¡Field Day!

Every Friday at Camp Hope we have "Friday Fun Day". This week, it was my turn to plan the fun festivities. As I thought about what we could do, I remembered how much fun it was to have Field Day at Baker School as a kid. There was nothing better than running around, racing, doing silly tasks, and getting to act like a wild kid in the middle of a field. I still would venture to say that very little can rival the joy that comes from a day like this, and last Friday is proof of that theory.

After snack, we took the kids out to the soccer field in the community, broke them into teams, and let the games begin! We did all sorts of classic relays, from the balloon hitting race to passing an orange down the line with your neck. One of the most unexpected highlights was having half the community come out and watch as we whooped and hollered and carried on like Maurice Sendak's "Wild Things". And, as the leader of the pack, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the teams calmed down when it was time to move onto the next relay.

Camp isn't just about fun and games, but let's be honest: Field Day definitely was.

Tenemos GOZO

A few weeks ago, in Bible class, Matt taught a lesson on gozo (joy). In the lesson, the kids played a game emphasizing that greater joy comes from sharing what you have than selfishly keeping everything for yourself. In the game, they were encouraged to share with one another and each time they shared, they declared, "¡Tengo gozo!" (I have joy!)

Apparently the game was a huge success, because ever since then, each

day during snack, instead of all grabbing the food as it is placed in the middle of the table, and quickly taking as much as they can, the kids calmly take one piece at a time and share the food well, all the while, telling us, "¡Tenemos gozo!" It has become a daily thing, and now the kids even offer to share their snacks with all of us, the leaders.

It brings a smile to my face each time a little hand reaches up offering to share their snack with me, to see how eager they are to share, and to know the strong connection that's been made between sharing and joy. Plainly, me da gozo. ;)

Meeting Dani

I want to introduce all of you to Dani. He is one of the youngest students in Camp Hope (our after school program). He comes every day in his white collared shirt and blue pants, the official school uniform here in town.

Everyday at Camp Hope, during homework time, we help the kids who have homework and assign homework to those who do not. I had asked Dani what year he was in school, he told me, "First," but the other kids were sure to inform me that he had dropped out of school. I assured him that he's still allowed to be part of the program, even though he's not in school. In my heart, I felt I wanted him to still be a part of the program ESPECIALLY because he's not in school.

For the past two weeks, Dani has been approaching me after Camp, handing me his notebook, and asking for homework, "Pongame tarea en ingles." The following day, he comes in and shows me his homework, asking me to check it, "Reviseme las tareas." He always has them done, although not always properly, but we can go over them in Homework time.

Eventually, I decided to ask Dani why he had dropped out of school. He told me, "La profesora me regañaba mucho." (The teacher scolded me a lot) To me it seemed like a strange reason to drop out of school, but it also became increasingly evident that he needed to be loved and guided.

So everyday we continue to give Dani homework, and try to teach him basic concepts during Homework time and after Camp before he heads home. He's a good kid and wants to learn, he just lacks the basic knowledge and some good encouragement. I really hope he goes back to school in the next term, and I hope he's not deterred by his teasing peers.

Please be praying for Dani and the other students in the program. We want to see them thrive as children and develop to the potential we all know they have--that's the point of the program! I know God can work this situation out and I put my hope in Him for Dani.