HAMILTON, Michigan — Snow is an old friend to every student in Ms. Lillmars’ sixth-grade class at Hamilton Middle School. Until a new friend came knocking.
Esteban Villalobos, 11, just moved from Venezuela.
“I just said, 'Have you ever seen snow?' And he said no. And I thought this was a huge deal," said Kate Lillmars.
His first Michigan Halloween brought another first.
“It was just spitting little bits of snow," she said.
It was exciting for the class of sixth graders. It was exciting even for the 17th-year teacher, who had something special up her sleeve.
“He said what he really, really wanted to do someday was sled," she said. “I decided we've got to get this boy sledding sooner than later.”
Kate borrowed a sled from one of her coworkers. The only one available was used for hunting.
"He had to pull some arrows out of it," laughed Kate.
But the class continued on. When Esteban arrived at school, Kate met him at the door with a sled and a plan. Her students even got him a coat from the front office so he'd be prepared for the cold.
“We had 10 minutes, and he went down the hill twice. But it was worth every second," she said, “It was a priceless moment.”
Esteban's emotions were shared through a translator, Mateo Lèon. Though his happiness was understood in all languages.
“He was excited," said Mateo for Esteban. "He likes how they treat him. How they play with him."
“He's full of smiles just like that," said Kate, gesturing to a smiling Esteban.
The class did it all for a student’s new love, and the love of their new student.
“He loved it. He’s like ‘Snow! Snow! Snow!'" she chanted.
“The kids just love having him here," said Kate. “The first day he came, we had all of the Spanish-English dictionaries checked out of the library.”
Kate says the students take it upon themselves to translate their work so Esteban can understand it. They're even learning Spanish words in their own time.
“I always knew that Hamilton was a special place," she said. “If you aren't here, you don't understand. But it's true that great things happen here.”
Esteban may not understand a lot of English — but a kind act like this? No words are needed.
"Smiling is universal," said Kate, “and his smile we'll never forget.”
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.