Messiah's tutoring story

Monday my kid didn't come, but I'm glad yesterday my kid did come. Because on Monday everybody else had a kid and was at the park and I didn't really have anything to do. And then we went to the auditorium and everyone had a kid and I still didn't know what to do. I waited until the end of the singing and went and asked Miss Leah what I was supposed to do and she gave me a kid and I started talking to him and forgot who I was supposed to give him to. So I just kept him and we went upstairs to the classroom and we were just waiting for someone to come up. We found out they were down in the gym - they were playing a game to introduce themselves to each other. After that we played a line game where you run up to the next line if they say something about themselves that's true about you also. After that we just went upstairs and joined the other kids.

How Ramiro got bit by a girl, as told by Garrett and Ramiro

It all starts with the falling of the pinata.

Ramiro: I jumped in and grabbed the pinata so all the kids would get some candy. I'm never doing that again.

Garrett: I was standing by and I just saw Ramiro at the bottom of the pile with all these kids jumping on top of him. It was crazy. It was like a mad riot. Now I know how police feel at riots. There was no way we could control those kids. Then he got bit by a girl and I just stood and watched (see "flip flops to the head" story from earlier this week).

The End.

Interview with Walker

Q: Tell me about your wallet
A: It's constantly either in another pocket, or I just lost it. And the one time I remembered it, we got ice cream as a whole group so I didn't need it.

Q: Tell me about your kid
A: He's a very complicated, quiet, and kind of sassy, kind of anti-social person. He can be sweet sometimes. He'll draw me pictures. On the playground, the only game we play is hide-n-seek. Otherwise he likes to play with his Legos.

Q: Tell me about your suitcase
A: My suitcase is over 20 years old so it's pretty worn down. It has lots of secret compartments and is hard to spot among all the other black suitcases. It has a funny furry strap protector to help identify it.

Q: Tell me about your roommates
A: We actually get to SLEEP, and then we listen to the other rooms banging on the walls. We aren't that clean with our stuff, but we're not totally messy either.

Q: Anything else you'd like to tell me?
A: This is probably the trip I've had the most fun on. All the other trips have been pretty much games and stuff - I like to help people out. It's very planned out as well. I just hope Moses doesn't bring his Legos today.

The Third Tuesday of the Month (Sara and Alyssa)

Hello all!
Yesterday was our second full day of tutoring and work. We were grouped together along with Myster, Mike Z., and Josh Chappeau to do yard work such as mowing and weeding. We set off with Josh in his huge, red, A/C-less van in search of our assigned house for the afternoon. Our unexpectedly long quest began when our Google Maps seemed to have failed us as some streets matched up to where we were supposed to be and other streets were no where to be found. We drove around in circles for a long time, asking random people if they knew how to find the street we were looking for (not to mention all the one way streets that were not going in the correct direction for us), but to no avail. After 45 minutes of driving and circling (and bonding), Mike Z. examined the map closer only to discover that we had made a left turn where we should have made a right. Finally, after discovering our mistake, we found the house. We parked and prepared to unload. Then we looked up at a road sign that read "No Parking on the Third Tuesday of the Month." Alyssa laughed and read the sign out loud to us and said "wouldn't it be funny if it was the third Tuesday of the month?" Then as we thought about that it slowly came to our attention that it just might be the third Tuesday of the month. After checking Josh's cell phone calendar, we discovered that that was true in fact. It was indeed the third Tuesday of the month. Just our luck! We found a spot across the street to park and finally continued on with our scheduled work assignment. It was an interesting afternoon to say the least, but we bonded!

stories from Tuesday

Ok, today followed roughly the same pattern as yesterday, with a few variations added for good measure. So today...
... we're a bit more tired, but also "gelling" more as a team and with the other groups

... Gloria, Alejandro, and Mike C all did a game show for the tutor kids entitled, "what do you know about Mexico?" Gloria and Ale did a great job of keeping the kids interested, and in giving all of us the inside scoop info on common misconceptions about this beautiful country.

... Mike C and Ryan have been helping the older kids make handmade shakers - they're beautiful! - and today was "staining day".

... we brought a couple of pinatas out tonight and the kids loved them. It was quite a pile of excitedness when it finally broke and all the kids went desperately in for the candy. All survived! And it actually really was neat to see quite a few new faces show up for the excitement.

... more progress on the playset area at the apartment complex where Mike C & team are building. There is now a framed out area filled with mulch underneath the swings. The drain cover is completely covered and protected - hopefully no more mud! Next request: a slide of course! Can they pull it off??

... it's just overall a privilege to be here, to hang out with such great kids from Wisconsin (really, they're just incredible!), to see new faces, and to learn. Every time we come back we learn new stuff and take away lessons that we want to apply when we get back. Ask us about it!

flip flops to the head (Ramiro's story)

Yesterday I was helping  pack up from our work site and I noticed a kid hitting another kid in the head with a flip flop. I watched. The kid was screaming bloody murder. Then Mike came running up and one of the moms came up and told the kid to go home. Then Mike stopped the flight and gave me a hard time about not stopping the fight. Later, I saw some kids fighting at the kids club, and I broke them up right away. No more kids fighting on my watch! - Ramiro

Monday - made it!

Ok, we're starting to feel the pace a bit, but today was a really neat day. The rest of this week will follow pretty much the same pattern: start with breakfast, then short devotions, then meet up with our kids (each one of us is assigned one or two kids to tutor all week). We spend the morning with them, playing in the playground, coming in to sing, and then breaking up into classes where the kids are learning about different countries in the world. Then we eat lunch and get assigned to various kinds of work for the afternoon. Some get a short break for showering and rest before supper (the group working with Mike doesn't often get this ;) ). After supper is cleaned up a bit, we're ready to head to the neighborhoods for kids club, then a treat stop of some sort, debrief, and then bed.
So that's pretty much what today looked like. It was *hot* - the forecast said 97 degrees and it was humid also!  We met our kids and they were for the most part really sweet kids. This is actually their first week of summer school so they're all excited about starting and interested in what's going on.
I'll try to have more of the kids share specifics about their experiences and the projects they're working on - stay tuned!