Education Team Report

Living Waters for the World – Education Report
Chuina, Campeche, Yucatan, Mexico – March 2007
Western Kentucky Presbytery

Education Team: Laura Goodwin, Susan Webb, Janet Algiburi


Day 1: Monday, March 12, 2007

Upon arrival in Merida on March 11th, we discovered that an additional automobile would be required, so the morning of March 12th, Rich reserved another car.
We located and checked into our hotel in Champoton. Introductions were made with our translator, Alex. We then drove to Chuina where supplies were unloaded into a secure room above the church. We spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the site and evaluating how to best use the space available.
We returned to Champoton late enough that the only restaurant open was the Santa Fe which serves pizza as well as Kentucky-style chicken.

Takeaways from Day 1:
Buy water as soon as possible. Larger quantities of bottled water are less expensive.
If a hotel offers a discount for AAA members, make sure they charge you the correct amount.

Action Items from Day 1:
Pursue and get refund from hotel Fiesta Americana.


Day 2: Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Began the morning with 12 ladies from the church. Alex assisted by reading the story of creation S2 and asking discussion questions.
Susan led the first activity which was a felt storyboard about the creation story. The ladies appeared to enjoy placing the felt pieces on the board.
Bill Jansing provided us with 10 Agar plates – we had 9 ladies volunteer to place their fingers in the red gel and we put a tap water sample on the 10th plate.
Laura explained importance of eliminating germs, however the Spanish word for germs sounds similar to the word brother. When Laura told them it was important to eliminate their brothers, the ladies began to laugh. Alex was an ideal translator due to his personal experience with both the Mexican and American cultures, but if Laura had not made the effort to communicate herself, the opportunity to laugh and bond would’ve been lost.
The ladies of the church prepared lunch. The live chickens in the morning became chicken sandwiches for lunch. Now that’s fresh!
At 2pm when the children came from school, we again had the lesson of the creation story. This time, however, Dioceline, the lady identified as our “teacher/leader” taught the children’s lesson. Each time the story said God created something such as “night” or “animals” the children chanted “es buena!”. Laura has a wonderful short video of this lesson.
We did creation cut-outs A8 with the children which they enjoyed.
Laura and Susan presented the Health lesson H1 and H2 to the children and did activity A7 making play-doh germs. The children were very proud of their creations and were excited about having their picture taken.
The children colored A19 and we displayed them on the wall. They were again proud of their skills and wanted to take the pictures home, which they did the following day.

Takeaways from Day 2:
Let the children take their pictures home at the end of the day.
The ladies were very forgiving of our poor Spanish. All attending were very responsive to all lessons.

Action Items from Day 2:


Day 3: Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The morning began with A13, the water system puzzle. Alex assisted Laura in explaining the purpose of each piece.
We read and discussed the story of Water from the Rock S4.
Water wands were made, A11.
We practiced the “play” S4, to be put on for the children in the afternoon. Parts were assigned and we were fortunate to have one man in attendance willing to play Moses. Dioceline narrated during the practice. The ladies were laughing and having so much fun that they became distracted easily but overall the activity was a big success. The lady playing Pharoh was especially good and some of the ladies made great complaining Israelites.
We dismissed for lunch (Mole with rice) and were to meet back at 2pm but when nobody came I was puzzled. On that day the ladies were preparing lunch for their husbands and didn’t let us know they would not be back as scheduled. I still don’t understand why that afternoon was different from the others.
In order to not waste time while the ladies slowly arrived, we sang childrens’ songs and Carlos MacGregor played the guitar. Alex assisted with the words for “Deep and Wide” which were not in our teaching manual.
The children played charades, A16 and A17.
Around 3:30pm we went ahead with the performance which was a bit disappointing – the ladies had less energy and enthusiasm – probably from the heat and their noontime work. The children distracted the ladies which could not have been helped.
The children made water wands.
The planned activities were completed but the children still had energy to do something, so Laura brought down the inflated balls and Frisbees (which were labeled and given to the church). The kids were so excited and were delightful to watch.


Takeaways from Day 3:
We had 15 bandana sized cloths for the Israelites. Next time, use a brighter or deeper color such as orange or olive green. Do not use blue. Pharoh needs a crown, so bring supplies for this. Both Pharoh and Moses were draped in paper towels (I was desperate!) so next time, bring about 2 yards of plain white fabric. The ladies created a paper beard for Moses. Have supplies handy and let the “students” be creative.
Be flexible.
The English and Spanish versions of charades in the manuals do not match.
I should have checked the song translations with Alex before singing them. There were quite a few differences. The children need to sing at least one song every day and the adults need to learn a new song.

Action Items from Day 3:
Note additional supplies needed for S4.
Make sure corrections are made to charade activities A16 and A17.
Find songs, possibly introits, that we can teach. Also, find a song that will work as a round.
Learn to play the guitar.

Day 4: Thursday, March 15, 2007

We did lesson S3 about Moses crossing the Red Sea. One of the ladies read the story from the Bible, but when Alex asked the discussion questions, we discovered that the manual does not list the correct verses to read. They looked at us like we were a bit nuts! The ladies were very knowledgeable about the Bible stories and quickly advised us where to find the verses we needed.
I was shocked that morning when I looked at the Agar plates. The one with their water sample had several maggots. Everyone looked at the plate and there was quiet discussion. We talked about germs earlier in the week but seeing the development in just two days made a big impact and strongly reinforced the importance of hygiene and clean water.
We discussed the importance of hand washing and did the black light activity which is another great visual. This went very well especially since they had just viewed the Agar plate results.
After lunch (beef stew) we did a brief Bible lesson with the children then did A20, Germs Hate Soap. This flopped – I should’ve used Dawn dishwashing liquid.
The children lined up to see the Agar plates and made some wonderfully funny faces. Laura and Susan explained the best way to wash hands and we did the black light activity followed by hand washing. Because there were so many children on this day, the children came two at a time into the darker side room to see their hands glow in the dark. They washed their hands then cycled back into the dark room to check for “germs” that didn’t get washed away. This activity was a lot of fun for everyone and went very smoothly with help from the mothers.
We handed out goodie-bags with a variety of soaps for everyone to take home. All soap and extra materials were left with the church.
The children made a prayer chain A30 and streamers for decorating the church. The children were so excited about this activity because it is colorful, easy, and fast. It was a beautiful thing to watch. They were intent on making the longest chain (boys vs. girls) then they decided to help each other and make one huge chain. Simple prayers were written on the chains such as “Thank you God for water”. While the children made chains, some of the ladies worked on a banner for Friday’s celebration.
When the supplies ran low, Susan had some extra white paper and taught some of the interested ladies origami. This was one of those nice unplanned opportunities to learn and laugh.

Takeaways from Day 4:
This was a busy, action-packed day and was the first day where everything seemed to fall into place. I think this is because of the strong visuals of the Agar plates and Glo-germs paired with their increased understanding of how to eliminate germs (not brothers). After seeing maggots that morning, I found that I have a renewed sense of purpose when washing my hands!
Do not assume some activities are only for children. We’re all children. This was a successful day.
Laura and Susan did a great job at planning for lessons and supplies. It’s a good idea to take extra supplies and have additional activities planned just in case there is “down-time”.

Action Items from Day 4:
Update Spanish manual with correct verses.
Find a visual reference for folded two color streamers, just for reference in the manual.


Day 5: Friday, March 16, 2007

§ Friday’s lesson was about the woman at the well S6.
§ The ladies continued with decorations for the celebration including a banner which they designed themselves. For some reason the children were not in school that day so we also had them do A27, the banner with their handprints in paint. The children enjoyed this very much.
§ Everyone made paper cups A5 for the celebration.
§ After lunch (mole on request) we then passed out sport top water bottles for the children to decorate and keep. A few examples were prepared but they were creative and even asked some of the team members for “autographs”! This went over so well that we may consider adding this as an alternate activity for A14. There were many more children Friday – we brought 100 water bottles and only had 2 left, although I’m sure some adults got one too.
§ The prepared decorations including balloons were placed in the sanctuary.
§ During the down-time before the dedication, several team members walked throughout the community inviting families to attend the dedication. We also passed out the Spanish version flyers and had the opportunity to see different types of homes, etc.
§ At the dedication ceremony, certificates were passed out for those who attended the education training and those qualified to run the water treatment system. Monetary gifts were given to the church (non-associated with the water ministry) and the women of the church. At the end of the ceremony we were able to drink water from the system and share time together. There were lots of heartfelt hugs. This was a beautiful, memorable experience.
§ We drove back to Champoton after the ceremony, exhausted yet satisfied.