Step into the inspiring journey of the Pella Christian Winterim team! Discover moments of compassion and resilience in Abaco, from joyful connections with kids at CAPS to the rewarding sight of a nearly completed home for Tomar and her family. See how far a little help and a lot of heart can go!
Visiting Central Abaco Primary School (CAPS) was very eye-opening for me today. From giving piggyback rides to many different children, being swarmed with hugs, playing tag around the playground, and reading books we got to witness the people of Abaco on a deeper level. I got to have a simple connection with a girl named Malia who was very cute in her little braided buns.
She just stared into my eyes as I got to see a glimpse into her home life and how many of these children don’t have the experience of being seen and loved.
Other members were working to ready the home for Tomar. A lot of time was spent doing other types of work like porch ceilings, painting doors, debris pick-up, and various other jobs.
Another cool thing that my team got to experience today would have to be almost finishing the house we have been working on for the past three days. Seeing the transformation from none of it being painted to having the house completely painted and almost done with the whole exterior (including the ceilings of the porches). We spent so much time working on this house in the bright sun day after day. Seeing it all come together after our hard work is very rewarding for all of us.
We had an amazing opportunity to meet the owner of the house. Tomar was very sweet as she met us over lunch at a nearby church. Tomar has had a very rough life from being a single mom of a teenage daughter and a four-year-old autistic son, surviving Hurricane Dorian, and other things that she has held under the surface. She was very grateful for all of our hard work and the blessings that we could pour upon her and her family. Meeting Tomar made a huge impact on our team by showing us how our hard work actually affects the people of Abaco.
We also had a really cool opportunity to go watch a basketball game at the local Christian school. As a basketball player myself it was very fun seeing the similarities and differences from Bahamian and American basketball.
— Clara
