June 20

 June 20

Today started with a bit of a change in plans.  The foundation we had been working on was re -measured and we found that the engineer and the contractor needed to be consulted.  This meant no digging while we waited to get the go ahead.  We will continue tomorrow.

While we waited…

Pastor Ben tackled the job of changing the brakes on the van used by the national pastor Victor.  They went back and forth to the auto parts store but finally with about 8 hours put in, a lot of grease, a good sunburn the van was rolling and stopping just as it should.

Mid morning we saw the arrival of two new swing sets that we get to set in concrete tomorrow  this will be a welcome addition to a grown over play area the will eventually be a bright spot in the ministry.

While the strong among us were lifting the swing sets and setting them so their paint could dry, others were mowing (continuing the mowing), which consists of using pruning shears and bending over to cut while others rake around you.  This provides laughter among our team as we usually find some big bugs that tend to cause great fear among the girls.

At about 1:00pm the children begin to arrive and we started getting ready for lunch.  Today it was tortillas sprinkled with cheese, and with some shredded chicken on top, covered in molee sauce and a side of rice.  The molee sauce  was about a 50/50 hit with the team.  Quickly after eating we set up for games and crafts.  Today we got out the sidewalk chalk and all the colored string to make bracelets.  It is amazing to see how such low tech entertainment works, but these kids have no internet, or TV to occupy their time so these hands on games and crafts are a real treat for them.  Girls and boys alike dove into the bracelets making process and had a real fun time.  This was followed by an hour or two of soccer with the big kids.  I was promptly removed from the game (by an 8 year old) when they discovered I wasn’t as good as them- they take their soccer very seriously, even when its just for fun.  Oh well.

On the way home we stopped for some freshly made ice cream- well deserved after a long hot day- and then to a shop that specialized in the shiny black pottery of this region.  The pottery is beautiful and we all enjoyed the diversion before heading home and having dinner together USA style- hamburgers!

One of the most rewarding times of our day is the evening.  We gather to share our highs and lows from the day, pray for our team and the ministry, work through our devotional books together and generally pour out our hearts to each other.  In addition encouraging letters written by some of our supporters back home are distributed and read (and re-read) before heading off to bed.