July 2011 Mission trip Day Three:

Today started off with Morning Prayer and breakfast. Carla our cook does a great job preparing our food. Today we had a crisp tortilla spread with refried beans with an egg on top and finally covered with a soft white cheese. We also had fresh fruit - watermelon, papaya and pineapple.

Then we were off to the village for our first day of work. It rained last night so the road was ruff, rocky and muddy. The trip was especially hard for Giovanni our driver who had been sick all night.

When we got to the church one of the village fathers, Mosies, was already at work scraping and patching walls inside and outside to get them ready for painting. He had several teenage boys helping him - Edwin, Christian, Juan, Carlos, Gerson, Bryan, and Pedro. The boys were great. Three of them spent the day in the bell tower scraping and painting. The rest were down in the chapel. You could hear the Spanish music and happy chatter going on all day. These kids obviously were enjoying doing this work. The father of the bunch was working along side and being overseer, but they were doing most of the work. They all worked until at least 4:30. That was a long day for anyone with the oppressive heat and high humidity. I, as a grandmother, was impressed.

Elaine, Marty, Stella and I spent the day scrubbing walls in the Sunday school building. We also, washed windows and the iron trim. We hope to start painting tomorrow. It rained off and on all day so the humidity was really bad. We drank a lot of water.

Lunch was prepared at Don Miguel's house. His wife Juanita and his daughter prepared it on a stove like the ones our men are making for the other villagers only fancier this one is covered with colorful tiles. After all, Don Miguel is considered the village leader and is most respected. We had chicken, beans and rice. It was fresh fruit for desert - homegrown papaya.

The men built mesas - tables or slabs of concrete used to support the stoves. Afterward, the men came to help at the church cleaning screens and window ledges. They also carried water for us. There is no hose so all the water is carried in buckets from the pila (water cistern).

Of course our fearless leader Mother Barbara was at our side all day. She directs everything with a kind, but firm hand. We all love her, as do the villagers and the children that she seems to collect.

After we dragged our tired bodies home and cleaned up, we went to the mall for a quiet dinner. We then had evening reflection and went to bed. No trouble sleeping tonight.

God Bless,

Judy and Elaine