Pastor Alan and Mike are doing hard labor today. At the house, it was cement day. The men learned how to mix cement the Guatemalen way: proportional amounts of dirt, gravel, and cement dumped on a spot on the ground, mix this thoroughly with shovels, then make a “well” in the center and add several buckets of water from the convenient sewer stream a few feet away and mix again to the proper consistency. Then fill those same 5 gallon buckets from the other day and carry the cement into the house, one bucket at a time. The men definitely earned their lunch and supper that day. Extra cement was used to patch the gaps where the metal roofing met the cement walls and fill in the gap where the shower pipe came down the wall.
Meanwhile, back at the La Fragua Church Nail Spa, 25 customers stopped in to be treated to manicures. We practiced our Spanish while spreading the good news about Jesus. The women were very appreciative and one of the little girls loved it so much, she came back three times to change her nail color!
After lunch the children started showing up again. Bubbles kept them entertained until the official start of VBS. This time we had a keyboard for Stephanie to play and it was like the Pied Piper—the children kept coming, 70 of them! We read another story and played a fishing game (after Mike used a machete to make fishing poles from branches), catching fish with the letters J E S U S. We got out the sequins and glue and everyone decorated fish and glued them and other religious foam shapes to construction paper. What are the words of the day? Uno mas, no mas.
Back to the hotel (again passing cows being herded through the streets of Zacapa) to swim and await our delicious supper. Debrief, devotion, and sleep!
Hola from Hotel Torre Fuerte in Zacapa. This day was Tuesday. We had a huge group of children show up for Vacation Bible School. There were over 70, with mothers and little babies, too. It was overwhelming, and I must say that we were a bit shell-shocked when it was all over. But, their little faces were a blessing!
One of the things Pastor Alan asks us everyday is "What kind of surprises did God throw your way today?" Well, I must say I was expecting black beans and rice every day; however, we have had black beans only once, and it was the most delicious concoction of seasoned refried delicacy that you can imagine. I was smearing them on my warm, freshly baked tortilla. So, on this day, we had for dinner, prepared with loving hands by our friends Nora & Carlos: fresh guacamole, very lightly seasoned with sliced boiled egg on top; coffee & tea, agua fria and soft drinks, some sort of custard with a prune reduction sauce, slow-cooked pork ribs in barbecue sauce.
Note: To see Days 5 - 7 click on "Older Posts" below.
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