Village Preschool

Sorry, I meant to put up another update on Monday, but I've been battling with low internet for a few days. Anyway, Monday morning I went with one of the other many missionaries out to the village where she teaches. I was hesitant to go because I would be the only person who speaks English and my Portuguese is still not so great. I also had to ride on a motorbike to get there which is something I have never done before. But hey, what is this trip all about? I want to experience missionary life and as many different aspects of what a missionary can do as I possibly can. So with that in mind, I decided I needed to go on this little adventure.

It turned out to be absolutely wonderful. I got to play with kids for 3 hours :)  When we got there the kids learned a Bible story (Cain and Able), sang a song, and prayed. Then they did a tracing activity in their workbooks. I realized that with my limited Portuguese and pointing and guiding their hands I could help them which really gave me a sense of accomplishment. It was good to feel like I was helping and making a difference somehow. After they finished the activity it was time to play outside. The kids played a number of games - I joined in on a few of them. After about 30 minutes of "recess" the kids went back inside and did one more activity in their workbooks. Once they were done with that, it was time to go home for the day.

I really enjoyed the time a lot and am thankful that I decided to go. Unfortunately there will not be an opportunity to go back since the missionary I went with is leaving this weekend. But I enjoyed the one time immensely. The greatest thing was that I felt like I had actually done something worthwhile. I didn't just observe and watch, I actually helped the kids and played with them :)

We had a birthday party today at the director's house for a couple of the missionaries. This is a picture of all of the kids that were there.