Olympics 2017

To kick off our last week with the kids, we went to iJump, which is a massive trampoline complex. Although it was exhausting, both the kids and the Americans had a blast. When we got back to the home, we began the planning for the Pnimiya wide Olympic Games. We practiced for a flash mob, had tshirts made for all the kids to distinguish between the four different teams, and headed to the basketball court to break out the olympics with tons of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm for the upcoming activity was not matched by the kids. The kids seemed tired and disinterested at first, but as we kept our morale and spirit high, more and more kids decided to participate in the activities. Although things didn't go as smoothly as we wanted them to from the start, we took a really important lesson from the experience. Sometimes, all the preparation and effort in the world won't be enough to get through to the kids. Rather than blaming ourselves or becoming frustrated, we need to try and replicate what we did today. No matter what, "Afula is all in", and we always need to stay energetic and look at the glass half full. Our impact on the kids is not necessarily measured by how many kids want to participate in an activity. It is much more intangible than that. We hope that our last days together with the kids will be amazing, but we know that this is just the beginning. We are family to these kids, and we have an obligation to remain relevant to them all year round.