Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Haiti Mission Day 4 -- A Different Shade of Blue


Yesterday afternoon, after the blog was posted, we had an impromptu soccer game with several of the local children who attend the school.  We brought a soccer ball with us and brought it out to play with six children.  We divided up and had a couple Americans on one team and a couple on the other and had several Haitian children on each.  Communication with teammates was difficult, but everyone understood "pass" and "match" to begin or continue the game.  We played for at least an hour with our Haitian friends, enjoying many laughs and many high-fives.  Almost everyone on both teams scored (sorry, Will Corry), including Sara Cotton scoring one of her two goals on Adrian.

The match was a great experience for everyone involved and a great way to get to know some of the children.  We saw some of the same kids Tuesday morning and wanted to play more soccer.

On Tuesday morning, we had the opportunity to observe the kindergarten classes and participate with the children as they worked on writing.

After lunch, we finished painting the inside of the clinic that we were instructed to paint.  As it turns out, we were able to paint more than anticipated.  Near the end of the our painting, several Haitian children came to the clinic to see us and we wound up playing different games (tag, hand games and other things children enjoy).  Several of the hand games (patty-cake type games) were the same rhythm and cadence as we enjoy in the states.  The children also tried to teach us "The Macarena" and were surprised when we knew what they were doing.  Beth taught some of the children "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and they laughed so much at her performance.  Several of the youth gave piggy-back rides to the children and the children in turn gave flowers to a couple of our girls.

Words cannot describe the fun and excitement we had today.  We look forward to uploading pictures and videos upon our return home.  Until then, envision our youth playing games with Haitian children!

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