TEACHERS UNITED IN CHRIST

Last summer Meghan sent me a photo of the children in El Salvador singing the "Tooty Ta."  It's a beautiful story and I asked them to share it with you.  We can't do everything, but we can all do something.  I'll bet you'll get goosebumps just like me when you read about their mission trip. You'll find more information about this mission and how to contact Meghan and Madison at the end of the blog.  

Note!!  Wouldn't helping the children at La Magdalena be a great project for your class this year?  Instead of thinking about "stuff" they want they could think about someone else.  

There is a very small Christian school named Escuela Cristiana Canton La Magdalena located in La Magdalena, El Salvador. Madison's husband is the chair of a non-profit organization called One Child El Salvador that supports this school. After both Meghan and Madison's husbands had traveled there and saw how special the community is, they knew they must go! Unlike previous mission trips, they felt a different calling. In the past, most mission trips were construction related. That didn't seem to fit how they were being called to serve...

Meghan is in her 15th year teaching early childhood and Madison is in her 11th. Both ladies teach at Blackburn Elementary School in Dawsonville, GA. Dr. Jean has always played a vital role in both our teaching careers. We sing and dance with our students daily. We utilize the songs to approach different academic areas. After beginning to plan for this trip we knew we wanted to incorporate some of Dr. Jean's magic as a means to connect with the students in a different country and language!

                          

The mission laid on our hearts was not only United in Christ but specifically TEACHERS United in Christ. Our goal was to partner with the ladies and men teaching in remote El Salvador and give them tools and materials they might not otherwise have access to. Thankfully Dr. Jean's Ole! Ole! would lead the way and bridge the gap between us and the students. The teachers let us do a classroom takeover, even though we spoke very little spanish. We got the opportunity to introduce some of our favorite songs to these children in spanish. As the kids were enjoying the songs, the teachers got a glimpse of the ideology of Singing to Learn. We drew the animals of the Color Farm, wrote color words in English and Spanish, and constructed silly sentences about the animals on the farm. Every lesson was wrapped up with everyone's favorite........TOOTY TA! Another wonderful concept we got to share was KISS YOUR BRAIN. The first time we told them to kiss their brain when they did something wonderful it blew them away! The idea was so well loved. The school principal/pastor thought the idea of thanking your brain was remarkable. Kiss Your Brain will forever be remembered in La Magdalena we are sure!

 

As Dr. Jean said the sweetest part of this trip was seeing that children are the same all over the world. They wanted to sing, dance and learn! The students in La Magdalena are receiving a high quality education with minimal resources. That can only be attributed to God and the dedication of the teachers working there. This mission trip was not so much of a manual labor trip, but a labor of love. Sharing a calling to teach is a special bond that reaches across all borders and oceans. We are all truly united in Christ. 

Here's a video of our trip:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TLKh0rrtgHCXgUQ-0tVxw0KjH4MhFMvO/view?usp=drivesdk


There are many opportunities to get involved with this extraordinary non-profit, as well as the students and teachers in La Magdalena. Monthly sponsorships for the students are available. You may also be feeling the same call to serve. The website below can provide you with more information on how to get involved.

https://onechildelsalvador.org/

OR email at: onechildelsalvador@gmail.com