Stupid Clouds

We hiked up to a very special spot for a picnic lunch today, a spot that lets us see honduras across the panoramic mountain view.  Unfortunately, there was a great big cloud in the way, so were not able to see the best of the view. :(

Back from amazing medical clinic!

6:50PM.  We just got back from an incredible, amazing medical clinic and are washing up for a late supper.  More later! :) Thank you for all your prayers - they were felt!

back from the market

10:30 and we just got back from town and unloaded $1300 and about 1300 lbs of food from our trusty little Kia cattle truck. 

Lazy Day So Far!!

Compared to all the previous days, today has been sort of a layed back one.  It is almost difficult to not be doing more, but at the same time it is a welcome relief.  I am going to take advantage of the short time that this will last!

Seven members of our team have gone into Sansansepeue?? to buy food for us to package and distribute to the families on our building sites.  They won't be back for a while so I thought I'd just take a minute to fill you in a little more.

Joan, Karen, Tracy and myself sorted and packaged medications for the medical clinic that we hope to have this afternoon in the school.  A huge amount of medical supplies came with us, some purchased and others donated.  Items as simple as an Tylenol are hard to come by because people just can't afford them.  How blessed we are, and we take it so for granted.  

The four of us went for a walk around Victoria with Charlie, one of the sons of the family that we are staying with.  The rule is "NEVER GO OUT ALONE".  So we take Charlie!  Poor guy, the other day he went to the grocery store with us and he just didn't know what to do when two of us went down one aisle and two went down the next one.  He stood in the middle and just kept darting back and forth.  :) 

When the rest of the team comes back we are going to bag the corn, rice, beans (or whatever they come back with) into smaller plastic bags so that it can be made into family packs.  I can still remember the HUGE smile on peoples faces when they received these packs the last time I was here.  Another thing we take for granted!!!

We will also be visiting the goat farm this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this operates.  This project is just one of the ways that the locals are being taught to be self sufficient.  I'm sure that this visit will be blogged about later.

The remainder of the team just arrived back from their shopping trip so it is time to get to work.  

So far all have us have stayed healthy and we have not had any major injuries.  Minor cuts which Dr. Joan and nurse Karen took care of immediately.  Thank you Lord for keeping us safe!!

Bye for now.
Coby

Today

It is 7:40AM here.  We've had breakfast and are preparing for the day.

Some of us are staying here to prepare for the medical clinic (where we are expecting maybe 130 people), and making our PB and jelly sandwiches and stuff.  Some of us are going to the store(s) (maybe 10 km each way?) to purchase food to give out at the key-giving ceremonies at the homes we built (with the help of many others) tomorrow:

rice
pasta
sugar
sardines
cooking oil

We are anticipating a great day of ministry and looking forward to God showing up today in special ways.   Please pray that we will be Jesus to these people (and to each other) today.

A Change of Pace (almost entitled Stupid Mud)

All six houses are finished !! Praise the Lord! It rained. The sun shone. The mist descended. The mud deepened. The mud got stickier. And stickier.  My calves are still burning this morning from pulling each foot out of the suction. We were sooooo dirty. But through it all, the houses are done and each family seems truly pleased and blessed and amazed that they have received this gift from people they don't even know. Each family has expressed the idea that "they never even considered or dreamed that anything like this would happen to them".

And now today...We have preparations to make for the medical clinic this afternoon. Food to buy and prepare for tomorrow's distribution. And gift baskets to finish preparing for our key ceremony on Friday.  Hopefully, none of that will involve mud. But if it does, we are prepared to do what it takes to finish the tasks the Lord has brought us here to do.

This is an incredibly beautiful place. We are blessed to be here.  Now off to breakfast...deep sigh....not my favourite. At least I bought some Coffee-Mate, so that's something...

Amanda

X's & O's

Today I got to have a welcome interlude in the physical work of this ministry (which I love).  I got to sit down and teach some very cute and eager little Salvadoran kids how to play X's and O's.  It was fun using pictures and pointing to describe the process to one little boy.  Joan had the brilliant idea that we could demonstrate a game to him and we did.  The boy caught on quite quickly and soon, at one point, he and maybe 6-8 other kids were all huddled around me playing X's and O's - with me and with each other.  (I counted at one point, and I think there were 16 kids total at this last house). It was colourful too, because we were using crayons and they experimented with using different colour combinations. After about 45 games in a row, I had to go, but they were still having a blast amongst themselves after I left.

They reminded me of my kids.... and I wondered if many of them have often (or ever) spent that kind of relaxed fun-time with their father or other male role model.  The boys particularly, seemed to crave my attention - that is, they seemed to prefer playing the game with me far more than any of the other kids.  I'm not sure why - could be lots of reasons, I guess.  I could be wrong,  but I got the sense that this type of experience was totally new to them.   Anyway, even as I write this, it hurt a little bit to have to have left them behind. 

Matt