Tag Archives: Campamento

Campamento Memories

6 Jul

Monday, July 8th – if the world was normal, today would be Day 1. It’s usually an overwhelming day. We’re still a little tired from travel. The heat goes from novelty to oppressive. The girls are primed for camp! Most of them have been there before, so they know the ropes.

Usually on day 1, our “Woman of Faith” is from the Old Testament, like Eve, Hagar, Rachel, Jochebed, Miriam, Naomi, and Ruth. Hardly anyone is named in the Old Testament, even fewer women, so each of these women are quite substantial and have a lot to teach us. One joy of camp for me personally has been learning insight on these women from Heidi Busse, a Biblical scholar. Thank you Heidi for helping me understand how these women speak to us thousands of year later after they lived on Earth.

Day 1 is often the time to cram Spanish. “They speak so fast.” “Their pronunciation is not what we heard in Jefferson High School Spanish class.” And occasionally “Wow, my college Spanish is coming back to me!” Between Duolingo, the Spanish Learning Club and my dorky attempts at practicing on patient Spanish speakers, I am getting better each year!

The most frequent observation from first-time travelers is that everyone – even the first-time travelers – are welcomed with open arms. It’s like visiting distant family. And it’s appropriate; we are Sister Communities. Our communities, not just the people who travel, are all connected over faith, time, and common values.

On joys and blessings… one for me is getting to know travelers in a way I don’t think I’d ever without sharing a trip like this. The Konkoly family is very special in so many ways. I met Jane and two of her daughters while rafting through the Grand Canyon. You know I can’t go very long without bring up Campamento. On that trip, I think I held back until about day 5. After telling Jane about it, she decided to join along with her daughters. She sees the potential in these girls and gives what she has to help them reach their dreams. Check out this video Jane and daughter Michelle made about last year’s camp. “Try Everything” by Shakira was the theme song in 2017.

Throw back to 2009

Some Girls at Campamento 2009

Travelers and volunteers – if you have a memory and/or a picture you’d like me to post, please send it to me over the next two weeks.

Please consider donating over these next two weeks as well. We are raising money for shoes and back-to-school supplies. Shoes are about $30 at Dominican Republic stores. PM me for details on how to do that.

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Campamento 2020 – pictures and more

2 Jul

Our Campamento 2020 plan was to depart early Saturday, July 4th! Of course, that wasn’t possible, yet Campamento 2020 still happened! Continuing our last post – more pictures! I’m so proud of the older girls for taking charge and making camp happen – regardless of the obstacles 2020 throws us.

An experienced camper showing a new girl the ropes
Another new girl with two experienced campers
the beginning of a star
Star Craft
Decorating the Kiosko
Frogs!
Pucas!
Pucas!
Pucas
Coloring

If you made it this far, you’re a true Campamento Amiga or Amigo! The one thing we couldn’t do this year was bring our donations – especially those famous all-white tennis shoes – to the home. Well, I think we figured out a way to still get them new shoes.

The Sisters have a bank account with an American bank. It’s not registered as a non-profit so the donation is not tax-deductible. Yet, I think this is the most reliable way to donate to the home. So, during these two weeks we’d usually have camp, (July 4-19) I’m asking for donations for shoe money. They cost about $30 dollars a pair at Payless Shoes in the Dominican Republic. Any amount helps! If I did not already send you the instructions on how to donate, let me know and I’ll pass that along to you. My goal is $1,600, which would be enough for shoes plus extra for school supplies.

As an aside – the Sisters and girls have been literally quarantined on the property. Who knows if on-premise school will open for them in the fall? Here’s a site I check on periodically https://do.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/ to learn about COVID-19 in Dominican Republic.


Stay healthy! Peace,

Ann

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A Challenging Read – Guardian Article about “Voluntourism”

18 Jan

This article by the Guardian in 2018 hit me hard – challenging me to reflect on Campamento.

  • Are we – travelers, supporters, and I – “sustain[ing] practices and institutions that actually do harm“?
  • Is Campamento “about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege“?
  • “Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción” sounds horrific and is now closed. This was a Catholic institution. Could this happen to our Hogar? Is our Hogar like the more humane but “chaotic, impersonal and lacking stimulation” Hogar?
  • How about this description the reporter gave of her feelings after a summer of working at a home for boys in Detroit?

“I now understand that I did leave Rodrick with something: a sense of abandonment. Every single boy in that institution already had abandonment issues. If it was hard for me to leave these boys behind, how much harder was it for them to see me go? And the next adult who came for a few weeks? And the next one? They might have learned that there are people who love them and will take them on walks. But they also learned that these people always leave.“

  • Is our Hogar spending “not much money […] on its most vulnerable, disabled residents, while a lot of investment has gone towards making the volunteer experience as comfortable as possible“?

On my first read of this article, I was reading it defensively – thinking “That’s not what we do.” “Our Hogar is not like that.” Then, I read it again with a more open mind.

Update 2022 – another article outlining two sides of voluntourism. https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/voluntourism-the-good-and-the-bad Their suggestion to teach local English teachers is interesting!

Here are my thoughts. I’d love to hear yours.

Are we sustaining practices that actually do harm? The reality is we aren’t sustaining anything. The home does not exist to host Campamento. Campamento is a small, optional part of a comprehensive program that is the Hogar. The Sisters provide the foundation of the Hogar. Campamento (I hope) merely enhances the program that they design and run.

As for doing harm – I’ve seen the opposite. Many girls thrive at the family-like setting at the Hogar. (For those who don’t like it for whatever reason, they can return to their homes.) They get basics like safety, a home, food, school, tutoring (many of their parents are illiterate), values, self-esteem, chores, affection, and support from each other.

An old practice, not used any more, was to invite girls to camp before joining the Hogar, to see if she’d like it. One year a new girl came and she had a very tough exterior, was very skeptical of camp (pretty reasonable from a kid who’s never seen anything like the Hogar or experienced anything like camp.) She stuck with it though. Two days later, another new girl joined. The next girl’s response was to cry all day. I’ll never forget what girl #1, with her 2 days off experience told girl #2 “This place is not that bad. The women here are nice and they feed you three times a day.” Girl #2 wiped away her tears, then joined the game going on. Both girls thrived for a while at the home. Neither stayed through graduation.

The education piece is major, even if a girl leaves before graduation, she receives a much better education than she would have otherwise. Many continue their education, even after leaving the home. But it is harder without the support they get at the Hogar.

By “enhancing”, we run a 2 week summer camp with: Bible study themed “Women of Faith”, educational enrichment focusing on math and English, as well as crafts, games, songs, skits, and free time. Our focus is on self-confidence and self-esteem. Many well-off families send their kids to similar camps over the summer. We also work with the director of the hogar on the curriculum to make sure we’re a positive influence at the home.

Over the last 19 years, we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the Sisters, the girls, and even the community. Here’s my two favorite: A new driver joined the home. At the end of camp, when he was bringing us back to the airport, he said “Many groups come to visit the girls, bringing donations or holding a party. I’ve only seen the girls cry when you leave.” The other is when Sister Fifi took the reins as director of the hogar soon after camp the previous year. She said that she was looking forward to camp and can’t believe it’s finally here. I asked her why, because summer is usually a break for her and camp is a ton of work for her! She said “Since I joined, all I heard was ‘at camp we do this, at camp we do that. The girls talk about camp all year long.” At the end of camp, she told us that she now knows why!

I hope each traveler gets a deep spiritual and personal experience at camp, as well as fun!

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Cutting and Kitting Night May 23, 2019, St. Ed’s Social Hall

14 May

Bring a friend and a good pair of scissors!

The Teresa Toda Sister Community Committee invites you to our annual “Cutting and Kitting Night” in the St. Ed’s Auditorium on Thursday, May 23 from 6:30-8:30 PM (or until done). No need to commit to the whole time, come when you can! On this evening, we will “cut” the materials and package them into “kits” for the girls to do at camp. Other jobs are sorting beads and packing gift bags. This preparation makes our time there more efficient and enjoyable. It’s a fun night out.

All are welcome to join the women who are going to the Teresa Toda Home for poor girls in July for an evening of sharing, cutting, and kitting. Whether your are considering joining us in the Dominican Republic or are not able to, this is a great way to contribute to this exciting mission. Several camp alumna will be there, too! Contact Ann through this blog.

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2019 Theme Song – Time to Vote

18 Apr

Each year we have an uplifting pop theme song for camp.

And 2019 will be no different. Here are your top suggestions for songs this year.
Slow, upbeat, uplifting songs work the best. Out of the past songs, it’s hard to choose a favorite, but one is “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars . We translate the lyrics so the girls can read the uplifting message. It’s a fun way to teach English.
As well as the theme song, we bring down CD(s) of fun/popular songs from the last few years. It will include the runners up from this list. If you have suggestions for that, put them in the comments here.

Vote by commenting on this post!

Suggested Songs for Campamento 2019:

Look Up Child by Lauren Daigle Did you love Lauren on American Idol 2019? Did you know she auditioned and was rejected as a contestant?

Unfinished by Mandisa She was amazing on American Idol, too! She finished 9th in the fifth season. Who won that season?
Brand New Eyes by Bea Miller from Wonder Such a great movie 

Hopefully we can bring DVDs down for “Movie Nights”. Look for DVDs or Bluerays with Spanish audio.

2018 Take the World by Storm by Lukas Graham2017 Everything from Zootopia/ Try Everything Spanish by Shakira

2016 By the Grace of God by Katie Perry

2015 “I’m Good” by The Mowgli’s

2014 “Happy” by Pharrell Williams

2013 “Gold” by Britt Nicole

2012 “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars

2011 “Firework” Katie Perry

2010 “When I look at You” Myley Cyrus

2009 “The Climb” Myley Cyrus

2008 “Dream Big” by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberbands

2007 “Beautiful” Christina Aguilara

2006 “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield

2005 “Breakaway” Kelly Clarkson

2004 (we were just getting started… We didn’t have anything😦 )

2002 My Heart will Go On Theme from the Titanic Celine Dion (this was an accidental success as was the whole first trip)

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100+ Memories from Campamento 2015

20 Jul

We have a tradition of quickly recalling 100+ memories from camp on the layover on our return flight. This blog entry is a result of that list, which is now edited and has relevant pictures and links. I hope it gives everyone a good idea of our fabulous week. For the names, I’m going to use first initials for privacy. This is a “thank you” note to travelers, past travelers, St. Ed’s, families, and all other supporters! Not quite an overall report – that’ll be next.
Peace, Ann

100+ Memories of Camp

First Impressions

1. Meeting H. F. for the first time – so loving to the girls and to us
2.Seeing how much the girls grow and mature each year.
3. Traveler J. and son J. joining camp! Now we know why the Sisters don’t take 2 year olds!20150715_175013
4.  Digo Si Señor song
5. “Women in the Bible” Decor


6. I’m Good by the Mogli’s camp theme song
7. All Hermanas joined us in circle at night DSCF2202

8. Girl C.’s and other girls sharing in circleDSCF2203

9. H. Es., noviate from Puerto Rico we met last year. She came for camp and helped out.

Monday Memories

10. Girl M. taking such good care of boy J.
11. Water games on Monday – big hit! drip drip drop and relay races


12. Dice Self Esteem game – roll dice and land on an emotion “I am excited when…”
13. Mayores’ vision boards

Tuesday Memories

14. Party thrown by the local Bon store 20150714_172151
15. Señora G. from Bon shared with Mayores
16. The littlest girls are getting so much better at math! Nice work H. E. ! 20150713_114736
17. At the beach, the mountains on the other side of the bay – can’t get that in pictures

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18. Affirmation bags 20150713_115115

 

Wednesday Excursion to San José de Ocoa

19. How fun and well behaved the girls were “traveler comment – best time I’ve ever had a pool!” DSCF2046
20. Meeting Girls S and R’s father and Aunt in Ocoa20150715_142457
21. Man napping at S and R’s.
22. S and R’s toothbrushes hanging neatly, and camp frames and photos
23. Travelers M and A cannon balled into Ocoa pool together
24. Traveler M went down slide 3 times!
25. Playing tiburon (shark) in pool, beach, and kiosko
26. Conga line in Ocoa pool – others joined usDSCF2099
27. Dancing at Pool
28. Girl N. learned to float in pool

29. The slides

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DSCF2057 DSCF2055

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Thursday Memories

30. Self Esteem poster – “I am special and important because…”


27. Mayores excursion to hospital
28. Jocelyn hosted trip to Hospital
29. Coincidently, for the first time, we had a girl sick enough for a hospital stay. A. L. was hospitalized overnight and got better by Friday.
30. The Mayores made a big card for A.L. when they visited her and explored career opportunities at the hospital
31. They met a Gastroenteralogist, Ob/Gyn, and Pediatrician Doctors at Hospital – “your wombs are not ready to have a baby” – several reminders about dangers to a teen mother and her baby.

32. Azua has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the DR
33. Meeting the Azuan alum at the delicious snack they brought
34. New Computers from the Azuan alum club in Spain and New York
35. Azuan alum with cancer in her jaw, dental technician, who spoke with girls during snack

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36. Walking through town to church and seeing Azua. Getting all the girls Bon at the hottest ice cream place before Mass.


37. H. F. and girls singing at Mass on Thursday 20150716_18085138. The Parish in Azua is over 500 years old DSCF1994

 

40. Delicious “salted” fish for dinner
41. Video of the Hogar by the American woman (we’ll share it once it’s online)


42. B’s graduation pictures

Friday Memories

43. Girl N’s mean step mother
44. Girls N and N’s blind step dad showed us his diploma, graduated with honors, but can’t work because he’s blind
45. Girls N and N’s blind mom so intelligent, able, and loving
46. Girl N singing for her step mother
47. Fighting Cocks in cages at girl N’s step mother’s


48. Checkers with bottle caps and hand painted squares


49. The kids we met on visits like the gift of bubbles

50. Girl M’s family20150717_183212
51. Girl M’s brother in a wheelchair

52. M’s mom “Dominican L” – very friendly and bubbly, keeps 2 burros, pigs and piglets 20150717_183817

53. Kids when they came back from Casa Anna excursion to the capital

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54. Going to girl G’s grandmother, 73 years old, we all cried remembering her good son who just died last month 20150717_180301

55. She harvested tamarind to get some spending money
56. Girl G used a broomstick to whack the tamarinds off the tree, needed 3 pesos for a lousy plastic bag
57. Getting to meet G’s Madrina – godmother. Such a relief to know people are looking our for her!!
58. All travelers and girls whose home we visited got to go to Induban coffee plant to buy coffee 

Yes, even these girls got an afternoon cup (good idea?)

Saturday Memories

59. Time to pick up the trash! So much trash so fast!


60. Two Dominican treats (corn pudding and a chocolate/bean pudding, I’d call it) from the second Azua alum group
61. Pizza night

20150718_181220 20150718_181250 20150718_181512 20150718_200721
62. Grocery shopping at La Sirena
63. Seeing H S on her 25th Anniversary. She looked so well rested! Was it because she didn’t come to camp for the first time in 14 years??? 
64. On the pizza party night, the last night, girl M used the pink pill for checking your brushing technique as lipstick. Her, lips, perfect hair and skin “looks like a movie star”

At the ‘Camp Store’ (Tienda) during downtimes

65. “Gomitas” the little elastics for making bracelets
66. Puzzles called “Rampocabezas” literally “head breakers”
67. Making bracelets using forks
68. Card games
69. Hand clapping games
70.  Eckert Tolle book “Milton’s Secret”
71. Cheerios bilingual books
72. Traveler A and girl Y finished very difficult symbol puzzle

Littlest ones

73. Little girl S killed a cockroach with her chancletta (flip flop) 20150714_182621
74. Girl G was only fed sugar until she came to home
75. G and S ate two hot dogs and two pizzas each on last night

Songs we can’t get out of our heads now

76. Chi Chi Chi Gua Gua Sardina Gatto song
77. Ah Chi Chi Cha Song
78. Uptown Funk = “Hallelujah Son” Uptown Funk video
79. “This time for Africa” by Shakira This Time’s for Africa by Shakira

Throughout the week – other little memories – no order

80. Kids weighed cups and other things with Traveler M P scale
81. American’s Spanglish (“mas o mesa”)
82. Loaves and fishes – always enough food! Even Nutella and jam lasted
83. Upside down goat on moto
84. Drove through Zona Colonial (maybe future excursion?)


85. Always behind by 15 minutes (better than usual!!)
86. Journaling station – learned that they talk more while coloring 20150713_115211
87. Girl A braided  Traveler A’s hair


88. Having the Mayores at Camp
89. Girls J and E not there anymore
90. 2 TV’s – the girls got to watch tv and movies
91. Girls helping with water bottles and long dresses
92. Eating all together in the dining rooms DSCF1976
93. Girls paying attention -noticing everything about us
94. Girls S, M, E and everyone else dancing
95. Zumba!20150713_122115
96. Teaching the cup song
97. Spending time with the Mayores at night after camp


98. Queen of Hearts – Traveler L in girl P’s Quinceañera dress
99. Pedicures
100. Habicuela – A’s nickname “beans”
101. Traveler M and Girl D – best friends!
102. Girl B crying for missing her dad
103. “Chair Rash”
104. New dishes and cups and Amplifier w/ iPhone 4 dock
105. Done with shopping at Modelo on time (Freddy’s open on Sunday’s except Father’s day 8:30 AM-1 PM)
106. Hearing the Titanic Song (theme song for first campamento in 2002) at La Sirena
107. Teaching them to float and swim at beach and pool
108. Puppies
109. Traveler M saved fat from her pork and gave them to the mother dog.
110. Yoga with Traveler H (girl J says she wants to be a yoga instructor)
111. Girl N – singer had the song sheets from last year, wanted a copy of this years’
112. Always enough room in Guagua
113. First time – a boy at camp!! Boy A, nephew of a Sister playing with the girls 20150714_182830
114. Seeing cook Chula laugh
115. Not getting sunburned (maybe we can be test subjects for Vanicream products on our next trip)
116. Our Spanish improved!!
117. Younger travelers A, H, C, and A worked well together and with “adults” (note from Ann, “yes!!!”)


118. Donation room is so organized
119. H F doing the Waka Waka dance (Shakira, This time for Africa)
120. Traveler M P and H. Fifi singing “La Espiritu de Dios esta en este Lugar”
121. Girls knew/wanted “selfies”
122. SDQ = “Si Dios Quiere”

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Expectations

8 May

Wow, we have a full trip consisting of 10 travelers per week. What a blessing. The last post covered nuts and bolts of preparing for the trip. This is more about emotional preparation.

A lot of these trips (and vacations, OK I’ll be philosophical – life) are perceptions. At first I couldn’t help judging “This chicken meat is much richer than we have at home.” or “Sad – she grew up in a home with dirt floors and no windows”. Now I’m trying to observe, not comparing, not judging. It’s really hard and I’m not very good at it, but I believe it’s valuable.

Another aspect of judging and comparing is comparing this experience with the trip as you imagined it or with a past mission trip or vacation.

This is an enlightening piece I happened to hear on the radio before going to bed one night. A former Peace Corps volunteer was featured in a 5 minute segment on “The Story” on MPR. I thought what she read applied so well for our trip, especially for first time travelers. Being able to adjust your expectations is a key to enjoying and contributing to your trip. I e-mailed her and she sent me the text that she read, then also the excerpt from the Peace Corp Volunteer Manual that inspired her revelation.

From the volunteer’s letter on expectations….

“When faced with new situations, we create expectations of what we think might happens in order to manage the nervous feelings we have regarding the unknown.  These expectations help ease our anxiety before, (not that I personally was anxious… J), but as we actually arrive in the new situations, we must be able to separate what we thought would happen, to what actually is going on. If we don’t, we can get disappointed-not necessarily because we don’t like what is happening-but simply because it is different than we expected.  When this happens our next move must be to suppress any disappointment that we have felt, and see if the new situation can still be fulfilling/satisfying to us.” 

“This Isn’t What I Expected.”

(From A Few Minor Adjustments: A Handbook for Volunteers*)

….a brief word about expectations.  All Volunteers have them—and many are undone by them.  Expectations are normal and inevitable; they are our way of dealing with the unknown, which is inherently unsettling.

Indeed, they are our way of making the unknown into the known (albeit with the help of smoke and mirrors) and thereby eliminating our anxiety.  We naturally wonder about our Peace Corps experience-about the country, the job, the people-and whether we’re up to it.  We get all the information we can and begin to create an image of what it may be like.  The more we start to believe it it-until we forget altogether that this is only our notion of how things might be and become convinced that this in fact how things are.

All of which is immensely reassuring.  Now that we “know” how things are, we imagine ourselves in these circumstances and realize that we can cope (or that we can’t, at which point we do not pursue Peace Corps service any further).  From this point on, we no longer expect our Peace Corps experience to be a certain way, we depend on its being that way.  In short, this is no longer a vision of what our experience might be like; it’s a vision of what it had better be like.

Small wonder, then, that when we encounter the reality and it turns out not to be what we had imagined, we are deeply shaken.  Not so much because we don’t like what we find-in fact, we can barely see it-but because we don’t find what we expected.  Feeling anxious, threatened, and disappointed, we can’t really examine the situation we find for what it is.  Rather, we tend to reject it out of hand for what it is not.

This reaction may be natural enough under the circumstances, but we need to get beyond it.  We owe it to ourselves-and to Peace Corps and most especially the host country-to suppress our disappointment for a moment and consider whether the experience it now appears we’re going to have in this country and this job, different as it may be from what we expected, could still be satisfying and fulfilling.  If we can still make a contribution under these admittedly unforeseen conditions, does it really matter that much that we’ve been taken by surprise?

It’s quite true, of course, that our new circumstances—even when examined in tranquility—will still not be what we want.  But it’s always better to have rejected upon reflection rather than on impulse.

*Published by the Office of Special Services, Peace Corps, November 1991.

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Campamento Prayers

6 Mar

One Spanish Goal of yours could be to learn the prayers they say at Campamento. They are of course in Spanish. At least learn the English versions!!

Prayers in Spanish with English translation

Mealtime Prayer
Senor, te damos gracias por el pan que nos has dado
Daselo a todos aquellos que no lo tienen
Bendice las manos que lo han preparado
Por Jesu Cristo, Nuestro Senor
Amen

And in English…
Lord, we give you thanks for the bread that you have given us.
Give it to all those who do not have it.
Bless the hands that have prepared it.
In Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Amen

Lord’s Prayer
Padre Nuestro
Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo
Santificado sea tu Nombre
Venga a nosotros tu reino
Hágase tu voluntad
En la tierra como en el cielo
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día
Y perdona nuestras ofensas
Como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden
No nos dejes caer en la tentación
Y líbranos del mal.
Amen.

Sign of the Cross

En el Nombre del Padre, del Hijo, y del Espiritu Santo, Amen.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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Kickoff Meeting Report – Trip Update

7 Feb

So far we are right on target with many potential travelers. We also have many past travelers and future travelers who are helping out this year! I believe all the people willing to help is a very meaningful statement to potential travelers as well as all parishioners.If you are interested in joining us, please contact me.

The next step is to decide whether you can go, and when. The three potential weeks are July 7-15, July 14-22, and/or July 21-29. It’ll be two contiguous weeks. Please let me know if/when you’ve decided and which week(s) would work for you.

Here we are at the beach (playa)!

 

Peace,

 

Ann

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First Campamento 2012 Meeting

15 Jan

Sister Parish Mission Trip Kick-Off Meeting Monday, February 6, 7-9 PM Auditorium

The Sister Parish Committee is planning our tenth two-week long “Summer Camp” at the Hogar Teresa Toda, a girls’ home, in Azua, Dominican Republic in July 2012. We have openings from July 14 through July 22, and July 21 through July 27 for travelers interested in sharing a spiritual experience with young women and girls from another country. The format is similar to our own Vacation Bible School. We do skits, music, crafts, and other activities. We pray, exchange stories, share love, and spend time with the girls. Through the activities they learn English, enjoy crafts, and build self-esteem. Each trip is deeply touching and spiritual. Special gifts you may share are Spanish skills, crafting and beading talents, or your professional experience (esp. healthcare, tourism, retail, scientists, government, education, and other industries). At this time, the dates are subject to change. If you are interested in traveling with us this summer or helping out from Minnesota, please contact Ann McGuire, the moderator of this blog.

Note on this picture: Whenever we bring out the pucas (beads) I think of traveler “Laura”. Laura is an avid beader and loved to share her passion. Before Laura came to Campamento, one of our signature sounds was the sound of beads spilling from the table onto the floor. When Laura joined us, she unpacked the vast collection of beads she brought but made us all wait on the beads until we gathered towels. She put the towels on the tables so that the beads wouldn’t spill. This genius move has virtually eliminated that sound and mess of spilling beads for Campamento!

Please share this post if you know another person who might be interested. Everyone has gifts to share!

Peace,

Ann

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