So this past week has been crazy and unexpected, as per usual.
On Wednesday afternoon my team of 7 piled into the back of Pastor David's pickup truck and rode up an incredibly steep and rustic dirt road to the church that we were asked to paint. The day before we had gone out and bought paint brushes and rollers in preparation, but in all honesty we had no idea what we were doing. Story of our race. After gripping the sides of the truck so hard that I'm sure I left finger indentations, we finally arrived to the church, in the center of a little village, on the top of what I'm sure is the worlds steepest mountain.
As soon as we arrived people began pouring out of their homes and gathered around the church to stare at us. Many of my teammates speculate that we are the first "gringos" that these people have ever seen. After ushering us into the church some folks immediately offered us drinks and snacks while everyone else kept a safe distance away from us, staring. I felt like I was on display in a museum, all of the parents instructing their children "look but don't touch!".
After we got over the shock of being doted upon and served by the people of the village that we had come to serve, we got our paint and brushes and began the task we had set out to do. The whole village was incredibly rustic looking. Tin roofs over cement walls, dogs and chickens roaming freely, browns and greens everywhere we looked. Everywhere except the church. We painted over the subtly fading peach color with a bright orange, making the church impossible to miss.
As we painted the sides of the church, some men got ladders and took care of the peak for us. I became engrossed in a conversation that I was having with a teammate while painting, and when I finally turned around I realized that a small gaggle of children had progressively inched towards us as we conversed. Not long after we had the children giggling, intrigued by the pictures of their faces that we were able to show them. If anyone ever tries to tell me that there is a noise more beautiful than the sound of children laughing, I will unabashedly laugh in their faces.
It was about this time that a teammate and I needed to use the restroom. Oh no. We finally were able to convey to some villagers what our need was and were directed down a hill to a small cement building. Okay, we can deal with that! Once we reached the front of the building, where 23 villagers congregated, we realized that the two stall bathroom was totally open to the public. Insert first of many interesting bathroom stories here.
After a brief lunch break where we were provided with fresh delicious corn, my team finished painting the church in an incredibly timely manner. We proceeded to head over to a neighbors house to wash off the brushes. Instead of crowding around the small sink to wash, I was drawn to two small beautiful girls watching us from the dirt path. A few of us went over and did our best to have a conversation in spanglish, a language that I am quickly becoming fluent in. We became inseparable from that point on.
As we finished washing and prepared to head home for the day the pastor approached us and asked us to join him in the church. When we entered there were many people waiting for us there to thank and pray over us. The men gathered around us and prayed for us warrior style (all at once). Then we were able to pray over them as well. It was such a beautiful experience for all of us, and such a blessing!
As we piled into the truck for our ride back down the worlds steepest mountain we waved goodbye to our village of new friends. The pastor and his wife wiped tears from their eyes as they waved goodbye and the two little girls we had befriended chased our car until they couldn't keep up with us any longer.
This outing has everything that it takes to make it the perfect day: location, scenery, beautiful people, an awesome bathroom story, and really cute children! It may have to go down as the best day of my race so far!
