This is a post from Ralph and Sharon Hulett. We wanted to let everyone know what today was like for the Team here in El Salvador. The people who don't have sponsored children went to the volcano and beach. The rest of us went to El Corralito, a park that had lots of fun activities for the children with their sponsors.
Sharon and I were anxious to meet both our sponsored kids. We had already met Karen at Pastor Miguel's church on Sunday. We had never met Fabricio. When we saw him, he bonded with Ralph right away. Karen grabbed Sharon's hand, and we were off to literally go to a higher level with these two--on the trampoline! All four of us were bouncing up and down like crazy people, laughing and yelling. We tried to see who could last the longest without falling. Ralph never fell, which was nothing short of a miracle! Karen came up a close second place a number of times. The bouncing threw Fabricio off balance and the poor little guy was rolling around in between us. He loved all the attention. While we were doing this, a wild and crazy soccer game with lots of kids and their sponsors went on in the field nearby. Next we made our way to a tire swing, made to look like a horse, where Ralph pushed Fabricio. After that the kids rode on real horses, which they really liked. Our translator, Nelson, did a great job on communicating between us, the kids, and their parents. We were able to talk about our lives back home, find out how the kids were doing and share information.
Both our children are eleven years old, yet they liked different activities. Fabricio enjoyed hanging out with Ralph and interacting with him. Karen turned out to be the daredevil and doing wild things by herself. She took to the rock climbing wall like a champ, getting near the top before sliding back down. Next came something Sharon and I passed on but not Karen--the zip line! Karen got on her gloves and helmet and bravely went up the ladder, then flew all the way down to other end of the park. Then she returned and we both just were amazed at this little girl's bravery and determination. Even Pastor Miguel got in on the act and went on the zip line. We returned to bounce on the trampoline some more and then we exchanged gifts. The kids got backpacks with lots of goodies inside, from a stuffed kangaroo for Karen to toy cars for Fabricio. We brought lots of pictures of us from our recent trip to New York, which the kids really enjoyed looking over. We gave Fabricio's mom and Karen's grandma gifts; and they even gave us presents. Group pictures with all the kids and their sponsors were taken, and we prayed for the kids and their families. There were lots of hugs and praises to the kids and their parents.
When it was time to leave, we were really choked up and let the kids know how grateful we were to have spent such a wonderful day with them. Karen was smiling the whole day, and Fabricio was so glad to finally meet us both. It was a day that we will never forget--meeting these kids that we have spent years writing back and forth to. It was beyond special--it was truly a gift.
Sharon and I were anxious to meet both our sponsored kids. We had already met Karen at Pastor Miguel's church on Sunday. We had never met Fabricio. When we saw him, he bonded with Ralph right away. Karen grabbed Sharon's hand, and we were off to literally go to a higher level with these two--on the trampoline! All four of us were bouncing up and down like crazy people, laughing and yelling. We tried to see who could last the longest without falling. Ralph never fell, which was nothing short of a miracle! Karen came up a close second place a number of times. The bouncing threw Fabricio off balance and the poor little guy was rolling around in between us. He loved all the attention. While we were doing this, a wild and crazy soccer game with lots of kids and their sponsors went on in the field nearby. Next we made our way to a tire swing, made to look like a horse, where Ralph pushed Fabricio. After that the kids rode on real horses, which they really liked. Our translator, Nelson, did a great job on communicating between us, the kids, and their parents. We were able to talk about our lives back home, find out how the kids were doing and share information.
Both our children are eleven years old, yet they liked different activities. Fabricio enjoyed hanging out with Ralph and interacting with him. Karen turned out to be the daredevil and doing wild things by herself. She took to the rock climbing wall like a champ, getting near the top before sliding back down. Next came something Sharon and I passed on but not Karen--the zip line! Karen got on her gloves and helmet and bravely went up the ladder, then flew all the way down to other end of the park. Then she returned and we both just were amazed at this little girl's bravery and determination. Even Pastor Miguel got in on the act and went on the zip line. We returned to bounce on the trampoline some more and then we exchanged gifts. The kids got backpacks with lots of goodies inside, from a stuffed kangaroo for Karen to toy cars for Fabricio. We brought lots of pictures of us from our recent trip to New York, which the kids really enjoyed looking over. We gave Fabricio's mom and Karen's grandma gifts; and they even gave us presents. Group pictures with all the kids and their sponsors were taken, and we prayed for the kids and their families. There were lots of hugs and praises to the kids and their parents.
When it was time to leave, we were really choked up and let the kids know how grateful we were to have spent such a wonderful day with them. Karen was smiling the whole day, and Fabricio was so glad to finally meet us both. It was a day that we will never forget--meeting these kids that we have spent years writing back and forth to. It was beyond special--it was truly a gift.
