Soccer Balls, Jump Rope, Tears and Graduation

So, the title sums it up...but I will give more details. Yesterday was good and hard. We went to Makarios in the morning and helped with the graduation ceremony for the kids. We had made them certificates, served them snacks, and were able to meet some of their families. The second picture here is the view from the front porch of the school as the celebration was wrapping up.

After the celebration, we went to Chichigua to play with some of the kids we would be teaching today. When we came to the village, we just walked through with a few teachers from the school and several kids followed us to a field to play. They had a great time kicking the soccer ball around with our kids. We pulled out the double-dutch style jump rope and before we knew it all the kids were gathered around. Some of them were amazingly good...and most of them were barefoot...jumping on rocks! Crazy. Becca and I swung the rope forever and team members and kids alike got involved in cheering ones jumping.

This boy was amazing...he had a different style...it looked like dancing. His name is Ronal. He was amazing...he just kept getting in line to jump again!

It was so much fun.

The kids also got to eat sugar cane cut straight from the field. Have you ever seen a kid look so hot in your life?

I promise...we took Haleigh into the shade quickly after this photo was taken!

The tears came with Vanessa...the little one in this photo...She is almost exactly Brooklyn's age. She came and held her arms up to me...answered my broken Spanish questions...and broke my heart. Except for the time spinning the jump rope...I held Vanessa. I didn't cry about her until that evening...but it was a good long one. She is so sweet and is growing up in a house that literally looks like the livestock sheds from my father's farm. Her entire village is like this. I pray God will lay claim to her heart. I pray she will follow Him. I pray we have shown Him to her and her entire village in some way that makes Him irresistable.

Today was another day of teaching...tie-dye, beads and such. I have blogged about this...but there was one very cool moment where a boy who had taken some English classes started talking to Jackson. He asked him questions in English and was teaching Jackson some Spanish...it was so amazing to see them connect.
So here comes the random. This is where we have been eating when we are not at the Makarios house...Yes folks...that is the restaurant/car wash! The food is pretty good...and you get to watch cars get clean! They really were washing a car while we were eating on the patio on Sunday!! More blogging soon...