Cinematic magic

It’s movie night, and I’m not sure how to describe the feeling of driving down a very dark and narrow road as the sound of the cheering and screaming kids who are way beyond excitement begins to grow in the distance. Out of the darkness appears the glow of flashlights, a makeshift movie theatre that consists of a projector, a sheet between two palm trees, and a group of children who are trying their best to be patient.

We are in La Union. The darkness has been transformed into something that we take for granted every day – a theatre. We climb off our trucks and scatter to find a seat near our new very special friends – the children. As everyone settles in for the main feature, I’m amazed how we have gained their trust. I’m not really sure how much of the movie our group actually watched while we visited with our new found friends but, of course, that’s not important.

Unfortunately only our past, current, and future fellow Hero Holiday WestJetters will know the true meaning and understand the affect these small moments out of our busy day have on everyone we cross paths with on this trip. Just like all of our activities on this trip, it’s hard to judge who is impacted more during movie night – the people we meet and try our best to help in any way we can or us, the WestJetters.

I’m sure I’ll never truly understand what the comfort of new friendship and a night to forget about all of the things around them means to these children, and I’m sure there are 49 other WestJetters with me tonight that feel the same way.

Give your loved one an extra hug tonight and take time to truly appreciate how blessed we are with the lives we lead.

Todd Hunt, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer