It's been a long week!

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long since the last time I have posted! I have been super busy. So, I'll bring everyone up to speed. On Friday, I found had orientation and found out which program I would be volunteering at. The program's name is Project Genesis and it is an after school program for all ages of children. It is in a very rural area outside of Antigua. I will get back to that in a minute! On Saturday, I had the amazing experience of mountain biking down a volcano. For a super cheap price, a company took about nine of us to the top of Volcano Agua and then we biked down. It was physically and mentally taxing but the sights we saw were amazing. I know we have mountains and views from Tennessee but seeing it in another part of the world shed even more light on just the wonder and beauty of our God. Needless to say Sunday was a rest day for most of us. However, I was up bright and early for church. It was a very cool experience because it was half in English and half in Spanish. My favorite part, as always, was the singing. Being able to praise God in not only my language, but Spanish as well gave me goosebumps. The rest of the day I spent lying around and getting tan haha. So then Monday came and so was the first day of my placement. A group of volunteers met together in front of our main office, hopped in the back of a pick-up truck and headed for Proyecto Genesis. I really didn't know what to think as we drove there but what I saw was even more humbling. There was about 30-40 children all crammed into a very small building ready to learn, and most importantly, ready to be loved. I was asked if I wanted to teach simple English to the younger kids, ages 3-10, which I eagerly accepted. We worked on colors, days, and months. I made sure to give lots of high fives and hugs whenever they got one right and lots of encouragement when they did not understand. I was told going in that I would be one of the only guys there. Also, many of the children had no father figure in their lives so seeing someone that truly cared about them and wanted them to feel loved would mean the world to them. There was a particular girl, Angela, that hugged me relentlessly whenever she got the chance. I tried not letting tears well up when I thought about just how humbling this was for me. Every day in Tennessee, I see children scream and cry for not getting a toy or a candy bar and meanwhile I have these little children that all they want is for someone to truly care about them. I will try to post more often! I am off to purchase a couple soccer balls and paint brushes for Genesis. Love you all and keep me in your prayers as always!