High School Mission Trip Blog

Today began with a group breakfast and then we divided into three groups and each set off to a different location. On our walk from the bus to the VBS site, we walked by several houses and saw some kids playing outside. One little boy named Gito ran right into Nicole Ciavola’s arms into a big hug without even saying a hello! Needless to say, the kids were very happy to see us “gringos” and loved playing soccer with the boys, painting us girls’ nails, and just showing us love. It was a great experience and I loved seeing all my classmates so eager to use all the Spanish they’ve learned over the years in order to interact with the kids. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! –Gabby

“Hola gringos!” This is the familiar greeting we’ve been getting all day. We broke up into three groups and went to our sites. The Fuego group went to Copan in the morning and Linda Vista in the afternoon. We were a little discouraged about the small turnout in the morning group, but that was soon wiped away by the mass of kids at the Linda Vista site. We even saw Arling and Aaron, two kids that Hope Carpinello and Dylan Kreisel, two seniors from last years trip, still sponsor. After we were done, we adventured in downtown San Ramon. We went to a panaderia, a bread store, and a delicious ice cream shop. We ended the night with a group session and some hot showers.  -Nicole

For our Friends and Family:

- “Mom I’m safe! Estou sem creditos para ligar e nao sei como coloca. A ligacao caiu quando eu estava falando com meu pai e nao tem mais como ligar. ” –Isaac Ribeiro

- “Hi Mom, I didn't fall off any cliffs yet, also hi Dad and Ren ” –Nicole Grant

- “Hi Mama, Daddy, and Vanessa, don’t worry, I’m having fun! Te amo” –Alex Izmirlian

- “Hi Mommy and Daddy, I miss you all! Love you” –Gabby Hurtado

- “I miss all of you!” –Nicole Ciavola

- “Hi Mom!” –Ruddy Simon

Mrs. Gutierrez's group - El Feugo; and Officer Nava's group - The Enforcers.

The girls at Linda Vista. Nicole is holding Arling, Hope's sponsor child.

The children were fascinated by Ruddy's hair and nicknamed it "algodon negro" or "black cotton." Ruddy loved all the attention of course :)

Mr. Smith and Mrs. Sengberg's group - The Manatees - putting on a puppet show during VBS.