Hey, my name is Nikki and I am a school of leadership student this year. This week I have been lucky enough to be a part of the 2009 Penticton annual trip to Mexico. I have spent the last couple of days working with a few students who are a part of something so […]
...continue readingArchive for March, 2009
Sunshine, sand sore muscles, sunburned skin, sweet Mexican kids, and an awesome bunch of teens! This is what our trip has been made up of so far, 6 days into the trip and 3 days into the house build. We spent 3 long days and 1 even longer night on the bus, driving all […]
...continue readingBlog from Danielle
Published by March 20th, 2009 in Other Sites, Staff Blogs and Hero Holiday. ClosedThe following is a blog from one of our paricipants, Danielle Clouse, who has been on our Hero Holiday Thailand trip with us:
Christmas came early this year. The gift of giving has left me humbled and at ease. These past two weeks I’ve spent my time meeting amazing new people from all over the […]
Hey all, it’s Kristi again and today I exercised my snooping rights that come along with blog-duty, by asking a few of our participants 3 special questions.
As I went from site to site I pulled a few people aside and asked them 3 questions:
1. Why did you chose to come on a Hero Holiday?
2. […]
Today was the first day on the building sites for the groups from Penticton, and I was given the privilege of being the 
photographer for the week. I spent my day traveling from work site to work site, taking pictures and peeking at each of the mini-groups in progress. The big group of over 70 students and leaders from Penticton were broken up into 5 smaller groups, each with 
their own project to do. We have 4 houses to be built this week, and a childrens’ program being during the afternoon. There was excitement and movement all over the area as all 4 house groups started framing and sheeting the walls and roof panels put together today, in prep to start putting up the walls and roof of the home tomorrow!
At any given time you could hear the pounding of nails, cutting of saws and laughing of kids, as everyone had the opportunity to work on the house, spend time on with the families and play with the kids. Everyone got a considerable amount of work done on their first day, and a few groups even managed to get a healthy competition going between the pro 
Mexican “football” team (the local children) and the Canadians. I heard a few people marvel at how good the kids were at soccer, and everyone who played talk about how much fun they had.
This fun traveled across to an empty lot of a soon to be built church. This 5th group was setting up a puppet show for the neighborhood children. Kids gathered around to watch the team set up their puppet stage, they asked the students for piggy back rides and just enjoying their company.
When I asked a lot of the students how the day went and what their favorite part, a few of the girls enthusiastically told me of a conversation that their leader had with some of the kids, through a translator. He was simply asking the kids questions like “Where do you think we’re from?” and “Why do you think we are here?” They were quite surprised when one boy told them he knew that they were not here simply to build a house but for bigger more compassionate reasons. They were totally taken aback when the kids answered that they were “amigos” after being asked “Who are we?” and the same little boy replied “We are brothers.”
Everyone found a lot of meaning in there moments spent with the kids, and this one is just one example of the memories that our group made in their first day. I can only imagine the countless memories that each student will have to bring home with them, and the cute little smiling faces that they will never forget.
It seems to me that all of the groups are having a great experience so far, and even at the end of the day everyone seemed to be building up their enthusiasm…excited for next day spent with their families, “their amigos”.
I look forward to spending the rest of the week with this group, snapping pictures, chatting about their new experiences, and new friends.
~ Kristi, a School of Leadership student and “journalist” for the week.
Penticton Youth arrive safe and sound.
Published by March 18th, 2009 in School of Leadership and Staff Blogs. ClosedAfter a long, but fun bus ride, the youth groups from Penticton, BC, arrived to sunny Mexico. The team of approx 70 students and their leaders left Canada on Saturday and made the 36 hour bus ride along the scenic Pacific coast line. They arrived late afternoon on Monday afternoon. They may have […]
...continue readingThe following entry is from Heather Bourque, one of our adult participants here with us in Northern Thailand. Heather is a flight attendant with Air Canada (which is how she first heard of Absolute: she was on one of Vaden’s flights!) and she is also a professional photographer. Much of her work can be seen […]
...continue readingI am not sure what I would do in her situation. What lesser of the inevitable evils would I choose to fall prey to? Would I have the strength of resolve to be able to choose anything better than she did? Is it possible that had I been her that day and she had been […]
...continue readingConversations on a Tuk-Tuk
Published by March 14th, 2009 in Other Sites, Staff Blogs and Hero Holiday. ClosedMy apologies, but we are currently unable to upload our photos to this blog site from where we are at. We will do our best to get them up asap!
When you are on a Hero Holiday, there is no telling what kind of adventure is waiting for you around the corner, across the street, or […]
The first March Hero Holiday group is now gone sadly; this past week was amazing! The group of people we had was very unique, fun, and although small, had lots to offer. We all got to know each other quite well and were able to form some pretty great friendships by the end. (Which makes […]
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