After the encounter, delegates visited their sister church communities on Friday and Saturday. Dinner talk at La Casa focused on the delegates sharing their stories about their time in the community, sharing achievements of the communities, and also opportunities for delegates to use their gifts and talents in these communities.
We visited our community on Saturday to celebrate the baptism of 7 boys and the promotion of 5 students to high school. We would consider this a graduation but in El Salvador that term is often reserved for higher levels of education.
It was an exciting time as the youth (4 girls and 1 boy) received recognition for their faithfulness in learning. They are all continuing on to high school, a major and more difficult step for learning, transportation, and risks. This is a major change for the community we first visited 6 years ago.
As spokesperson for the youth, Elmer told of the motivation and inspiration the students have received from their scholarship sponsors. He also said they were glad to be held accountable to earn good grades. In our world, $70.00 is a small price to pay for one year of education. Most of these students have been faithfully supported for 5 years by their sponsors. This is truly a successful and worth while project to empower poor families to send their children to school.
Let us all consider the ways we can encourage children, youth, and families to have a vision and hope for a better future.
In two hours, we move to our host family; we begin immersion school tomorrow. We are not sure of internet access so do not be surprised if you do not hear from us for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment