As noted in a previous blog post, the first time I delivered JA to the FFHM students in 2010 I was blessed with two talented people in Lara and Alex to help me teach the programs. Lara presented the 1st and 2nd grade programs and Alex supported both of us in the classroom by helping with questions, taking pictures and really connecting with the kids. Their involvement was critical to the success of the first JA /IMPULSA classes at Instituto Oasis.
Since the formula worked well the first time and it was necessary to have a second volunteer present JA / IMPULSA to two grade levels due to schedule and time restraints, I decided to pursue two new assistants since neither Lara or Alex were going on the April, 2011 trip. So I touched base with Diane, the Willow Creek leader for this journey to see who else on our team spoke Spanish. Unfortunately, I was the only bilingual traveler on the trip - no one else spoke Spanish. So I asked for (and was granted) permission to contact the FFHM volunteer coordinator directly to see if any volunteers from other teams joining us in April had any bilingual participants.
So I contacted Janice, at FFHM headquarters in San Clemente CA to see what I could do as she coordinates the visiting volunteers. The Baja mission was the first location in the FFHM group; it was founded in the mid-sixties. Since then they have added other missions in Oaxaca and Morelia, Mexico and a student home in Tijuana for those who pursue higher education after their years in one of the missions. More information about FFHM is available at www.ffhm.org .
Janice told me that she was aware of two bilingual volunteers that would be at the mission during my visit in April. One was Michelle, a volunteer with the Benita International team who knew some Spanish. Benita International supports an orphanage in Romania as well as FFHM; more information on Benita is available at www.benitaproject.com . The other Spanish speaking volunteer was Noemie, a pediatric nurse from Quebec, Canada who was coming to Mexico that week on her own. I was told that Noemie's Spanish was very proficient. I received their contact information and proceeded to send them emails asking for their help.
My vision was to have Noemie teach the 1st and 2nd grade students while Michelle served as the support person in our classrooms. I thought that it would be better to have the person with the highest proficiency in Spanish teach the classes. I emailed both of them to ask for their help and explained what I was looking for but didn't really elaborate on who I had in mind for the specific roles. Well, I received their replies - Michelle was eager to teach in the classroom and Noemie wanted to serve in the support role. Totally the opposite of what I had envisioned, but I was thankful to have their help, so I forged ahead with the "new plan" in place.
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| Two third graders team up to write a JA newspaper article. |
Well, it couldn't have worked out better! To prepare Michelle for the classroom, I asked IMPULSA in Mexico if they could send me extra volunteer guides for grades 1 and 2. Unfortunately, their response was a little slow and I needed to get Michelle the material so she could see what she had gotten herself into. So I ended up scanning them and downloading the material into Google Documents, which proved to be critical in her being able to prepare in advance. She came back with numerous questions which I addressed before we arrived in Baja. Of course, the classroom material was all at the mission in Mexico, so some of her questions would be resolved once we arrived. Her enthusiasm was spectacular - I couldn't have asked for a better person to teach IMPULSA in grades one and two!
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| Michelle shares JA with children at the clinic. |
As with Michelle, my only communication with Noemie was via email and our first in-person meeting was upon our arrival at the mission. I was a little frustrated that I didn't have an "Alex" like I had the first time I presented JA in 2010 - a young person of Mexican descent who the kids associated with really well. I was confident that Noemie would do OK, especially with her Spanish proficiency, but not having an "Alex" that could relate to the kids was unfortunate. Well, while Noemie's profile didn't line up with that of Alex's, I came to find out that she had spent several months at the orphanage in the past couple of years, much of that serving as a houseparent for the children at the mission. The kids all knew her and loved her - I couldn't believe it - I had my "Alex(is)"!!!
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| Noemie and I stop for a pose with the third grade students. |
The week went remarkably well. Noemie provided all the support we needed. On Monday afternoon after teaching her first JA/IMPULSA, Michelle asked me if she could share the program with the children at the mission's clinic. Many of these children live in the nearby community and some even attend the Instituto Oasis school, though they were in the grades I taught and had not seen the material that Michelle was doing. What a great opportunity to share the IMPULSA to yet more children! Michelle did a fantastic job.
As with my first JA experience at Instituto Oasis, the students seemed to enjoy the classes and learn from them. On my last day of classes on Friday, I was running behind with the fourth grade class and ran over to the next classroom to tell the teacher that I would be about 10 minutes late. The teacher was not in the classroom, and the eight students were all working on a project that they had been given. I told the students I would be there shortly and they said "OK" and went right back to work. One would have thought that it was a college setting. These students have been fantastic to teach and share the JA program with in their classrooms.
So the second year of JA/IMPULSA at Instituto Oasis was truly a success - but I couldn't have done it without the help of these two great ladies - thanks so much to Michelle and Noemie for their wonderful support in the classrooms in April, 2011!
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