I want to share with you what I experienced today. Please forgive my spelling if it's incorrect. I do my best to get the names of people and places correct. The staff split into groups and went to four different schools in the Santiago area that SCS partners with: Caminito de Jesus (which is very close to the SCS), Palo Alto, FESSIF, and Hogar de Crecimiento (in La Yaguita). I was on the team that went to La Yaguita. There were approximately twenty of us. As we drove through Santiago, across the river (that is quickly drying up), and into La Yaguita, I noticed a distinct difference between the area I've been living in and this area. This area is much more poor. It amazes and humbles me to see how these people live with so little! We arrived at the school. It is sharing space with the church. We were greeted by Ramon (the "big boss") and Karina (the "boss" as she puts it). They introduced us to the staff. Ramon told us a little bit about the school. He even mentioned that human trafficking is a problem in the area. Within weeks of the school being open, the enrollment doubled. The school is completely run by Dominicans.

Karina told me later that the school opened in 2008. This will be their 8th year. They have two sessions each day- a morning and an afternoon. There are currently 90 students enrolled- 45 in each session. About thirty of the children are ages 3-6 and the other fifteen include children ages 7-12 that aren't accepted in the other schools. She said they are children that are from a foreign country or don't have an official birth certificate. It saddened me to hear that children can be turned away from education. She took me on a tour of the "school". It consists of two classrooms (one room/ one entrance with a dividing wall) downstairs by the church auditorium for ages 3-4 and 5-6. There is one classroom upstairs for ages 7-12. They are very simple with only desks and a chalkboard. I saw very few teaching resources or books for the children. They don't have educational toys. I can't imagine 3 and 4 year olds sitting at a desk for several hours with little hands on learning, yet they feel privileged to be in school. We are blessed with so much! She went on to explain that the pastor moved out of his office so it could be a classroom. He is working at home and they are in the process of building him a new home. They eventually want to move the church and use the "auditorium" for more classrooms. They are working on getting teacher certificates and a certificate from the government for the school so they can add grade levels. She said it only takes six months or so. Their goal is to have six classrooms by next year. There is a lot of thought and planning that will have to take place though.

My group painted the concrete block wall by the playground. Some of the ladies used rollers and I used a brush to fill in the cracks and holes the best I could. The others went around picking up trash (the difference before and after was great). It was awesome to look back from painting and see the kids running around playing or helping pick up garbage. I noticed they are trying to put up a wire fence around the playground. This will help keep the area safer. I found out later that the playground had only been installed one month ago because of the generosity of people in the states! Before that it was just a dirt plot. I'm so happy that these children will have a safe place to play, run around, and be kids. They said kids are always there, so it is getting much use. We finished the wall by the playground before lunch.

After lunch we did the side of the same wall that faces the church/school area. I will admit it was quite hot and painting in the sun wasn't easy, but the walls looked a lot neater. I heard Ramon sharing that they now can paint the logo/design on the wall. While my group was doing this, others groups were moving desks and resources up and down the stairs and cleaning the classrooms. They start in September. Others were painting the boys and girls bathrooms and the kitchen area. Ramon told us before we left that the building the restrooms and kitchen are in was completed only a month ago. Praise God that work is continuing and this place is growing! It is awesome to be a part of it. Also this afternoon, as we finished up painting, we could hear the kids (a bunch of them) running around and laughing as they played relays and other games with some of the staff. I loved peeking over and seeing them just have fun. Their lives may be really difficult, but in that moment they could forget about it. Before we left, we split into grade/age levels and prayed for each teacher. These teachers give so much of themselves with so little. I have no room to complain. Ramon thanked all of us and left us with a story about how SCS gives food that is distributed to the community. He described one family's reaction to receiving that food. The father (I think) took Ramon into his house and showed him a pot of boiling water and said that was going to be their meal- water. I'm sure the stories could go on and on of how the willingness of others to give sacrificially blesses this community and others immeasurably.

My mind has a hard time fully comprehending what I experienced today (as it always does), but it left me with the feeling of incredible thankfulness- of all God has blessed me with, of spending a day with these selfless people, and knowing God has great plans for this school (because we've already seen huge improvements). It challenged me to think about how I/we can practically help this school, whether it is resources that they lack greatly, training for the teachers, or planned activities with the students. It also made me think about how I can get my  class involved in serving not just this community, but any community, even if it's starting with small steps. Most importantly, I can pray for the teachers, administration, and students. Things happen when we pray. To me it all starts with committing to get involved wherever and however God shows me, and to pass on to my students the importance and privilege of reaching others through service.