Today was very informative. We met with the community with some "ice breaker" games. Kate, Kim, Mallory, and I participated in these activities. The kids were timid at first but really got into it. One boy, Josua (pronounced Ho-sway), stood out to me. We talked during the games and he started hanging around me more when he found out my daughter was Olivia. He had played soccer with Olivia last year. He liked Olivia and was not shy about it.
The third house we went to was a single mom named Elsa. Her husband just left her. She noted that her husband had just finished the expansion to her home and then left. She was strong while describing it but mentioned that her faith was struggling so she was not attending church because of the challenges. She was Josua’s mom. She had 4 kids, one daughter(20), a daughter (14), Josua (12), and Brian (5). Please pray for her faith. She showed us her garden which included mango and dragonfruit.
Next, we visited Ines, a widower next door to Elsa. He had broken his forearm and had just gotten the cast off today. It will be at least 4-8 weeks before he can work again. He was taking care of Elsa's garden. His son played baseball. We played catch for a bit and I could tell he was pretty good. Ines had an amazing garden as well. He also had Jamaica flowers (aka Hibiscus).
The last home we visited was Andrea's. She helped us learn to make tortillas today. Please pray for her liver. We learned that mothers test their future daughter-in-laws to see if they can make good tortillas. If so, they can marry their son.
The thing I was most intrigued with was their outdoor stoves. Each was custom made of concrete for wood stoves. Ines even made his own concrete with sand, ash and water. It was also very cool to see their creativity and their cleanliness. We saw many people mopping the concrete floors. However, one person did not want to show us the add on bedroom because it had a dirt floor and she said it was a mess even though all the beds were up on cinder blocks and all beds were made and neat.
God bless,
Deacon Richard
