Farewells

It was my last day of volunteering in the little school in Jocotenango, Guatemala. Time for gift-giving and farewells.

At the last part of recess, I asked the principal to assemble all 100 students, and I presented them with a soccer ball for the school and a USB drive with all the photos I had been taking in my weeks there. I had also printed a bunch of my favorite photos of the kids for them to have. I totally underestimated the popularity of actual printed photos! I wish I had made three copies of every single one!

An unexpected treat was that the teachers gave the kids a chance to stand and say something to me in front of the whole school. Some stood and said kind words. Others just came out to the center of the court where I was and hugged me. I cherished both.

Interestingly, most of the kids who shared kind words were not even kids I knew very well! The ones I thought I had good relationships with didn’t say much. Then others whose names I didn’t even know stood and talked of how much they appreciated me and how much I had helped them with English and how glad they were that I was there! I guess it just goes to show you never know who’s watching or who’s life you’re impacting.

One girl who said some things was a girl who gave a speech on the topic of peace in an oratory competition last week. Her speech had been my favorite. I sat next to her on the bus one day and told her I liked her speech. That’s the only time I had ever talked to her. Looking back, I think my compliment to her went much farther than I knew. I wonder if she gets much affirmation at home.

One boy who wrote me a very sincere, lovely card was a boy who was supposed to be in my English practice group but never seemed to show up. I felt like he was avoiding my class. Still, I liked the kid. He was a good dancer and a good double jump-roper. I let him know I thought so, and I let him teach me some things. Maybe that did it. He made me a card and gave me a huge, long hug. Again, I think perhaps my affirmation of him meant more to him than I imagined.

I wish I had figured out the enormous power of simple affirmations sooner! I would have complimented a lot more kids a lot more often!

At one point, I was called into a classroom because the kids had requested to see me. They presented me with a group card. A few more kids said nice things. I said a lot of “gracias” and smiled genuinely, hoping to communicate how much their words meant to me. When I figured they were done, I started to leave, but a teacher in the room stopped me and told the kids he wanted to tell them more about me. This is a teacher I have become good friends with, and we have shared many lunches and discussions on life. He told the kids about my dreams and passions and my opportunities with my church.  He had learned all this through numerous long, slow conversations, but was able to sum it up for the kids in their native tongue--something I wouldn’t have been able to do so well. I’m grateful that he took the initiative to tell them more about me since I don’t want to be remembered just for being a nice volunteer. I want to be identified somehow with Christ.