“Nations- All the world’s people reguardless of region, tribe, or clan. It does not pretain solely to states or governments.”
–Jesus For Presdient by Shane Claiborne
Friday
nights in Nicaragua are always a time of relaxation and getting to know
the local children. One way that we do this is to go to the local
Pelicula (movie). This is just a projector that shows a movie onto a
building down the street from us. We like to go and talk to kids and
practice Spanish.
nights in Nicaragua are always a time of relaxation and getting to know
the local children. One way that we do this is to go to the local
Pelicula (movie). This is just a projector that shows a movie onto a
building down the street from us. We like to go and talk to kids and
practice Spanish.
Last night, Laura, Tana,
and I went down to the local movie, we said that we were only going to
go for a short time because we were tired after a long week. When we
got there we sat down but were instantly surrounded by local girls.
They were between the ages of 7-12. They remembered us from the last
time that we went. They wanted us to come and play more games with
them. No matter how hard we tried we could not convey that we were only
going to stay for a short time. However, for Laura and I, games with
Nicaraguans go like this: screaming and laughter in Spanish, older kids
picking on younger kids, and then some sort of a circle is form. They
always pick us to go first or be in the middle. They think it is quite
funny to watch us. I am normally the last one to figure out the game, I
have to wait for Laura to understand the game and then have her explain
it to me. Graciously, the children do not really seem to mind. They
patiently wait for us to figure it out or laugh at us, out of kindness,
when we get it very very wrong. It is more of a trial and error on our
part.
and I went down to the local movie, we said that we were only going to
go for a short time because we were tired after a long week. When we
got there we sat down but were instantly surrounded by local girls.
They were between the ages of 7-12. They remembered us from the last
time that we went. They wanted us to come and play more games with
them. No matter how hard we tried we could not convey that we were only
going to stay for a short time. However, for Laura and I, games with
Nicaraguans go like this: screaming and laughter in Spanish, older kids
picking on younger kids, and then some sort of a circle is form. They
always pick us to go first or be in the middle. They think it is quite
funny to watch us. I am normally the last one to figure out the game, I
have to wait for Laura to understand the game and then have her explain
it to me. Graciously, the children do not really seem to mind. They
patiently wait for us to figure it out or laugh at us, out of kindness,
when we get it very very wrong. It is more of a trial and error on our
part.
Normally, to start the
night off we play a few rounds of down by the banks, the game where you
stand in a circle and slap hands to a song. They always want us to sing
it in English. The loser has to stand in the middle of the circle. The
girls normally take this as an oppertunity to hug us. We are not really
sure why we have to stand in the middle, it is just part of the game.
night off we play a few rounds of down by the banks, the game where you
stand in a circle and slap hands to a song. They always want us to sing
it in English. The loser has to stand in the middle of the circle. The
girls normally take this as an oppertunity to hug us. We are not really
sure why we have to stand in the middle, it is just part of the game.
Last
night a few more games were added to our arsenal, Laura and I normally
try to name them something in English so we can remember them.
night a few more games were added to our arsenal, Laura and I normally
try to name them something in English so we can remember them.
Freeze
game: You run around in a big circle all holding hands and sing some
song that ends with uno a la dos a la TRES! then you freeze. If you
move you have to go into the middle, or if the children think it would
be funny to put the gringos in the middle we go to the middle.
game: You run around in a big circle all holding hands and sing some
song that ends with uno a la dos a la TRES! then you freeze. If you
move you have to go into the middle, or if the children think it would
be funny to put the gringos in the middle we go to the middle.
Number
game: You run around and someone calls out a number, from what we can
tell its whoever wants to call out a number, and then you have to form
those groups with people. It also involves a lot of hugs.
game: You run around and someone calls out a number, from what we can
tell its whoever wants to call out a number, and then you have to form
those groups with people. It also involves a lot of hugs.
Object
game: This one helps us a lot with out Spanish, some song is sung. The
kids think its hilarious when I attempt to sing it in Spanish. Then an
object is called out and whoever can go and find it first wins…we
think.
game: This one helps us a lot with out Spanish, some song is sung. The
kids think its hilarious when I attempt to sing it in Spanish. Then an
object is called out and whoever can go and find it first wins…we
think.
Freeze tag: this is
one of the games that gets a little interesting. Remember that I said
we were playing with a group of kids between the ages of 7-12? So in
this game we all run around and someone (we dont know how they got
picked) is it and they have to tag people. When they get tagged they
are frozen, to become unfrozen someone has to crawl between your legs.
Laura and I do not quite fit. Laura attempted to dive through, but just
ended up belly flopping onto the cement.
one of the games that gets a little interesting. Remember that I said
we were playing with a group of kids between the ages of 7-12? So in
this game we all run around and someone (we dont know how they got
picked) is it and they have to tag people. When they get tagged they
are frozen, to become unfrozen someone has to crawl between your legs.
Laura and I do not quite fit. Laura attempted to dive through, but just
ended up belly flopping onto the cement.
Our final game of the night was played with probably about 15 children.
Dance model game:
you form a circle and sing some song in Spanish and clap. One person
runs around the middle and towards the end of the song strikes a pose
and does a little hip shaking to indicate the next person in the
middle. We almost died laughing the first time we saw this game. The
first person in was a little boy, who was probably about 6 years old.
The cutest thing I have ever seen. We loved this game so much that we
went and invited some of the guys on our team to come and play. The
children loved this and went crazy when they were picked to be in the
middle.
you form a circle and sing some song in Spanish and clap. One person
runs around the middle and towards the end of the song strikes a pose
and does a little hip shaking to indicate the next person in the
middle. We almost died laughing the first time we saw this game. The
first person in was a little boy, who was probably about 6 years old.
The cutest thing I have ever seen. We loved this game so much that we
went and invited some of the guys on our team to come and play. The
children loved this and went crazy when they were picked to be in the
middle.
I look forward to every
Friday and every day that God gives me the oppertunity to ministry to
children through games and play. That is truely an oppertunity I am
willing to embrace. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!
Friday and every day that God gives me the oppertunity to ministry to
children through games and play. That is truely an oppertunity I am
willing to embrace. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!
