Graduation ceremony

Our K'iche' teacher, Carolina, invited us to her brother's high school graduation ceremony at the church her family attends in Chichicastenango.  He was the only student participating in the ceremony since the church is very small.

Gerónimo, nicknamed Roni, was 23 years old when he graduated, having taken 7 years off from school before starting high school.  While he attended high school, he would work all morning as a bricklayer for his dad's business then rush home to shower and change for school, which had classes all afternoon.  High schools here are very different from American schools.  They are called "carrera" (career), and the students specialize in only one area of study for three years.  Roni chose "accountant" since that is one of the few options available in this area.  Actually, the school he attended is on the same road as our house.

Finishing school here is quite an accomplishment since it hasn't been encouraged until recently.  Most parents here have only completed first or second grade.  Congratulations, Roni!

Closing ceremony

Schools in Chichicastenango always have a "closing ceremony" at the end of the year.  We were invited to the one for Jesus' Little Lambs school for special needs children at ASELSI where we volunteered several times this year.  We are looking forward to helping again this coming school year, which starts in January.  We are praying for healing for these precious children.

Each of the students received a gift.

Christmas Dance

What a fun day my dancers and I had at ASELSI's Christmas Party!
For a great overview of the event, go to the Christmas Party Video. 
For a video of our dance, go to our Christmas Dance.

We walked to a local gas station, close to ASELSI, at 6:00 a.m., where the children arrived walking, in tuk-tuks, in microbuses, or in pick-up trucks.  Four teachers from the church class also came to help.  Then we walked together to ASELSI.

We presented our dance 3 times.

 
We also participated in another dance a few times with the group from Texas that was there for a week to help at ASELSI.  We had learned the dance the day before at the dress rehearsal.

We estimate that there were close to 3,000 people watching the event, divided into 4 groups.  There were 2,000 gifts given out to children that day, and 14 people gave their hearts to Christ.

Thanks, ASLESI, for allowing us to participate in this grand celebration of Jesus!