It was very calm when I woke up to watch the sun rise over the jungle, with the howler monkeys and all the amazing sounds and sights of the day unfolding. So far, none of the students have joined me to watch this spectacle…maybe 5 am is a bit early for 14 year olds?…Anthony, do you remember this scene?
Anyways, I am sure they will try one of these mornings!! Breakfast consisted of pancakes and fruit, pineapple, papaya, oranges and bananas. It was then off to pre-school and elementary school for another day of helping out. For the pre-school, it was sports day, where we played outside, flying kites, having fun with water balloons, as well as songs and other games. The students were very helpful to Erminda Pop, the pre-school teacher. To run a sports day outside with 50 five-year olds requires a significant effort! She really appreciated having our team with her!
The rest of our team helped in the elementary school, from helping to correct some tests (thanks Ryan!) to supervising or working alongside the teachers in the classes. The teachers were all very excited about the books that they received yesterday. Especially the younger classes, where they really appreciated having brand new books for their students. During free time in the afternoon, I passed by six of the older students on the steps of the school, each of them had a new book in hand! The day ended with a soccer tournament with all of the elementary students participating! What a sight to see so many competitors!
We then headed to the church where Lazarus and Alicia are the youth leaders. We shared some songs and presented one of our skits. We also played some games with them. We will be spending the day with them all again tomorrow. The day ended with devos and journaling time.
Below are comments from more of the students. I will post these comments and then try again to post pictures.
Blessings to you all!
David
Samuel: Hello everyone, today was our 2nd day at the school and our last. I ended up connecting very well with a lot of the children and had a lot of fun which made it really hard to leave them, today I had spent the day with 5-6 year olds, it started off pretty quiet and easy and ended with them charging at me to leave. The Pop family has been treating us very well making it a very enjoyable stay. I would say it has been a pretty good trip so far. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers I miss and love you all God bless.
Tiana: Today, we visited the Armenian government school, as we did yesterday. The girls helped out at the preschool, while the boys taught in certain of the elementary classrooms. We sang, played and drew for the majority of the day. Contrary to my previous belief, the children in the preschool were an absolute delight to teach. I see a massive difference in the behaviour and attitude of the children here, and in Montreal. When I look at the Belizian children, I see big-hearted kids who have enormous respect for others, and who have no trouble loving one another. The kids listened to our instructions attentively and followed them accordingly. I think I speak for everyone when I say that these first two days of our mission trip were absolutely incredible.
Chloé : La première journée au Belize était très mouvementée. Le trajet d’avion a pris plus de temps que je le pensais. Toutefois quand nous sommes arrivés, nous avons eu tout un choc culturel. Le mode de vie ici semble beaucoup plus simple et les personnes semblent être plus heureux. Le paysage est très vaste et dégagé et pour le moment je n’ai vue aucun gratte-ciel. Hier et aujourd’hui, nous avons enseigné dans une école primaire et dans une garderie. De plus, on se lave dans une rivière, ce qui est très différent mais aussi très amusant. Nous avons aussi rencontré le groupe de jeunesse d’une église et nous avons joué des jeux d’introduction. C’était probablement le moment que j’ai le plus aimé car nous avons eu l’opportunité de parler avec des personnes notre âge. Je prie que Dieu continuera de nous aider à réellement toucher des cœurs dans la communauté d’Armenia. PS- Allo maman, papa et Inès j’espère que vous n’êtes pas trop triste sans moi. Je vous aime, à la prochaine.
Sarah: The past few days in Belize have been truly wonderful. We’ve experienced so many unforgettable moments with each other. I really enjoyed helping out at Armenia Government School. We’ve met so many sweet, energetic and big hearted children that we connected with instantly. We had the opportunity to teach them in class and play with them outside. At the end of the day we would be really tired so going to the river was really refreshing. Also, the food here is really great. I’m so grateful that I have the opportunity to meet and connect with all these amazing people in Belize.
Ryan: Hi guys I miss you, I’m doing really well. It’s amazing here, a tropical paradise. The plane ride was actually pretty long, I was surprised. The house where we are staying in is great and we settled ourselves in. It’s SO HOT were spending the whole day sweating until we go to the river around sunset, the river is actually super clean and clear. (funny story: on Tuesday when we went in I wasn’t paying attention and the current slowly pushed my shampoo bottle and I spent the next 10 minutes chasing it.) The food is great, their cooking is amazing here (don’t worry mom I still miss and love your cooking). The culture shock still boggles me. The first day I already learned to appreciate so much. For these past days we’ve been at the school helping out. Joanna and I have been working our butts off helping as much as we can. We’ve corrected probably hundreds of papers and given prizes out and read with the kids. I love you guys, talk soon. Love, Ryan
Emmanuel Missions 2018 