We got back from our Christmas break on Tuesday, from different parts of the globe, ready and eager to pick up where things left off. It was a blessing to have some rest after months of craziness, and to be able to reconnect with loved ones.
Let me fill you in with how we finished off the year, since we weren’t able to post something before
we left. Summer camp (Camp Alabanza) kept getting better and better each week, building up to the last day – which I felt was our best day of the entire camp. A huge reason for this was that our youth leaders started really excelling as time went on, especially on the final day. And of course we had amazing volunteers (Alex and Francisco) making us an all-star team.
I was glad when the third week of camp came around. Despite losing some of our volunteer help, by the third week we were in a groove. The youth leaders knew what was expected of them and the kids had a routine that they knew. We had a constant group of kids averaging in the mid 50’s.
On the Friday of the third week we had “Water Day” where we played water games, water relays and trekked to the nearby soccer field to set up a massive slip and slide made up of three huge tarps. However, my favourite activity of the day didn’t have much to do with water.
We started off the day with a big game of modified Fear Factor, where teams competed against each other for points by eating the grossest foods available to us in Copan Ruinas. I love doing these Fear Factors, and each time I do one I try to out-do the previous ones in grossness. This one was definitely one of the better ones. New to the menu, and one of the worst ones I’ve ever come up with, was a milkshake made up of various candies, chips, a banana flavoured soft drink and pork rinds. Just the smell of it made me want to vomit.
Of course the game always devolves into all the kids shouting for the leaders to compete against each other. The best part of the whole game was at the very end when all the left over foods were put in the blender and mixed into the foulest smelling milkshake ever made. Francisco downed his whole cup, forever creating a name for him here.
The last week of camp was great as well, though extremely busy with all the things needing to be wrapped up. I was a little hesitant to go to the local water park on the last day of camp, with the large number of kids that we had. But we decided to go ahead with it, placing a huge amount of responsibility and trust in our youth leaders to make sure the day went smoothly and everybody stayed safe.
Despite it being a little cold, the day went perfectly. We couldn’t have been happier with our youth, they really stepped up, eliminating a lot of stress and actually allowing us to have some fun with the kids. There were no injuries and no major discipline issues. It was so much fun and a great way to end off an awesome camp. It was sad to say goodbye to the kids, they were an amazing group with lots of personality. I really felt like I grew close to them. I’m already excited for the next year summer camp with the kids, and hopefully someday an afterschool program in the area.
Then it was a few quick days of cleaning up, youth evaluations, celebrations, tying up lose ends and saying goodbyes. We said goodbye to Francisco and Alex who had been with us since September, helping run an afterschool program and a summer camp, and helping grow and refine UrbanPromise Honduras. They will be missed, but their impact on our organization and us will be felt for a long time.
Now we’re back and starting to plan for our full year afterschool program in Nueva Esperanza, hiring youth leaders for the program, looking to expand with a youth resource center and catching up with friends and the community. What an amazing year this has been, to think this time last year UrbanPromise Honduras was still being formulated in our heads. Just shows you what can happen when you take risks for God. Thanks to His faithfulness and to all of those who chose to risk with us by supporting the work that was yet to happen, we’ve been able to together touch countless kids, youth and families in Honduras. Glory to God!
May God continue to be glorified here and back home this new year.
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