Feeling Grateful By: Kira Beacham

I can’t believe that we are already on day four! Time really does fly when you’re having fun and playing countless games of red light green light, down by the banks and singing every nursery song you can think of. I have been in awe at how amazing the teens have been! There couldn’t be a more different place than Utah to be and they are not only adjusting well but also appreciating this amazing place we are in. As an adult leader it is so fun to watch these teens embrace a culture and place so different than their own.

Our day started off in our school where they do their morning prayers, meditations and anthem. We then start the day of with a book, song, and activity. Our activity today was Down by the Banks, and it was so chaotic at first but the kids caught on fast and after we split our big group into five smaller groups those little kids were loving it! Each teen does an incredible job and I feel so lucky to have such a great team.

Kate is amazing! She is an incredible leader and truly loves the kids at our school. She is organized and keeps us on track. It’s so fun to watch her teach and genuinely enjoy these kids. In her lesson today she was using Mr. Potato Head to teach body parts and I have NEVER seen anything cuter than these little kids using the Mr. Potato Head hats, ears, glasses, etc. for themselves. They also had a craft where they colored and cut out there own Mr. Potato Heads….SO ADORABLE! Kate has a little fan club of little girls that love to hang on her, hug her, and hold her hand.

Christian is so fun-despite not feeling great he refused to miss a day with our kids at our school. He is an incredible teacher and has so much enthusiasm and genuine compassion for these kids. He cares deeply about who they are and has somehow memorized all of their incredibly hard names-very impressive. He was teaching the kids about introductions today. They were not only picking it up well but there wasn’t one group that wasn’t smiling as he enthusiastically gave them all handshakes and waves. He has a little group of boys that adore him-he’s taught them a cheer that they do and you can tell that these little boys feel like the coolest kids around when they’re hanging out with Christian.

Noah is so adored by these kids! He is so good with them and has so much genuine fun with them. He is an enthusiastic teacher and has found joy in watching them learn the lessons. He is so helpful and has some serious National Geographic photography skills and I cannot wait to see all of the amazing video and pictures he has taken. He did a lesson today that involved coloring and filling out these worksheets and the kids loved it! They filled them out and were so proud of their coloring. It was so fun to watch how proud they were of their work and how Noah responded so excitedly to what they did. The kids love playing with him and I can tell that goes both ways.

Mia is incredible! She loves these kids and it shows. She is so sweet with them and they love her. She is adored by these kids and often times she has one of our littlest kids in her lap during her lesson. She is an amazing teacher and I love how much she finds joy in everything that these kids do. She had a lesson today that taught the kids about the names of clothing and they were able to do a craft where they decorated their own paper cut out person and it was so cute. She did a great job in keeping the kids entertained and plays with them so well.

 

Jared was our group leader today and as group leader he was in charge of reading our book this morning. I have never seen a more animated reader in my life than Jared. His book was We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and I could have sworn these kids thought they were. They were swishing and swashing, roaring like a bear and “OH NOing” at every corner. It was so cute to watch him create such a great start to our day. He is such a great kid and the students in our school ADORE him. Today he was playing with some of the kids on their one piece of playground equipment and they were so happy to have him there. They were laughing and smiling which is a direct reflection as to how Jared interacts with these kids. He was a huge help as the group leader in keeping our littlest group entertained throughout the day.

Tatum is so sweet. She is so active with these kids and is the first to play a game of volleyball with them or soccer. She does an incredible job at keeping her kids engaged through her lessons and communicates so well with them. She is loved by all of them and shares her love so freely for them. She has a book for her lessons everyday that is pretty long but she has found a way to keep it engaging and fun for these kids! They love it! They played with tinker toys today and it was so fun to watch what these kids created and how excited they were about what they made. One of our littlest kids often wanders himself over to Tatum and will sit on her lap as long she’ll let him. It’s pretty cute!

Tess has so much love for these kids. It is so fun to watch her thrive and adore them. She is so good with our youngest group (3-4 years olds) and she has a little buddy who loves to be held by her. It’s so precious! She has so much patience when things get chaotic and keeps a positive attitude when things get hard. Today she had such a fun lesson! She was teaching the kids about animals and one of the activities she did was musical chairs but they landed on animal pictures. They LOVED IT! She made it so fun and one of the cutest things was when they would start to dance to music as they walked around the animal pictures.

Tess, Tatum, Kate, Mia, Noah, Christian, and Jared have shown so much appreciation and love for the kids in our school. It is a beautiful thing watch and I love being a part of it! Best Thanksgiving ever and Happy Birthday Ashley!