Whenever we think about going to the beach, some may think about a great Instagram post and a nice tan, and others might think of salt in their eyes and sand in all the wrong places, but to these adults, it was a million times more.
Whenever the special needs adults from San Martin arrived at the beach house, their entire faces lit up with joy. Not a lot of teams come around this time of year, so they don’t get to go out as much, making today a huge treat. They quickly changed into their bathing suits, so as soon as the lifeguard gave instructions and we prayed, they could start swimming!
The boys loved to go into the ocean and jump on the waves and throw the football, while the girls preferred to stay near the pool and under the pavilion. Although they didn’t love stopping their activities to eat lunch, they did love the food, which consisted of chicken from the States Diner, chips, and cookies.
After lunch, they stayed by the beach house playing volleyball, soccer, and dancing. Sadly, they had to leave a couple of hours after lunch to go back to San Martin. This goodbye was bittersweet filled with big hugs, lots of pictures, and sad goodbyes. Not only did we touch the hearts of these adults, but they touched ours more than we ever imagined.
After they had left, we had a bonfire and made s’mores with the translators and the rest of the Sus Hijos team. After watching the sunset over the ocean, we went to La Posadas to eat an El Salvadorian traditional food: papusas. We got to try a variety of different kinds of papusas, along with tamales and quesadilla bread.
Because it was our last day here, we made the most of every moment and every encounter. It is very important to me to spend time with the special needs adults because I think they tend to get overlooked. Even though they aren’t cute babies or adorable children, they are wonderful people who just want a hug.
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