Our last day of service

Today we made our last trek to Center #1. In the morning Larry worked hard to finish the garden boxes with Iván. They looked great mounted on the railing of the patio and ready to receive potted plants for a container garden. What an exciting addition that will be to Center #1! Amy, Pat, and Callan helped out in the classrooms and in the office until the whole center was ready for a morning goodbye celebration.

The whole center gathered in the main room. Elvita and Pilar came and Elvita thanked us all for our time and effort volunteering. Carlos, Elvita’s husband, also thanked Larry for his work on the tiling and garden boxes. The children from each class were dressed in different costumes, some with face paints. Each class performed a dance. The children were adorable! When they were finished, Callan gave a speech in Spanish on behalf of the volunteer group. It is as follows:

Gracias por la oportunidad de ser voluntarios en su centro. Hemos disfrutado de nuestro tiempo con todos ustedes aquí en la guardería. Hemos disfrutado mucho de todo lo que hemos aprendido, lo que hemos podido enseñar, los proyectos de construcción y el todo el trabajo con ustedes. Llevaremos con nosotros a nuestro país nuestros recuerdos de sus sonrisas, las bienvenidas tan alegres que nos dieron y los días ocupados aquí en la guardería.

Roughly translated, in English it reads: "Thank you for the opportunity to volunteer at center one. We have enjoyed out time at the center and with all of you. We have enjoyed teaching, learning, building, and working with you. We will take back to the United States our memories of your smiles, cheerful welcomes, and busy days."

Then Amy, Pat, and Callan did their own performance of “The Hokey Pokey” and several of the children jumped up to join them. It was a wonderful celebration of two weeks in this amazing center.

Following the official celebration, chaos ensued as we worked hard to feed all the center’s children in one lunch sitting. Normally lunch runs in two sittings. Once all the children were fed and off to nap and the floors were slept, we headed off to lunch.

Having completed all his planned work, Larry spent the afternoon building a window screen for the kitchen while Amy, Pat, and Callan worked in the classrooms and did a final English class with the tías.

We ate dinner together at the hotel and reflected on our volunteer experience.

Entry submitted by: Amy McLaughlin  

Message for the day: “You give little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran