SAN JORGE PRE-SCHOOL

Today our journey brings us to the San Jorge pre-school. Since the roads are closed as they literally blow up the side of the mountain that was damaged by Agatha we had to take a boat to get there!! That's right we took a boat across the lake then a truck to the pre-school which is always fun!! As we waited at the launch for our boat to arrive I met this sweet, young boy who was shining shoes for anyone whose attention he could grab. Since I wore white tennis shoes I couldn't give him work but I could provide him with a much appreciated meal!! That's right I took the little boy to a nearby make shift kitchen to have breakfast!! The smile he gave me was worth more to me than the few quetzals the meal cost! See I honestly have an issue with knowing many of these children leave their homes very early in the morning with no breakfast and sometimes work into the late hours of night with little or nothing to eat!! So to be completely honest it's nothing to see me having a meal surrounded by a few extra kiddos!! My mother has always taught me to feed the hungry and help those in need when you can!! Makes me appreciate the little things in life when I can do that!! I mean we take for granted that we get to eat whenever we want and whatever we want!! This is a luxury MOST families in Guatemala cannot afford!! Poverty is so wide spread and many meals that are eaten are only tortillas and salt which have NO nutritional value!! So as I walked towards the boat my heart was full!! If the rest of the day was plagued with problems or just a rotten one my heart would still be happy knowing that's one more child who is not going hungry today!!

The pre-school was brightly decorated and the kids were all happily eating as we arrived!! Many of them were less than shy and chatted away to us!! They were all excited to receive new clothing as we waited for the clowns to get ready!! I was able to get many smiling photos that will always be a constant reminder to me of my journey!! They all had HUGE smiles as the clown came out and began to play with them!! They played musical chairs and danced themselves silly!! I think they all had a wonderful time!! And if you're wondering Santa came along this time as well!! Giving each child a toy to bring home made the room explode with smiles, laughter and playful moments!! Many of them were quick to show off their new treasures to the other kids as well as us!! They were all able to enjoy cake and punch while listening to music and when they were done some of them even got up and danced!! Now how much more of a good time could you ask for? We even had enough chuchiots and cake to share with some of the kids who peered in the door that didn't attend the pre-school!! God is always good and provides to many more than we think we can reach out to!! So another remarkable day that left me feeling even more blessed!! I mean what in the world did I do to deserve to be lead into this type of work is still a mystery to me!! Whatever that reason is I'm so grateful and lucky that it happened!!