“Friends… they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.”                      By  Henry David Thoreau     

 
Today, June 26, we are all back home safely and we can all look back over the past couple weeks and be astonished that so much has happened. It was all good! Angela, Ana Yancy, Fatima, and Ariana all returned home to Copey on Saturday evening. Their two-week visit to the US and to our college campus was filled with many breath-taking experiences.

I promised more photos. Most of these are covering time during the second week when the Young Scholars Institute and Leadership Program was held on campus. Both Angela and Ana Yancy participated as teachers and counselors while Fatima and Ariana attended classes.

Photos of Angela and Ana Yancy conducting classes with many US students. Also, Fatima and Ariana performed their cultural dance for all the students. And, of course, just more fun things like standing in Virginia and Tennessee at the same time, and visiting the Country Music Capital located in Bristol, Tennessee.  More photos to follow.  

Once back home, Fatima and Ariana will instantly become the latest local celebrities and role models for other students to follow. Similar to Noelia and Celeste in 2016, we will have two more outstanding ambassadors inspiring more students to take education seriously.

As “Friends of Copey”, we have been successful.

Each of the four guests represented the country of Costa Rica and the Copey community in grand fashion. As “Friends” we are certainly encouraged to continue the “Pathway Project” as we look forward to the next two students coming our way in 2018.

In closing, several times over the past couple weeks I heard how really wonderful this “Pathway Project” is. Many seem to think this is something very special. My reply is simply that we do not have to be rich and famous or have some special intelligence or be gifted. For the most part, we just believe in possibilities. We believe that if enough people can cause “sparks of possibilities” to start…we then can move on to “probabilities”. This project began simply as a possibility…today it is a fantastic reality.

As promised, today I am sharing some of the very special photos showing some of the 1st time experiences of Adriana and Fatima…even some for Ana Yancey. We are having a great time and you have to be present to experience the first time reactions to many new things.  These are only a few photos and more will be shared later.

There has been a wide range of activities since their arrival to the US. The time spent in Washington, D.C. included visits to the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Smithsonian. They attended the Kennedy Center to watch the New York Ballet perform and that was very special. Traveling down Interstate 81 included the stop at the Natural Bridge, Planetarium, and the caverns. Since arriving on campus, their time has been spent attending the reception, shopping, bowling, rock climbing, the trampoline, time at the lake swimming and boat paddling, attending a live concert, and eating at different restaurants. Later today, they will go hiking. This has been a fun-filled week with endless excitement.

I will be saying goodbye to them this evening and on Monday I travel to eastern Virginia to visit my aunts. Angela, Ana Yancey, Fatima, and Adriana will still be on campus next week attending the Young Scholars Institute and Leadership Program.

http://www.ehc.edu/academics/summer-programs-and-camps/summer-scholars/.  

Voted Best Summer Camp by Virginia Living Magazine

The Emory & Henry Summer Scholars program is a one-week residential academic program for rising middle and high school students inclined toward academic adventure. For rising 6th – 9th graders, the traditional Summer Scholars program offers a unique mix of learning activities designed to broaden academic interests and expose students to a college-like setting. The Leadership Program, for rising 10th-12th graders, provides the same academic adventure while building the student’s leadership skills. 

They will depart one week from today and will leave behind many new friends and will take home many memories and a treasure chest of stories to share.  Once again “Friends of Copey”…you helped make this all happen!

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy.”         By Chuck Swindoll

“So far my experience in Costa Rica has been nothing but enjoyable and an enormous blessing” are the words written by Melody after spending her first week at the Copey Learning Center as a Emory & Henry College student volunteer. She is obviously experiencing the joy and sense of satisfaction both Casey and Xavier shared with us last year when they were volunteers at the Center. Melody has a student Blog set up to periodically document her experience in Costa Rica.  She and I both invite you to check in on her at times and learn about her experiences.  http://melodyincostarica2017.weebly.com/

Angela and her husband traveled back to the US last week to attend Angela’s graduation. She has received her Masters Degree and is sharing this wonderful educational achievement with her husband and family. She will then return to Copey to get ready to take on the “Pathway Project” and lead our guests to the US on June 10th.

Wondering how the “Pathway Project” fundraising campaign is going? The official end date for this campaign was May 20th. Last week I reported in my Post we had raised 38.9% of our goal. The same day, the amount jumped to 70.4%.  At the official close of the campaign…. Drum Roll Please!

We are now at 83.9% or $435.00 short of our goal. However, my sources inform me there are still funds not yet accounted for. Consequently, it is full steam ahead and we look forward to another successful experience.

As you recall, about 20 selected college friends and affiliates were called on to help raise the funds to support the “Pathway Project” in 2017.

As of today, there has been about a 60% response rate. This is noteworthy as far as fundraising goes. And, I am deeply appreciative for the obvious generosity demonstrated in support of this project.  Those who have responded to date…Thank You!

I hope everyone among the “Friends” clearly understands the significance of the “Pathway Project”.

The “Pathway Project” is providing life-changing experiences for two more young students. Fatima and Adriana are soon to leave their rural community to travel to America. They will bring with them the thoughts and prayers of their families, their friends, and their community. They will have experiences while in America most in their community may never experience. Many Copey moms and dads do not speak any English and most likely have not ever been to North America. It is impossible for us to imagine what it must feel like for these moms and dads seeing children from their community leaving for America. Under these circumstances, it could only happen with the “Pathway Project” and the involvement of “Friends”.

Fatima

Last year, when Noelia and Celeste returned home from America, they returned home as inspirational and motivational leaders. Noelia and Celeste shared their experiences with other students and have been very helpful preparing Fatima and Adriana for their trip.

Dr. Gaia and many others on the E&H College campus have done a remarkable job getting everything set up and in place for their arrival. The students will have a week of recreation including hiking and biking, visiting interesting sites, concerts, and many other activities.

Their second week will be attending the Summer Scholars Institute and Leadership Program on campus. They will meet many American students their age and spend their time sharing and learning. Just as the students last year, Fatima and Adriana will return home living proof that great things can happen to you when you really work at being excellent students.

Adriana

The “Pathway Project” is all this and certainly more. Such experiences cause students to dream and to hope. In fact, we believe the entire Copey community is being transformed by this project.

By calling on selected donors to support this, it also serves as an invitation to share in the excitement and success of a very worthwhile, extraordinary, amazing, productive, and successful experience.

Please make plans to join in on the time Angela, Ana Yancy, Fatima, and Adriana will be on campus at E&H College. They are expected to arrive June 12th and depart on June 24th. I will be with them during the week of June 12th.

Based on last year’s experience, you will not be disappointed.

“Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have…give I to thee!”                   Peter   Acts 3:6

As I mentioned last week, things are very busy and this week is no exception. Based on my understanding, all of the current volunteer staff at the Learning Center have completed their commitment and are moving on. This break in the volunteer support is naturally a disruption in teaching services but an unavoidable one while being

Daniel at work

dependent on volunteers.

We thank Daniel, Lashawn, and Katie who are now moving on to other challenges. As with all volunteers at the Learning Center, the time spent in the Copey community and with the Learning Center students provides life-long memories and sense of accomplishments.

Katie and Lashawn

The good news is that Melody, our Emory & Henry College volunteer is now at the Learning Center to provide some much-needed assistance. I am waiting to hear about other potential volunteers who may be also on site.

Coming to America

The special fundraiser to help cover the expenses for the four travelers; Fatima, Adriana, Ana Yancy, and Angela is officially underway. We got off to a great start last week by

receiving donations representing about 32% of our goal. What is unique about this specific fundraiser is that primarily only E&H College affiliated “Friends” requested to support the “Pathway Project”.

In 2016, only 23 requests were sent to only former graduates or other E&H College affiliated supporters. The goal was to have the very first “Pathway Project” completely funded by E&H College folks. These college “Friends” responded in great style and exceeded the goal by almost 60%. This spoke very highly of both the quality and worthiness of the “Pathway Project” and the great generosity of those connected to my college.

This year, the official request was sent again to 100% E&H College affiliated “Friends” and as anticipated, positive responses are arriving. In addition, a dear friend and brother in Honolulu has made a donation to the travel fund. So, this year we expect to have a mostly E&H funded “Pathway Project”. We have only two weeks left for the campaign and I trust we will have similar success as last year.

For the record, the “Pathway Project” is unique and not duplicated by any programs I am familiar with involving international students or exchange student programs. We are reaching deep into a rural community with very limited resources to provide another two high school students an academic related trip to an American college campus. The short and long-term impact on the lives of these students, their families, and the community are beyond measuring.

Next week, I will provide the second of four updates on our fundraising progress. So please keep a watchful eye.

The New Learning Center Update

As we all know, the official start of Stage 2 has not begun. It will start soon and likely in July. There are things going on behind the scenes even now. In keeping with my promise to continue providing some updates on this emerging project, consider the following.

At times I look back on old Posts. What I sometimes find is very surprising to me. First, the reality that we have come this far (many but not all of us) without much more than the identity of being “Friends”. I also find that we truly do move along with a lot of faith and dedication. I am surprised to see some of the quotes I selected and the titles of some of my Posts. Both of these seem to come at a time when I am really inspired or feeling very emotional.

I wrote a Post titled “Are You a Possiblitarian” on February 28, 2016. I never had used that term “Possiblitarian” before and I am not certain where it actually came from. However, it has remained with me along with the words that followed:                “My Friends, we are surely “Possiblitarians”. I enjoy the positive messages Dr. Norman Vincent Peale provided over the years. He encouraged “raising our sights and see possibilities-always see them for they’re always there.” 

The Learning Center along with “Friends” represent the thinking and imagination of “Possiblitarians”. You being a “Friend”, qualifies you as such.”

Who in their right mind would believe that a New Learning Center could be built in a small and rural town such as Copey, Costa Rica? The location, the distance, the financing, and a host of other obstacles all provide plenty reasons to take on far less demanding projects. The question regarding who would entertain such a project is a great question. The only possible answer is…a band of “Possiblitarians”.  You know…those people who dare to raise their sights and see possibilities! 

Back on February 28, 2016, I asked if you were a “Possiblitarian”? So far, the evidence based on our accomplishments suggest we are. Stay tuned!