Diana, my roommate, is the school psychologist and as such, in charge of leading a workshop for each class. She knew that I liked to act, so she asked me to help her and act out telling a story. She chose the book You Are Mine by Max Lucado. I love his kids books, they have such an amazing message and gorgeous illustrations! :) She wanted me to dress up like a life-size rag doll. I was trying to come up with where on earth I'd find clothes that would work for that, as it's hard enough to find clothes that fit me (I'm a little taller than most Ecuadorian women), much less a style that would work for a doll. So, I decided that I'd make it! At first I was going to make a dress, but the fabric store didn't have enough fabric, so I thought a skirt might work, along with a t-shirt that I already had. We figured I also needed a wig, so I bought bright pink yarn. I thought that if I was going to dress up, I'd have fun with it! I didn't get the fabric until a couple days before we were going to do the workshop, so I took the fabric to school and sewed the skirt by hand (nevermind the fact that this is the first article of clothing that I've ever made!). It was hilarious to see people's reactions to me sewing!!! Apparently, girls from the States aren't supposed to know how to sew or cook or anything like that, so for me to know how to sew and sew by hand was a shock to nearly everyone!
Then came time for the performance. The book is about a bunch of wooden puppets who get into a competition to collect the most boxes and balls. It then escalates into seeing who can get the highest, with the most boxes and balls. I told the kids that I was a puppet from the same village and had a story to tell them about a friend of mine, the main character in the book. At the end, he accidentally ends up in the house of Eli, the carpenter, who created all of the puppets. I love how it ends, with the words that Eli uses, being the same that God uses to remind us that our stuff isn't worth anything, without him.
The kids' reactions were hilarious! When the first came in, I was hidden, so they couldn't see me, and then, after Diana introduced me, I came out and started telling the story. They all knew me as the English teacher, as we've only gone to 2 classes, so far, that aren't my students, so they knew who I was and all started laughing as soon as I walked into their sight! I suppose I looked a little bit different than they normally see me! :) It was fun to watch their faces while listening to the story and hear their questions and responses afterward. I had so much fun, it'd been waaaaaaaay too long since I'd done any acting! :) (I'll put pictures up when I get back to Macas, I'm in the mountains right now for a staff retreat and the internet isn't wanting to upload pictures, there's some great ones :) even some of me in makeup!)
