Weightlifting

We now have four kids participating in weightlifting: Angel, Jessica, Thalia, & Marcia. They had a competition in Puyo 2 weekends ago, and we all got to be there to watch. I think all of the cheering gringos are amusing to the other people there....

We can't use flash during the competitions...so please excuse the blurriness. Mel took the pics, and she did a fabulous job. Thank you, Mel...

All of the female competitors being introduced... Marcia is 2nd in on the left. Look at the girl in the white shirt/red short sleeves in the middle....Jessica is to the left and Thalia is to the right.... YOUR left and right. :)

Marcia is still very new, but she's doing great!

Thalia is doing awesome as well... I'm amazed at the level of maturity she shows when she is competing. It takes a lot of concentration and effort, and she is such a little athlete.

Jessica is in a league of her own.... She always wins everything there is to win in her bracket. It's crazy to watch how much weight she lifts. I think her last lift was something like 50 kilos...??

There are 3 judges...all watching different elements. White flags are what you want. :)

Angel stepped up and looked just like the sweet boy I know and love. THEN he just morphed into this man looking person! He is really at a competitive level, and I was nervous about the amount of weight he was lifting.

It's not pretty when he lifts....his face contorts, he grunts, yells, and breathes really hard. Very scary for me to see him like this.... He still talks in this high girly voice when he speaks to us in English, so it was hard to wrap my mind around this new image of his.

It is so great to see these kids involved in something that they can really take ownership of. It's difficult for children raised in any type of group/institutional setting to really form their own identity and take ownership of anything. I LOVE to see them find something they enjoy, work hard at, and succeed.

These same kids are actually in a city a few hours away...competing at the National Championship for Ecuador. Last I heard, Jessica had won 3 gold medals and broken all of the records in her division.