It is hard to believe that is it the end of month 3 already. As we were sitting around talking to our hosts the other night, I felt like we had just stepped off the bus from Granada, Nicaragua to meet them. I could not believe how fast this month went by. It is amazing how fast time can fly when you are enjoying yourself and not really encountering any troubles or opposition. Since I don’t really know what else to blog about, I am going to do brief snippets into the month.
Ministry:
So the ministry this month was amazing! I honestly did not think I would like relational ministry. I have really enjoyed the physical labor we had done for the last two months and honestly, physical labor is a lot easier than hanging out with people and getting to know them. So, all that being said I was a little nervous about this month coming in as what we were mostly suppose to do was relational ministry. Since we arrived on Thursday night, we didn’t do the original ministry on Friday, but helped out around the house instead with little things that needed to be done. So come Monday morning we had our first day of going to the schools. Before we even left the house we were preparing for the day. We made about 70 pancakes about the size of a salad plate and packed them up into containers, then we were out the door and piling into the truck. Our ministry host drove us into the mountains and around some crazy curves and past some amazing views before we arrived at the larger school. (Quick side note: there were two schools and the way we distinguished them was: the bigger school as this school had about 50 kids and the smaller school, which had about 20 kids.)
So, what a normal day of ministry looked like the first 2 weeks was going to the bigger school first, presenting a short Bible lesson then passing out a snack to the kids. The only difference at the smaller school was we would play with the kids after the snack while at the bigger school we would do a quick game before the lesson. After the larger school, we would pile back into the truck and drive back around the winding curves and up some steep hills to arrive at the smaller school. So we did this daily for a week or two in the mornings and we would rotate through who would present the lesson. While I did not enjoy presenting a lesson to the kids, I did enjoy hanging out with them and seeing their smiling faces whenever we came. These kids are so full of joy that it is infectious and they are such a joy to be around. I loved being able to play a variety of games with them and share smiles and laughter with them.
One of the other main ministries we did this month was build adobe bricks on 3 different days. Adobe bricks, that sounds like fun, you might say…and I would reply, it was until I had to hand wash my filthy, muddy, clay ridden clothes. But yes, while there is was fun to lean how to make adobe bricks and by the end of day 3 we had around 350 bricks. The lady we were making these bricks for wanted to build an addition onto her house so she and her husband could have their own room as the whole family was currently sharing the same room.
Fun:
So each Saturday was set aside as our cultural/adventure day. While the Valley does not offer a lot in the way of attractions, we were able to entertain ourselves. Our first adventure consisted of going to go see a waterfall. On the walk to it we passed some abandoned carved into the mountain sheds were miners stored their tools. We also had to walk up the river to get to the water fall which was an adventure in of itself as sometimes the path was not very wide or we were required to climb over trees while trying to stay on the path. But in the end the waterfall was worth it and while the water was very cold it was cool to stand next to it and be sprayed (all in the name of adventure). We were also able to take a short cut back which made it easier, but in the end we still ended up getting soaked as a downpour caught us as we were walking back to the car.
Another adventure afternoon was spent catching a bus to the next small town over and exploring. We found an outlook that looked over a valley and out towards the capital. It was so cool. There were mountains upon mountains and the clouds were high enough that you could look far.
Little Nuggets from the Month:
Hugs ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ from all of the school kids. So amazing. Kid hugs are the best
Standing on a wet, slippery, steep ledge next to a waterfall to get an epic team picture
Standing in the back of the pick-up truck as we drove to the school through the mountains letting the wind blow against my face
Mixing clay with water and pine needles and ending the day looking like you had just barely survived a mud fight
Seeing the kids run to the gate at the school with huge smiles on their faces whenever we arrived at the school
Witnessing these same kids pray for healing
Racing Kody (team leader and tallest person on the team) up a flight of stairs just for the fun of it
Hand washing clothes in a wash basin and mending some of said clothes after scrubbing them too hard…oops…
Getting a brain freeze every time I washed my hair…that being said, taking showers as fast as possible
Seeing my good friend from college, CreeAnn. I haven’t seen her since the Fall of 2012. She currently lives in Honduras working as a teacher over in Gracias. At my request, she willingly rode on a bus for 6 hours to come spend a day and a half with me and my team. It was so good to see her and catch up on life.
Learning how to make a piñata…yup, never again
Being able to help cook in the kitchen with Kelly was a highlight of my month and one I will never forget…I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn more
I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at the month. It was truly an amazing month and I while we were in one of the more dangerous countries, I felt safe. The Valley of Angeles is a very quaint, touristy place with lots of little shops to poke into and explore. I would love to visit again some day. Plus, some of the views from the mountain tops were breathtaking and it would be hard to capture such beauty in digital. The memories made in this place will not soon be forgotten.
I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the Christmas season. We (the squad) will be leaving Central America on the 5th of December and flying to Atlanta then LAX for a 23 hour layover then onto the Philippines, where we will be for month 4. Please pray for travel safety as we will be doing a lot of traveling between the 5th and 8th of December to reach our next ministry site. Please also pray that I will not experience acute homesickness as Christmas approach.
Thank you all for your prayers. They are appreciated and have helped combat a majority of the homesickness and physical sickness as well. I am doing really well and am looking forward to Asia and what it is going to bring.
Love you all!
Love Rebecca
