We had a little date night, just walking around town. We went to a restaurant and got burgers (they were ok) and some watermelon juice which was fantastic. I haven’t had a beer since we have headed out on this journey, just because I haven’t even craved one. I might crave a beer if they had more than Corona, a Guinness would be good. Negro Modelo is probably the best beer I have seen, but for the calories, I would much rather have the watermelon juice. So on our date night, I drank a pink drink. Then Linnea bought a purse, probably paid twice what we should have, 15 dollars, and I bought leather sandals. We probably paid twice what we should have for the sandals too, but I needed another pair of something for my feet, and 25 bucks is still pretty cheap. I have never really worn sandals, mostly because my feet need more support- because they are flat, and I am fat. I am pretty happy with the sandals, especially to slow down the wear and tear on my sneakers. I was wearing my sandals when it happened.
It was bound to happen, and one night it did. I rushed to the bathroom after waiting too long again, and found out it was plugged. With 27 people, and one toilet, I can’t believe we did so well for so long. Jake (or Hahcobo), servant that he is, was trying to figure out how to snake the toilet. We tried a couple different hoses, then we twisted a wire, and I guess it worked, it broke up the clog, but when we tried to flush it, it still would not go down.
We then headed to breakfast, where we talked about this until everyone but me was grossed out. Jake and I then went and looked for a store that sold plungers. There is a store on the corner that sells a little bit of everything, so we asked there and the young man disappeared into the storage room. He came out after a few minutes with just the rubber part, and a long broom handle. The rubber part looked new, and the man wrestled the broom stick on to it. We asked if the long handle came in handy, just in case this was a three man job. This kind of humor seems to be cross cultural.
Jake managed to undo the clog after a couple of heaves, and I poured the bucket in. (the toilets here are flushed by pouring water from a bucket) It helps to get some height on the pour to force it all down, so I poured the bucket from 4 feet over the bowl, and of course it all splashed back out at me, getting dookie on my toes through my nice new sandals. I was already feeling light headed from the smell and visual stimulation, but that just about did it. I get queasy even thinking about changing a diaper, and with people around all I could do was get silly.
Our bathroom is a small cinder building, the toilet area is about 4 feet by 4 feet, and the shower area is the same. Jake extended the hose to the shower, so on the days we actually have running water, people don’t have to take bucket showers. Before we got here, there was no roof over the bathroom, and now we have some corrugated tin and a light bulb. We really are in the lap of luxury. It is pretty common now to be talking to the person in the shower while I am going to the bathroom, and giggling while it sounds like the grand finale in there. “Oops, sorry about that!”
We have running water basically 2 or 3 days a week, and when the water is on, we fill three 55 gallon drums to get us through the dry spells. I don’t understand the water management in the town, but we are learning water management here. When the water starts getting low, there are two options. The water can be used either to shower or to flush. I am on the side of flushing. I can avoid a stinky person, but if we can’t flush, it will be hard to avoid that odor.
Last night, Stephanie led the youth group in this church. The topic was on ways to worship, and one of the ways we were teaching was through humility and service. While we were planning the lessons, I volunteered to teach the journalling/artwork part. We had four groups circulate through four stations. The other stations were prayer walking, hacky sack, and meditating on the Word. So I picked the one I was most comfortable with, as my hero in the bible is David. I learned to write prayers in a journal after reading a biography on David by Charles Swindoll.
The one way of worship there was no way I was going to do is foot washing. Stephanie wanted us to wash everyone’s feet as that is her favorite way of worship, by serving others. I have always thought that it was a little weird, and figured it was just a cultural thing. Besides, I want to walk in my gifts, and that is not on my list, making me uncomfortable. My hero, after all is David (anyway I thought he just watched people bathe, I can do that), what, am I also supposed to imitate Jesus? Literally? I just did not volunteer to be touching people’s feet.
As the girls came out to do the foot washing, I heard God say “Do it”. He said it differently than Ben Stiller in Starsky and Hutch, but he made it obvious. I walked over to Chad and said, I think they need to see the men doing this, not just the women. Chad said he agreed, and we went together to each boy and washed their feet and prayed for them. We rebuked the spirit of feminism in the group, and an effeminate spirit which is so powerful here. The women have so much power, and the boys all act very feminine. In Palenque the ‘tough’ men as I understand it, get drunk and beat their wives and kids. So that is the extremes we are facing here. How do real men fit in the body of Christ in the world?
When we were done washing feet, we poured the dirty foot water back in the drums to be used for flushing. The greenest environmentalist doesn’t even re-use bathwater.
As we sat in the group, we were trying to decide how we were going to handle the water situation. Linnea told Chad not to worry, that God would provide the water, and I chimed in with my agreement. I figured the water would be turned on just when we needed it. Last night we were down to a couple flushes left.
We slept in the tent last night, and I woke up when it started to pour. I went to the bathroom and noticed the rain pouring out of the gutter spout. So I moved one of the drums under it and I felt like a hero. Later it would begin to rain again, and using the bucket, we filled all the drums. So people are showering now and using the bathroom. When Linnea said God would provide, I didn’t think it would be that literal.
