First day of swimming classes!

Today started off terrible but then turned awesome.  I woke to a beep on my phone which I thought could be a message from the boy I was driving to swimming so I checked it out.  It was a friend informing me that I had been hacked and was sending everyone spam email.  I sent him and his wife a bunch of messages and even called them in the US, but they didn't answer.  I was desperate to send out a message to all of those people who were about to wake up this morning and open the spam email, then discard my other email which was begging for money.

Unfortunately I had to head out to the pool without being able to follow up on the spam email.  I felt sick to my stomach thinking of all of the people who might not open the email I had spent months praying about.  But I need to leave that in God's hands and believe that the people who are supposed to open that email will.

Then I went to pick up the boy who needed a ride.  I was already late and he was even later.  No time to stop and get gas or cash.  Luckily the supply of swimming caps on my desk at the church magically grew so I had enough money to buy a few more caps and everyone was fine without stopping for cash.

One girl forgot her donation.  We had made it really clear that they needed to bring their donation or they could not get on the bus.  I felt horrible, but everyone was watching and I really thought I had to set a precedent.  We said you cannot get on the bus without your donation, and I had to stick to it.  Otherwise everyone would forget their money every week.  So she didn't get to go  :(

A few kids didn't show up, but the bus was full and the pool was PACKED.  Our beloved trainer had two other guys working with him.  I talked with them a little.  They kept the kids busy the whole time. The kids said they really liked the new coaches a lot.  That was a good thing.  I hope that continues.

All of the kids but two - TWO out of 30! - were really excited to swim.  They followed directions really well and worked hard.  We told them very clearly when they signed up that this was going to be tough.  We warned them it is a serious class to learn the four styles of swimming, not to play in the pool.

One of the boys is a great swimmer.  He never had classes with us before but he knew how to swim.  However, he got cold and when he was allowed to get out and warm up he refused to get back into the pool.  I explained to him that one of the rules he agreed to was that he would follow the coach's instructions.  He said he didn't care about following instructions because he didn't want to ever swim again.  Finally on the bus ride home he agreed to try one more time, with the understanding that if he does not follow the coach's directions he will have to give up his place for someone who wants to participate.



Jose got cold so I set him up a bed.  (see below)
Maybe it was a little too comfortable.



The girls got a 10 minute break.  Jose laid in the sun.

The kids were perfect.  They sat in their seats on the bus.  They didn't bring food or drinks with them.  They changed their clothes quickly and followed directions really well. I was extraordinarily proud of them.

My favorite part of the day was watching Maria Angelica.  Maria Angelica has a tough life.  Really tough.  She is 8 years old.  The kids often come to the church and tattle on Angelica for begging for money on the street corner.  We have talked to her about that for years.  She seems to do it less often lately.

Maria Angelica is rarely clean.  Her hair is rarely combed.  She has a tough time in school.  But she comes to Buen Provecho every day.  She used to have difficulty following the rules.  Getting her to leave was almost impossible.  But for about a year she has become more social with other kids her age and has learned to follow rules.  Her younger siblings are now the strongest evidence of lack of parental guidance in the house.

Angelica asked me last week if she could swim.  I'll be honest.  The first thing that crossed my horrible mind was her lice situation.  But I told her sure, if her Mom came to meet with me like everyone else's parents did, then she could swim. 

Angelica is a practical girl.  She is streetwise and a little too grown for her age.  She said that neither of her parents are working and she would not be able to bring the 10 Lempiras we were asking for as a donation.  I did not want to let the 10 Lempiras stand in the way, but I also didn't want to cause a problem.  So Angelica and I had a private meeting with Walter.  He is in charge of all of the sports programs.  Walter asked if Angelica could bring 5 Lempiras.  She said yes, she could.  I said I did not want to hear about her begging in the street or she would not be able to swim.  Walter said Angelica should talk to him if she has problems getting the 5 Lempiras and should never beg in the street.

She asked if I could come to the church early the following morning to meet with her mother.  I told her sure!  And I did.  But her mother never came.  The next day she came from school and asked if her mother had come.  I could see she was disappointed when I said no.  And the next day she asked again.  I had to tell her no.  Finally on the very last afternoon Maria Angelica introduced me to a lady and said, "This is my Mom."  I told her, "Yay!  I know Angelica is so excited that you were able to come!"  We went over the rules.  I told her that she is the only one allowed to pay 5 Lempiras instead of 10, so she should not tell anyone else about her special permission.

Today when I called her name Angelica slipped me the 5 Lempiras like she has been greasing palms all of her life.  It was rolled up so nobody could see the denomination and she slid it smoothly into my hand.  Sometimes the wisdom of a 8 year old shocks me.  And sometimes it's scary.  How does Angelica know how to handle money like that?

Angelica absolutely shone in the pool.  She was so happy!  She said she never felt scared.  It was beautiful to watch.  A little girl with so little opportunity grasped on to this chance and she was GRRRREAT!  She didn't stand out as a girl from Los Pinos.  She was just any other kid in the pool.  Except she wore shorts and tee shirt.  And I brought a towel for her because she doesn't have towels at home.  Angelica learned a lot today.  She is going to be a good swimmer.  I love seeing her be successful. What an honor it is to be able to witness Angelica doing something so healthy and being so successful at it.  That was my favorite part of the day.



Boy does she look grown up!  This is Maria Angelica



Swimming!

Also, I have made some friends at the sushi restaurant that sells 2 for 1.  The man who is in charge of organizing all of the sports programs told me that they were welcome to join us.  It was fun watching the Moms look down at their kids.  Tomorrow the Moms are coming as part of the adult group to learn to swim themselves.  They were really happy and grateful for this opportunity.



The Moms were not allowed to come down to the pool because it could interfere with the lessons.
But they enjoyed watching from above.

I had a super great day, and all before 11 a.m.

I took a lot more photos, but swimming will continue for a while and I don't want you to get sick of them.