EMT current group photo

EMT current group photo
June 2023 Ecuador Mission Team

Day 3: First Day of Teaching | June 15th 2015



Buenas noches everyone!
I (Logan) am taking over the blog for the night because our wonderful chaperon Mr. McCune has been working so hard on it and deserves a good night's rest for once.
 Today was our first day of teaching. It was easier for some, more difficult for others, and an adventure for all. When we first arrived at Amor y Esperanza, we were welcomed by the enthusiastic students who made a poster for us and sang us two songs in Spanish. 


Once we lead our classes into their classrooms, the real adventure began. Some of my brave teammates who don't speak Spanish are trying to teach English in a foreign country, and for that they have my utmost respect. Kristen wants me to mention that she is currently struggling trying to coral 29 first graders who don't speak any English AT ALL. (And neither does the teacher). Everyone designed their own lesson plans, some taking a crafty route and others using sports or music to teach their students.  Mrs. Tolford taught her class how to make robots out of simple materials like string and old CDs.


Although teaching can be stressful because of the language barrier, pretty much everyone loves recess. The kids are so adorable and affectionate and they always enjoy playing their games with us (even though we sometimes don't know exactly what the objective of the game is). 



After teaching until 12:30 and tutoring for an hour after that, we led a sports camp. Mr. McCune had his kids snapping the football, throwing it, and even running routes. The other members of the team taught the kids soccer, basketball, cheers, and how to jump rope. After that, we went back to the house and were understandably exhausted. We relaxed for a bit to recover. Mr. McCune made model rockets to use in his class tomorrow. He used paper to make the rocket, and a piece of a tire and a Fanta bottle to launch it. Maddie and I helped make some prototypes and we even got to launch them outside. 

(Speaking of which, I, being the non-crafty person that I am, must say that I am very impressed by the ingenious crafts my teammates are making. I really enjoyed making and launching prototype model rockets with Maddie and Mr. McCune. Bailey and Mariah are using balloons and plastic cups to launch pom pom balls across their room into makeshift goals. Christina and Coby are making footballs out of fabric, stuffing, and hot glue. I can only hope that perhaps their creativity will someday rub off on me.)



Mariah, Bailey, and I enjoying the beautiful sunset after playing hackey-sack volleyball versus Mr. McCune, Henry, and Malcolm. 

 We had an absolutely delicious dinner of carrot soup with popcorn for our appetizer, chicken, rice, and mac'n'cheese for our entree, and tres leeches (three milk) cake for dessert. Then we talked with Pancho and Pity and described our experiences of our first day of teaching. Pancho gave us an inspirational message about how we must recognize that all of the obstacles in our life are opportunities to grow and to trust God more. The couple also told us about the miraculous births of their two sons Daniel and Mateo. I can't go into detail because both are long stories, but it was truly amazing and both their lives are gifts from God. Doctors said that they wouldn't survive, but here they are thirteen and twelve years later, respectively. 

Anyways,  I am exhausted and I don't know how Mr. McCune does this every night. I am going to head on to bed and I look forward to another great day tomorrow! 






1 comment:

  1. Ay que bueno Logan. Fue un día estupendo claro. Uds tienen muchas experiencias para contar a sus amiguitos allá en los EEUU.

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