Community Service Projects

One of the elements of our trip was getting involved with the community through service projects. This has probably been one of my favorite parts! 

One way I got involved was through a local church here called Living Word Church. Mary Blake and I just attended on our first weekend here, and we met a man from Baltimore, Maryland. He told us that his family had moved down here for a year, and he helps with service projects in the community with the church. We told him that we were definitely interested in being involved. We got in contact with him later that week, and he connected us to the pastor. We met the pastor the following week at church, and told him that we loved kids and would love to help in anyway. We then met Noemi, who leads the children's ministry, and she said she would love it if we would help with Sunday School. For the remainders of our Sunday's here, we had the opportunity to lead Sunday School. It was so fun to meet the kids, and get to learn and play with them! We also helped Noemi paint the Children's Ministry room one afternoon after school. I loved this experience because I got to meet so many people and develop relationships with them, and then serve alongside of them during my time here. 

Another fun thing I got to help with was a school dance! The interns at the other school, Isla Bonita, put on a dance, which was a fundraiser for the school. It was so fun to be apart of, and the interns at Isla Bonita did a wonderful job setting up such an enjoyable night for the students. They had decorations hung up at the school, hamburgers and hotdogs, a DJ, and a super cute photo both. I helped take pictures, and help facilitate the kids... and by facilitate I mean encouraging them to dance! Even though these were not the students I taught, it was so much fun to spend time with students outside of school in such a fun environment! 

Getting involved in the community has been one of the most rewarding parts of this experience. I love learning from the people here, and listening to what life is like for them here. They have taught me so much about simplicity. I feel like so often I am rushing from one thing to the next, but here I have been able to cherish time spent with the people here.