Monday was Michelle's birthday, so we switched which end of the week our day off was this week and made it special for her. We were all able to head out and have a nice breakfast together at a place called Terry's Diner, an American owned and managed place meaning familiar foods – American pancakes, waffles, omelettes as well as coffee or milkshakes, etc.
We then caught a bus or two to a place not too far away from here that has some small waterfalls and spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and the water. After dinner our contact had even prepared a cake for Michelle (without candles but the point was there) and we all sang 'Feliz Cumpleaños' to her.
Yesterday we were employed (ha!) as manual labourers again as we went to a local pastor's house and help with some construction work there. For yesterday that meant digging a trench that was about a foot wide and a foot and a half deep the whole length of the property. Needless to say this took it out of us but we were fortunate in that it ran parallel with a building that kept us shaded the whole time (thank you Jesus).
Today we will be doing what have done once a week the whole time we have been here – visiting the old folk's home ('hogar de ancianos', which I think looks like home of the ancients, but it doesn't mean that).
We spend a couple of hours here, using our broken spanish to communicate as much as we can with them and having an enjoyable time. I have been taking my guitar so myself and a couple of the girls will sing some of the songs that we know in spanish and there is one gentleman who loves to get up and dance by shuffling his feet about.
Last week we took some sticks and string and made cross necklaces with them and this week we will be making some simple origami and make some name labels for everyone.
We have five days of ministry left including today which is crazy, and then we will be on to our final debrief in Costa Rica…
