Day 4 - Speed Stacking

     What a day it was today!  This is when Sport Stacking hit Guatemala for the first time.  Today was a day of fun at the AOJ school.  The school has close to 500 students from JK to Grade 6.  Half attend school in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.  They are all adorable and very enthusiastic.

     We treated the staff to lunch today and dined alfresco with lovely white cloths decorating the tables on the basketball court.  Lunch was delicious and we later found out that  the meal was prepared over a wood stove. 

     The students were all excited , the older ones wanted to go  at ‘rapido’ speed…they need some more practice and who knows who will emerge as the Guatemalan champion for Sport Stacking.   We played a variety of games using the sport stack cups including relay games, speed games and games promoting agility.   The great thing about Sport Stacking is that language is not a problem, as this sport is very visual.  We only needed to know the words for  uno (1), tres (3), seis  (6) and diez (10)

     The afternoon also gave one of our team members  an opportunity to do a workshop with the social workers.  What was evident was that many of the challenges facing families in Guatemala occur in Canadian families.  This eased some of the pain that the social workers see every day as they feel they are not alone in the issues they face daily.  We have heard many times of those who are referred to as the “forgotten” who live in  this region.   The ‘forgotten” live in isolated villages and it is easy to marginalize them and the needs that they have.  We bore witness to the distances and challenges that face them every minute of their day when we built homes on Monday. 

     Another  team member shared time in the kitchen with the school cook and they shared some cooking tips and prepared Canadian style pancakes and served it complete with Canadian maple syrup.  This truly was a pioneer meal, as it too was prepared on the wood stove. 

     An honorable mention should be made to those of the Amberlea team who rose to the challenge of a basketball game against the AOJ staff.  Sadly, it was not Amberlea’s day despite some good plays.

    It was truly an uplifting day as we all engaged in time with these very special people.  The smiles are infectious and the love was contagious.  The hugs and the greetings  from the children are too numerous to count and we have all been touched to our core. 

Stephanie F.