A First Timer’s Impressions of Mission Activities– WOW!

By: Lynn Judith Horowitz

With a bright yellow sheet in my hand, I was ready to go. (Thank you, Karen Pedersen for your amazing organization and your help). Helping people is really what it is all about. Every religion has this concept and I was proud to be part of it here in Cozumel during the Friends of Cozumel Mission week. Here are some of my impressions.

Lynn (right) helps two ICAT students practice their English conversation skills.

Conversational English: Doing conversational English for a couple of hours with Mexican adults in small groups was really fun, but a little harder than I thought it would be. I felt I was just beginning with these folks when class time ended.

Day Care Staff training and Day Camp: The 40-50 pre-school teachers received materials for activities that we folks in America and Holland would think were so everyday. But it appeared these ladies loved the activities and thought they were different.They were getting right into the process of trying them and adding their own new ideas.

Camp: Carrie Conn was able to give a really fine introduction to the volunteers before the children joined us for Camp. The combination of severely handicapped kids, with some of their relatives and friends was a great idea. And the activities and snacks were so well-planned; things ran well and fun was had by all. I especially liked the indoor tent and the camping experience inside. The volunteers, young and old, were really good with the children and everyone gave so much with their hearts and souls. Thank you, Carrie.

Lynn works with Jose on the new therapy bed during Camp Corazon.

That night I was stricken with some type of severe stomach illness and unfortunately could not return to the Mission but later when reading Phyllis Larsen’s Friends of Cozumel site, it really helped me feel like I was there. Thank you, Phyllis, for so much such well-written and joyful accounts of the Mission. Photographs were great, too.

Next: Looking forward to the next Mission. Also looking forward to using the new therapy table, with Manual and Karla- trying to do “lucha libre” with them someday- -that is free wrestling. (I even have a mask). Thanks for making the therapy table, men. I will report how that goes.

During the Mission there were thousands of mitzvahs done by everyone. What are those? Mitzvah is the word in Hebrew for good deeds that God wants us to do, deeds done for the joy it, expecting nothing back but knowing you are doing God’s work. So, of course, it was great.

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