A Day in the Park

Last week for Girls Group, we decided to do things a little differently. Even though the girls only live about 5 kilometers and a 50 cent bus ride from downtown San Jose, they rarely get the opportunity to leave Los Guido and explore all the the city has to offer. Los Guido has no public green space and the one play area since its recent installation last summer, has been stripped bare of all usable equipment. As a result, the community lacks safe and welcoming places for kids to play and hangout outside of their own homes. In downtown San Jose there are lots of beautiful parks and public space, but when I asked the girls if they had ever been to any of these parks, they had no idea what I was talking about.

So in an attempt to share some of the natural beauty of the city, we boarded a public bus and headed to downtown for a picnic and play day in the National Park. As we walked the six to eight blocks from the bus stop to the park, we tried to point out places of interest the girls hadn't seen before: The National Museum that used to be a fort and still has all of the artillery marks in the watch towers; the wall normally covered in crimson clematis flowers; and the old president's house where they have all kinds of fancy parties. The girls loved getting to see first hand things they had heard mentioned in school or read about in textbooks.

Once we arrived at the park, we spent to morning running relay races, playing Dias de la Semana (like hopscotch), and eating PB& J and chocolate chip cookies. It was a simple outing, that hardly cost anything, but I know it made a big impact on the girls. Who knows if they ever would have had the opportunity to do something like this outside of the being part of the Tutoring Center. Most of their parents do not have the luxury of free time to be able to play with their kids, let alone take them downtown to the park. Once again, I am reminded, that the most valuable thing I have to offer to these girls is my time. It's not any fancy training or programing I can bring; it's just me being available and part of the loving community we all need in order to grow into the individuals God created us to be.




We all had an amazing time together laughing and sharing life. We wished we could have stayed longer, but the girls had to get back for school in the afternoon. We will definitely be doing more outings like this in the future.