Heading
☀️8am We headed out for the 2nd day of the violence workshop after a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausages, eggs and fruit.
Our van ride turned special when Jonathan, Wascar, and Carlos blessed us with a heartfelt Spanish serenade.🎶
The night before, we each chose a word to guide our intentions — joy, openness, trust, communication, and agency. By the end of the day, the participants’ warm reception reflected that those intentions had come to life. 🥰
So much hope!! 🤗
I saw joy in their faces, they trusted us by telling personal stories, we were able to communicate our guidance for the activities, they were open and eager to learning, and they set their own goals and action plan for themselves and their community. 🙌🏽
Vasca is ready and willing to take action. Pastor David and Anna were always close by. They told us they were listening intently, yet wanted to stay invisible so the community would take the opportunity for the responsibility of change. The participants fully showed up today and astonished us all. 🥳
A woman stood up and told us she acknowledged that they were all quiet and closed off at the start. And she was highly impressed. They have never had such teaching, never had such a workshop. 🙏🏼
The day was so full, it is always hard to fully grasp and recapture it all. We are so grateful for all of you back home that follow and support us. We think of so many of you often. When we asked them to think of action items that they could and would do, we had Barb words of “think small, small”, very small steps that you will do. When Gillian was checking in with a group of 4, she had Deb’s words, “you are a leader” that she used to identify women & men who would use their agency to continue the change in their community.
We ended the day by asking participants to write their hopes and dreams for the community on petals, which they placed onto a tree drawing. It was a profound moment as people supported one another, helping those who could not write express their thoughts. Speaking their dreams aloud made the experience deeply powerful and affirming. 🌴
We are deeply grateful. Our hearts and souls are filled with hope for Vasca.
💜🧡💙♥️
