day two

Tuesday was spent visiting three more schools - Buenas Aires, Aduanas, and San Miguel. All wonderful places that continue to impress me with both natural beauty as well as the beauty of spirit found in those who live in the communities. Walking into the Buenas Aires community, I was struck by this building and the lush scenery. Turns out, it's the local church building.

Of course the roads are a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, the Prado is up to the challenge. Ruts three feet deep would have given me pause, but Carolyn barrelled on and by the grace of God we never had reason to get out and push.

Manuel is a facilitator for Hope and Development. His job is to teach English, as well as to visit in the schools and help in whatever ways he might be needed. Here we're visiting in a preschool class and he seems to be charming the young ladies.

After a little prompting these guys did a great job circling up and posing for a picture. I'm not sure why the teacher send them outside, but it was a beautiful day for it!

The girls, on the other hand, needed a little time to prep for their picture.

Day two included two river crossings. This one was my favorite because you can't even see where the road continues on the other side until you're in the middle of the river! (It curves to the right and immediately climbs a brutal hill.)

Physical Education class includes doing things such as rotating your wrists, swaying your hips, lifting your arms, and popping joints in your fingers.

Inside the 4th-6th grade classroom in Aduanas. This school has only been with H&D for one year, but the students were more than happy to share the English they've already learned. You can also see the typical school desk here. Students don't generally have any school books, just notebooks that they copy everything into. The map, bulletin board, and storage unit are a bit unusual to see as most schools are bare of all but the desks and one whiteboard.