Day 4
Waking up to a beautiful sunrise we enjoyed our usual breakfast and discussed the plan for the day. We split up into groups of basketball and soccer coaches for the day.
A local church camp came to the court so their students could be active for a while. The groups were split up by boys and girls. Izzy, Kendra, and Shauna worked with the boys first while John worked with the older local boys doing drills and playing games. The game of Knock-Out seems to be an island favorite now that they know the rules. The girls from the church camp taught us 2-3-4, also known as Chinese-Skip. They also participated in basketball and long rope jumping games.
At the soccer field today the focus of dribbling and turning took quite a turn. Tom saved a boy with his medical talents after he got knocked from a ball hitting him in the head. After the fiasco the rest of the camp went smooth. The kids are working hard, learning a lot and enjoying every minute of our time with them.
After the morning session was complete, the older campers (11-15 years old) volunteered for two hours. They took part in painting a mural for outside of the stadium, painted the walls in the soup kitchen, assisted at the church camp with arts/crafts and did a litter pick up at the soccer stadium. The mural painting let the kids have ownership in the stadium because they have a nice new painted welcome sign. Plus, what kid doesn't love finger painting. The soup kitchen was limited in helpers because there was a short supply of brushes. John took only three campers and was assisted by Rodger (the church camp leader) and a community coach. The campers worked on the trim in the room while John painted the walls with a roller.
At the church camp we were paired up with six students at a table. Our goal was to help them complete their craft of the day which was a tomb and a rock for a Bible story about Lazarus. The litter-pick up took place on the soccer field, surrounding grass areas and throughout the stadium.
In the afternoon we all decided to relax by heading to the Sulfur Springs. We enjoyed a tour of the Springs which is one of the two National Parks in St. Lucia and found out that the volcano is potentially active. If it were to erupt it would be similar to the movie, Dante's Peak, according to the guide. Finishing up the tour we decided to take a mud bath in the hot springs; the same place where the Bachelor was taped. There are two points where the water enter the springs, one from the ocean (115 degrees) and the other form the rainforest (90 degrees).
On our way back we stopped and enjoyed a beautiful sunset at a local resort. The last hour of the sunset was quite the view, especially when the sun peaked at the bottom of the clouds. A local told us there is a “green flash” right before the sun sets on the horizon but we were not lucky enough to see this occurrence due to the clouds. But in all reality, we're lucky just to have an opportunity to see this gorgeous island.
Thanks for tuning in.
