Another Week, and a Fresh Start

Wow, a week sure goes by fast these days! This week, we…

… started our Saturday kid’s program. Every Saturday afternoon our team will be providing a kids’ program during the summer months (January and February). There is a short B-bl- lesson, a snack, and game time with Kirsten, Clay, and Jean. The first week was a great success. Just by inviting the kids on our street, we had about 12 students! It’s a great way to make more connections with the kids we see on the street every day, and I can only imagine how G-d is going to use the stories these kids bring home to help us make connections with their parents/families.

… had a waterless evening/morning. The boys think they are SO funny (ok, maybe they are). We’ve been waiting for a water bill at our house (they get put between the slats of your fence), and we hadn’t received one in a while. We asked Eduardo, and even our landlady about it, but were told, “Don’t worry.” Well, one evening as we were getting ready for bed, I turned on the faucet to discover that either the world ran out of water, or our supply had been turned off. No water meant no showers, teeth brushing, face washing, or toilet flushing. We gave it an, “Oh well,” and went to bed. The next morning was very rainy, so I thought I would try to outsmart our situation by putting our biggest pot underneath the downspout and collect rainwater to flush our stale toilet. The boys came to join us for breakfast, and upon their arrival, magic happened - the toilet tank started filling on its own! For the next part of the story, picture a cartoon… maybe like Charlie Brown’s teacher. The three girls stood in the kitchen in our pajamas and uncleanliness, and just yelled and yelled at those sneaky boys who turned off our water (complete with shaking fingers). We were so loud and fast that you couldn’t even decipher what was being said. The boys didn’t care, they just laughed their sneaky heads off. Sheesh. They’d better watch their backs. J I can only imagine what our ruckus sounded like to our neighbors.

… took our host siblings to see their first movie in a theatre! As part of their Christmas gift, we told the kids that we would take them to see a movie, thus giving their parents a very rare day alone as well. On a rainy Monday afternoon, we ventured into the city to see “Gato con Botas” (Puss in Boots), followed by some ice cream cones. It was a very fun day with the kids.

… saw sea lions! Not much more to say about that. J

… cut a lot of grass with the scythe. For 2 days this week, the team visited a family on the island of Tenglo to help them cut long grass and thorn bushes that was a potential brush fire hazard, and was dangerous for their 2 small children. When it comes to physical work especially, my team is a machine! These people roll up their sleeves and get it done! Kirsten is so strong, she even separated the metal part from the stick part! (Don’t worry… Jeff fixed it).

… visited one of the cutest little old ladies, who just so happened to be sporting the most fashionable Pokemon slippers. This lady, Abuelita (little grandma), is so sweet. I enjoy our visits with her very much. She lives in a little house with her great-grandson, and you can tell that she is pretty lonely. She hugs us extra long, and cries when we leave. I’m very excited to visit her more. Plus, with her eye for fashion, I could be coming home with some new wisdom in my clothing choices. J

… had a great c-mm-n--n/foot-washing at ch-rch. Let me just try to tell you how great of a day Sunday was. In the morning, Jean woke up and said, “This is going to be a great day. I can just tell.” Kirsten and I said, “Hmm. Cool!” Prior to this day, I had done a lot of thinking about our team and the relationships therein. Just like any family, our team doesn’t always see eye-to-eye. At times this displays itself in some less than desirable ways, and feelings get hurt. Knowing that we were going to be sharing c-mm-n--n that morning, I wanted to make sure we were doing what we have been instructed to do, and reconcile our relationships before the service. I offered my sincerest apologies for my contributions to the problem, and proposed a fresh start. The team shared my sentiments, and we agreed to push the reset button. I had also prayed the day before; that the plastic lawn chairs we set up for our service each week would be full (they hadn’t been yet). This week, we didn’t have enough for all of our neighbors who came! It was crazy! Almost all of the people that we have been visiting in their homes for the past month were there for the first time! The service itself was great, too. As each person had their feet washed, E pr-y-d for that individual; such a beautiful picture of community and service. That afternoon, a lot of our friends from ch-rch came to E and J’s house for lunch - completos (hot dogs with avocado, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and sauerkraut). My team and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the girls’ house where we played cards (a lot! Jeff usually wins.), made a cozy fire, and ate popcorn. A great day.

… started fresh.

Thanks for continuing to lift our team up in pr-y-r. We can feel it.