I guess its my turn to send the update...the days here are both short and long with the amount of life we have been experiencing and regardless of the length, they are always full of surprises.
I was busy cooking and glistening in the church kitchen, which is upstairs and faces a busy street with a HUGE window, in a tanktop, my ipod blaring and attempting lunges as i waited for things to simmer, boil and bubble. You can imagine my surprisa cuando the guards, who are normally restricted to the first floor, entered asking to refill their water container with the filtered water. after i got over my embarrassment, i asked if they wanted some food when it was done...20something guys...of course they said yes... and that was the start of our truly entertaining night. Hanna and i brought the 4 guys some of our makeshift baked ziti and as soon as we had cleared our own table, we were again surprised when they came up with a sachel with the most amazing rotiserie chicken, plantain chips and salad...and a huge doughnut to share. we were all full, but as culture would dictate we gratefully cut away at the chicken, sharing, when the other 2 came upstairs it was a full on fiesta. they dont speak english and we barely understand spanish... enter "google translate" Jen's mac and my mac were on opposite sides of the table as we all laughed at the translations while making conversation. I want a jelly doughnut! we would have rocked america's funniest home videos.
These are the kinds of precious and memorable moments that have flavored our trip.
Ok, a few highlights from the past few days...
Earlier Today...We spent the whole day at an agricultural community an hour away in Saraceta. We taught a million kids (or so it felt) about sanitation then set up a mini-clinic and saw anyone who needed health care. we couldnt have asked for a more beautiful setting and group of people. we were in a shaded jungle-like environment with sunlight coming through the palm leaves like a movie. We even had stocked bathrooms (apparently built for specifically for a wedding by the owner of the plantation). The people were gentle and fed and stuffed us with snacks - when was the last time you got coconut milk and bananas for a snack? it was awesome.
Yesterday was our dia libra, so we took a bus 2.5 hours away to the beach, where all the white people and myself got burnt... but it was a much appreciated day of rest. it was beautiful and the water was actually warmer than our mas frio shower.
Wednesday - Pastor Samuel's birthday party was here at the big church...the festivities included mobbing him at the stairs with signs and singing, a snack ( a veritable feast!) (are you noticing the food theme?) and more singing. then we had the opportunity to restock and catch up on logistics. as i mentioned, We are starting to understand spanish...sort of... at least, with the help of Jen's iphone translator and a combined 2 semesters of Spanish between all of us. that morning, we managed to conquer the grocery store, find a laundramat (since hanging "drawers" in the church shower seems to be taboo), bought empanadas and frozen yogurt for lunch.
Wednesday afternoon took us back to Nigeria for more door to door health care outreach... we were welcomed into several family's lives for a few minutes or an hour each. Of particular note for me were the two last families.
First, a family with 11 children, an anemic mother, blind father (in one eye) several chickens, a dog with puppies all in a tiny home too small to host us, so we sat on their living room furniture (plastic lawn chairs) on their stoop, watching the neighbors wash clothes and dogs fighting. They shared stories of hope, miracles, and need...since the father cant work anymore. Even through their struggles they are so hopeful...happy and eager for us to pray with them.
Humor goes a long ways in these neighborhoods, my absolute favorite visit soo far was the last gentleman of the day.
... we were walking around nigeria door to door and i was saying "A-ver" which is what you say at the door to get someone to answer it... and a cute old man stuck his head out of the grated window... and said Buenas Dias, and then in spanish "Come in"....he didnt know who we were yet... so we went in as he was pulling chairs around to give us somewhere to sit in his tiny one room area...and he said "so how've you been" like he knew us forever.... LOL, and we responded great! how bout you?...his reply " ummm, not so great! i took a laxative yesterday so i had a pretty rough night...but im ok now...(no pause) so who are you and why are you here:?" LOL. i couldnt help but laugh. we of course told him we were health care workers and here to answer questions and checkups and invite people to a clinic in a few weeks...after which he started yelling for his wife from down the street, she had the hugest knee and ankle i'd seen in a while and she was limping and practically crying... so it was a great visit... including the long conversation he had with eric our translator about the history of how their home was a gift and life in general. at the end i asked if i could take his picture, he said, yes, but why, "because you invited us into your home!" and he said, " everyone is welcome here...everyone who knocks on the door, neighbors, visitors, sometimes even thieves"... he had such a great dry sense of humor and grace.
I feel as though everyday, even though we are here to serve these people, that we are constantly being shown a kind of generosity and grace that amazes me. I can only hope some of it sticks to me.
Thanks for your prayers and support,
Gratefully,
Manaal (and Jen, Hanna and Sheri)
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