January 2, 2015

Today is our last official day with Nueva Generacion. Elaine left yesterday and Cindy and Ann are leaving today. The rest of us are staying at least until tomorrow if not longer (like me). Breakfast finished we got ready to board the vans. The North Carolina group had brought several large duffles filled with toys and supplies for the children and those of us that had not already delivered are offerings put them out to go on the bus. I brought crayons, coloring books, sticker books, and puzzles.

We arrived at the town square and waited for all the children to arrive. While we were waiting we heard some music and drumbeats and saw a procession coming up the street. After walking over to see what it was, we saw that it was a funeral procession with people carrying a casket, followed by a band playing music. The procession rounded the corner and went into the church. Many community people entered. The priest started speaking and from what he said it was a woman who had died.

Once the children gathered we walked to the park. The walks were fun with attempts at singing songs like "If You are Happy and You Know it" partly in English and partly in Spanish. The day started as usual with the parachute games. Then our group was off to arts and crafts with today's project making lightening bugs out of water bottles. A glow stick was put in the bottle, and the bottle was decorated with eyes and wings and legs. They were very cute, demonstrating some real creativity among the children.

Today's snack was tortillas with guacamole, carefully prepared by Sue, Estuardo, and Sheila. After snack time and the children grabbing every opportunity they could to play on the swings and slides and climb in the wooden house, we went to the field for relay games. This was the most fun activity I thought. With three-legged races, wheelbarrow races, balancing a ball on a spoon races, changing into clothes way too big races, and hula hoop races everyone was laughing, people were trying hard, falling on the ground, and so excited when the actually completed a part of the race.

With all that energy spent, we went back to the main area. Somehow our group had missed the second arts and crafts project which was to write a note to the parents and place it in a heart shaped envelope. So we got everyone to do that. Kathelyn was a rebel and instead of making her note very small, she made it big and put it in a big envelope. The note fell out as I was collecting them and I read it before inserting it back in the envelope. I was so touched - her note thanked her parents for her life, for the food they gave her and for their love. It was written so sweetly, I had tears in my eyes.

As we finished up, those parents and family members that were able arrived for the end of the program. Some of the parents got into the swing of things by joining in with the parachute games. Then the children sang the song they had learned with Diego. The program ended with lots of photos, lots of hugs, lots of thank you's going both ways, and lots of tears. We had all had so much fun and so much joy was brought to the children and by the children to those of us working with them.

We walked back to Soraya's house for our final lunch there. We were so surprised to see the beautiful food decorations that sat on the table -such as the watermelon basked with Nueva Generacion carved in the side, fruit skewers dipped in chocolate, other fruit baskets with American flags decorating them. The dish of the day was spaghetti. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and ended this meal with lots of thank yous and hugs and tears as well.

I wanted to visit the crafts market in town before leaving so a few of us went there with a plan to take the chicken bus back. I was buying some pants and Ed waited for me and as we came out Rabbi Lucy told us the bus had just left with the others. So Ed and I went over to the place where the bus comes and sat on some steps to wait for the next. While we there Joel walked up to go to the ice cream store a few doors down. I joined him and got a cappuccino cone and then we decided we would all go back to the home site and take the van back. The home was built for Kelly a 16 year old girl and her mother Judith. We knew them as they were the two who sat in the entryway of the hotel each day selling crafts. When Cindy came to Guatemala about 10 years ago with her daughter's class to study Spanish, she saw the need to help the children. Eight years ago, Kelly was the first child sponsored for her education. She has been able to take private English classes and is now fluent in English. Her aspiration is to become a pre-school teacher.

We walked back to the home site. Kelly was there and told us she needed to go take a shower and change into nicer clothes. Her mother was coming from Antigua on the chicken bus. We hung around the home site and watched the continuing work. The door and window were in place. The exterior was partly stuccoed. There was a big wheelbarrow of red concrete that would be used for the final layer of the floor. Percy, one of Soraya's brothers, and one other man from the village, Roberto I think his name was, had been the foundation of the construction team. There was a young boy Christian who had also helped - I caught a photo of him wearing his new Kol Ami cap.

Kelly returned all dressed up and reported her mother was a bit delayed due to traffic. The next update we received was that she was walking from the square. I went out to the street and saw her running down the hill to get to the house. The Nueva Generacion team - all the workers and the others of us who were still in San Antonio and Kelly and Judith celebrated the construction of the home. A wooden plaque was put in the wall celebrating its completion and the work done by members of Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, North Carolina and Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, California. More speeches, thank you's, hugs, and tears. We all parted with mixed emotions of sadness and happiness.

The van took us back to the hotel where we had a little time to prepare for our last dinner together. We met first for some final reflections and a short Shabbat service. A Challah had been found at the bakery of the restaurant we would be going to for dinner - we were all amazed. We walked to Epicure about two blocks away. As we entered the front, it was a small deli, racks on one wall carrying several varieties of Trader Joe's crackers among other things. The chalkboard signs listed the various sandwiches - corn beer, pastrami, roast beef, turkey, and ham. The back was a restaurant and we were spread at several tables. We all took our seats and were looking forward to having our guests from the village join us. A short time later, Soraya, dressed in her beautiful Mayan clothes, her mother, Angelica, her two brothers Percy and Johnny, Dulce and one of the other teachers I had not met, arrived. Dulce and Johnny sat at my table. I learned from Dulce that she is Soraya's cousin, that her mother went to the U.S. and lives in Michigan and she has not seen her since she was a very young child. She was raised by her grandmother.

It so happened that this day was Percy's birthday so he was treated to a resounding Happy Birthday and a little cake with one candle. When we had finished eating, we heard heartfelt thanks from Soraya and each of her family members. Cindy went to each person present and said something individual about that person's contribution to the week. Many more hugs, thank you's, good-byes, and tears.