Our Wednesday night group

On Wednesday evenings, we have "church" in the local gym. Really, it is an outreach from our church, the Escazu Vineyard, to Los Anonos. We have about seven groups for youth and one for mothers. I help out with the girls group for 9-12 year-olds. We pray together, share a teaching from the Bible, and just about always do some jump rope at the end with a snack.

The girls in our group are full of energy and always wanting attention. Ale, the leader, and I decided to take them to the park for a Sunday morning. We rounded up seven girls and took the mile and a half walk to Parke Sabana. The weather was perfect. We played on the playground, tasted salted mangoes (a favorite treat here), ate ice-cream together, and took lots of pictures . Even though I am not able to communicate well because of my limited Spanish vocabulary, we are able to laugh and play together.

It was great to get them away from their community for a few hours and see them playing. It seems to me that so much of the time they are having to be adults: raising younger siblings, experiencing poverty, seeing drug use, and always feeling unsafe in their own neighborhood.

I look forward to taking them to the park in the future and allowing them to "be kids" for an afternoon.