Mon-Fri mornings are flexible. We do laundry (by hand), spend time in the Word, prepare for classes/ Bible studies, or work on painting projects at one of the three Tacna Iberoamerican churches.
At 1pm we have lunch with the children from church and our fellow Nuestras Semillas teammates.
At 2pm our 20 elementary students begin homework, which lasts for at least two hours. (These kids have a LOT of homework!) During this time we gringas assist the professors by making copies, taking kids to use the church computers, or supervising a classroom if a professor must step out. We also use this time to talk to parents interested in signing up their children for the program.
5pm is "workshop" time. The kids learn (and eat!) in the kitchen, do a craft (with Tia Laura), play a game, or practice theater.
At 6:30pm the children get picked up or walk home. We then, as a team, clean the bathrooms and classrooms and gather for a brief meeting (and often prayer) before going home ourselves.
8pm is dinner in our homes. (Us gringas eat fruit, leftovers, and peanutbutter sandwiches in the afternoon to survive until such a late dinner :)
My (Stephanie´s) favorite hour of the day is definitely lunch, before Nuestras Semillas even starts. For many of the 70 church kids in the lunch table program, this is the only time during the day when they will tenderly hear their name called out or recieve a hug or pat on the back. I DELIGHT in greeting by name as many children as possible; I love seeing a group of kids huddled around Tio Brunner as they eat together; I´m happy when I see timid Joselyn fly into Laura and Ana´s arms for a bear hug. We cherish these moments, and we ask God to work His Love through the lives of these precious children.
Little Esmeralda, Luis, and Arnold eating lunch at the church
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