We woke up this morning to a late breakfast of eggs and jello and the news that our expected trip to the botanical gardens wasn’t to happen due to a closure. Instead, a voluntary short walking tour of the surrounding neighborhoods in San Pedro was organized and led by our hosts. One of our crew took ill this morning, struggling with what we thought was a stomach bug. We all (minus one) went to a local church which was held under a big tent, complete with lots of singing, dancing, an alter call, laying of hands on those in need, and flag-waving—the differences in culture and style are still striking. We stood (and clapped and sang) for about half of the service in the heat. Even the pouring rain that came during the service didn’t cool things down, but rather made the humidity a little more daunting. During the service, another of our crew had a problem and fell ill. [I have been in contact with the families of both that are suffering, so if you haven’t heard from me directly, don’t worry…but your prayers would be greatly appreciated too!] We don’t know if it’s viral, bacterial, or related to heat exhaustion, but regardless it has been a strong reminder about being diligent sanitizing our hands and keeping hydrated.
After lunch, sensitive to the potential for over-exertion, we had a voluntary afternoon of work in El Brisal…much to my surprise, every person that was physically able chose to come and work for the afternoon. We had two goals today in our time on the drenched and soggy work site: get the ridiculously large pile of “dirt” into the building by the bucketload, as described on day 2, which had been soaked and pelted by rain to become a hard-packed mass that had to be chopped with a pick before it could be shoveled into buckets. The second job was to lay a course of block around the edge of the roof (with the blocks and the sand—for mortar—that we put up there the day before). Both missions accomplished (although there’s a bigger pile of fill to get into the building tomorrow…ugh). On another note, just before we left, Juan told us that one of the windows needed to be turned into a doorway. While many took turns, the most effective “deconstructionist” was Liz Wellman! Pastor Mark believes she may have found her calling and is currently looking to hire her out for summer masonry demolition projects. He can be contacted at the church office on or after July 6th.
We returned to an eclectic dinner of spaghetti, french fries (with ketchup), and fried plantains—it was devoured by a hungry returning work crew. During our evening study, we had a stirring and emotional testimony from Valentin (a Haitian multilingual lawyer, pastor, and missionary we have been working with) about the day of the earthquake and its aftermath. [actually, it was chronicled in Feb. 1st issue of People Magazine] We sang a few songs, and studied Colossians 3—discussing our “team uniform” of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Small groups then dug deeper on that topic and discussed the day’s events, followed by some down time to relax and blow off steam.
Summary:
-We’re well settled in, getting into routines
-It’s kinda hot, and REALLY humid
-lost bags: 0 (found bags: 1)
-church services attended: 2 (but the second one was 3 hours long...so I don't know how to count that...)
-days hard labor: 1.5
-infirmed: 2
-Children Carla has selected to take home to NJ: 2 (no change)
-Children Sue is disputing Carla’s claim on: 1 (no change)
-local boys who insist on running after the bus, watching us on the work site, standing in ankle-deep mud puddles, and eating cheetos all while buck naked: 1 (we even offered him 10 Pesos to go home and put some pants on…he declined, I guess we’ll start the bidding tomorrow at 11)
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