Buenas tardes amigos!! This is Chloe Miller! This week has
been so fun! Unfortunately, I feel like it is going too fast! It’s good to be
back here. I love seeing familiar faces, views, and just experiencing the
environment of a different country. On each day of camp, I have been one of the
translators. Monday I did volleyball, and today I did basketball. I love it! I
never knew that I could do something like this! It is such an awesome
experience. I can talk to the kids in regular conversations and joke around with
them. Volleyball was a little crazy since the kids loved to hit the ball as
hard as they could and it flew around and Tracy Thomas, Dalton, and I had
to chase after them. It was a hot day,
and we were all so tired! But it was fun! One of my favorite parts of today was
when we first went downstairs. The kids were waiting at the bottom and immediately
attacked us with hugs and smiles. The kids were a lot more controlled today
since we wrote group numbers on their hands. The groups went smoothly, and
everyone had fun! The afternoon was fun with the older kids, too. At the end,
all the girls called me Barbie, Conner was Ken, Camden was Rapunzel, and Tracy Thomas
was Tinker Bell. They kept matching the boys and girls together and would say
we were boyfriend and girlfriend. Everyone was laughing! We are all dirty and
very exhausted, but we are ready for a new day! God is good!!
Ps. Mom please make sure you are feeding Reggie. I want him
to still be alive when I get back!
Hola! This is Katie Veenstra! I would like to start off by
saying the view here is AMAZING! We are surrounded by a beautiful blue ocean
and tropical trees with mountains and cliffs miles in the horizon. God has truly
created a work of art! Today was our second day of the camp. I got the
opportunity to be a leader in a group of girls this morning. I recognized most
of them from yesterday and so they were so thrilled to have me as their leader.
All of the stations have their own unique experience to them and I love that
because I can see all the kids interact in different ways; however, my favorite
has been teaching gymnastics. Yesterday, Chloe Jones and I started an impromptu
gymnastics station for the little girls (and some boys) when they were tired of
playing one of the games. I showed them some flips and they instantly wanted to
give it a shot, so Chloe and I helped spot them some back handsprings. This
morning I could feel all the work I did flipping those kids though! I am SO
sore! Today, the kids wanted to flip some more so Chloe and I again offered to
assist. We even put a little boy up in a stunt! The smiles on their faces were
priceless! It didn’t matter if they fell or landed perfect, they were all having
a blast. I wish I knew more Spanish, so I could communicate better with them,
but they are so patient with me and try to help me learn new words every day! These
kids have taught me so much already about how to be more grateful for what I
have and how to truly spread the love of God with others! I am so excited to
see what the rest of this week has in store!
Hello from all of us teachers. Once again we had a wonderful day at the
teacher’s seminar. We started the day
with a lesson about symmetry. I showed
them several activities that emphasize symmetry that also included art. The teachers wrote their name and then
decorated the symmetrical shape that it formed.
This was followed by Macon using clay to create geodes. They love the hands-on activities. We always try to demonstrate activities that
they can easily include in their own classrooms. Kristi
talked about waves and had awesome demonstrations showing currents and
transfer of energy. David continued his
talk on being a leader and influencing people through your leadership. After lunch, Patti went through the days of
creation using her TPRS teaching. The
students enjoyed connecting the words to actions to help remember the
story. That was our day. What I haven’t said in listing all the
teaching activities is how receptive our “teacher students” are to our
suggestions. They show a desire to learn
how to improve their teaching and classrooms.
It has been a super rewarding and fulfilling week so far. I’m looking forward to what God has for us
the rest of the week in beautiful DR. We
are so blessed by Him. Miss you all at
home, but wouldn’t trade this week for anything. – Sharon Newlove
