach and do some religious ed. The parents (primarily mothers) also receive some education.
We took the truck to Jose's house. He was pretty excited to receive his soccer ball. I asked what his favorite sport was and he said 'futbol!'. He told us he had an older brother and sister at home. They weren't there when we arrived though. The mother did tell us that her husband tried to get the day off and he was unable to. He is an agriculture worker.
The house was primarily made of sheet metal and cardboard. There was brick about halfway up and a brick wall separating the bedroom from the main room. The bedroom was large enough to hold a double bed and a twin bed.
We talked to the family for awhile and then they brought us lunch. It was awesome. Grilled chicken, rice, hot tortillas, and some veggies. Omar said the trick to cooking was to boil the chicken and then grill it. The kids LOVED the gifts that Scott and Shelly brought them. They had sunglasses, a hat, an airplane, bubbles, and more. They had towels and sheets for mom. She was very touched. Amazing how grateful these people are.
After lunch we headed back to the center and played some kickball and soccer with the boys. Gerson was upset everytime someone used their hands. he'd yell..."MANO MANO MANO". So cute.
The kids put on a little presentation for us but it was ahrd to hear them because it was RAINING SO HARD. It looked like someone had a hose on full blast. We were in a building with a metal roof so it was a leetle bit loud. :) We said our goodbyes. More tears today. They were so greatful.
We rode the truck home....and it took forever. Lots of traffic and rain. Tim went to get the kids in the pouring rain. It was beautiful. It was lightening like crazy. We ate leftovers tonight and are trying to watch a movie now but apparently we have all hit a wall. I have to say that yesterday I was thinking that I am tired of having to think ALL of the time. I would like to just speak English for a day. Apparently the kids are feeling the same way because we had a couple of monumental meltdowns tonight. Que sera sera.....
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