So let me tell you a little more about the community where Felix lives and the Compassion center he attends. Felix lives in Santa Maria Tonanitla and attends Embajadores del Rey Student Center, or ME790. This community is located about 41 km north of Mexico City and is home to approximately 10,200 residents. The adults who do work in this community earn the equivalent of $150 per month. Compassion sponsorship allows this center to provide the children with the following: Bible teaching, medical checkups, hygiene education, sports, social events, academic reinforcement, school supplies, and field trips. They are also providing meetings and social events for the parents and guardians of the approximately 200 children registered with Compassion at this center.
When we first arrived at the center, we were warmly greeted and each of the age groups of kids had presentations ready to perform for us. I had a hard time trying to figure out what I should do, take pictures with my real camera, take pictures with my phone, video, just watch?!? Too many choices!! Plus, I was on the lookout for Felix!
After the performances, our team was split up to go along with the different age groups to assist them during their lesson time.
Get acquainted time with the teenagers
We went up with the teenagers and started with a fun get acquainted game. One person had to stand in the middle of the circle and say, "Mi nombre es...", give their name, and say one thing they liked. If you liked that same thing, you had to get up out of your chair and quickly find an open chair to sit in, or you were now the person in the middle. This was quite fun, especially when we didn't know what the person in the middle liked because for the most part, it was all in Spanish!
Then we had learned ahead of time that this group was studying the books of the Bible. So before we left, I found printable books of the Bible flashcards in Spanish and brought them with us. We split the group in half and played a game to see if the kids knew if the book was in the Old or New Testament. Trying to do this in Spanish was a bit of a challenge!
There is that smile again!
Before lunch, a lot of us were outside for a bit, and I just happened to see Felix and he smiled for me!
My table mates for lunch
During lunch, I sat with this group of children, without a translator! (I really need to learn more Spanish before my next trip!) I tried to ask them a few questions in the little bit of Spanish that I do know. If I got stuck, I would just look for someone around me to help me out. After lunch though, I brought out blank index cards and sharpies, shared them with the kids, and I wrote 'Jesus te ama' on the cards and drew a simple picture. The kids started drawing pictures and writing messages on their cards. It ended up being a great way to leave a little something behind for some of them, and I now have a nice collection of cards to keep as a reminder of our time together.
I was eager to walk around a bit, try to see Felix again, and get some pictures of some of the activities. So I left the kids at the table with the activity and went outside. There was quite a bit going on outside.
A little bit of futbol
Girls posing for a photo
Kids swinging
Playing with bubbles
Playing hopscotch
Then our team split into three groups for the home visits. You can read about our time at Felix's home here.
Playing pato, pato, gonzo
After our visit at Felix's home, we had a bit of time while we waited for the other groups to get back to the center. To take advantage of time with the kids, we started a game of pato, pato, gonzo (duck, duck, goose). (Did I mention that the young man in the blue shirt is my son who came on the trip with me!!)
Lots of goodbyes!
Once we were all on the bus to leave, there was a crowd of children and adults to say goodbye to us!
So between what I shared in my last post, as well as this post, you can see that it was a very full day!! These children were precious, and I was so thankful for being able to spend the day at the project where Felix attends, as well as visit his home, and meet his siblings and his mom. It will definitely be a day that will live in my heart for years to come!