The other day, my team and I got the chance to meet one of our ministry contacts at an elementary school where we will be hosting a Bible study once a week. The school was very cute. Students artwork lined the walls as well as academic posters. Kids ran around the courtyard playing and occasionally shouting hola! at us.
Our ministry contact placed us in separate class rooms so that we could hang out with the kids for a while. I was placed in 5th grade English. I was introduced, but none of them could really understand how to pronounce my name. I had to write it on the white board for them to read, which made me laugh more than it probably should have.
After I was introduced, the teacher had me help the kids say some phrases in English. I would ask a question from their lesson book, and they would reply. They were really good. They struggled over some of the tenses, but their English is way better than my Spanish.
After that, the teacher opened an “ask Erin any questions you can think of� session. The kids went wild with excitement. Many jumped up out of their desks with their English books in hand to ask me a question. They asked me what my favorite color was, when my birthday was, who my favorite singer is, how old I was, and a bunch of other simple questions with simple answers they could understand.
It was one of the funniest experiences of my life. The kids were talking over each other in an attempt to ask me a question, they would sometimes ask a question in Spanish that I wouldn’t understand, and they kept crowding around me like I was the most interesting thing they had seen all week. All in all, there was a lot of laughter. I was sad to leave, and I’m definitely looking forward to Friday.
On the bus ride back home, (I’m hoping to cover busses in another post. Public transportation in Guatemala is nothing like the States), I was reminded of a verse about children.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. -Psalms 127:3-5
These children are beautiful, and God’s blessing for Guatemala. Their smiles are as big as the country itself. I look forward to being continually blessed by both them and Him.
