Sunday night. So relaxed. Ready to fall asleep...
The day started quiet. I mention this a lot, because after Tuesday, we will be getting up at 5am-ish for the team to have breakfast.
I spent a lot of time reading in the New Testament this morning. I'm trying to reread as much of it as possible these last weeks here. I didn't even study Spanish or take a nap today. Just Bible reading.
We snacked for breakfast and lunch. Then we got ready for German to bring Jasmina (the cook) out to discuss the menu for next week and to check out our staples in the pantry. Then we all left about 3:30 and headed in to León to buy groceries for the first few days for the team. We took a cooler to put the meat in, since we were going to be going to church afterward.
It took about an hour at La Unión. We had a cart full. I picked out some things for myself to purchase, especially for the next few days. I was very saddened to see that they had run out of liquid fudge snack pack pudding. Oh my! I had to settle on vanilla. I hope it's worth it. I was really looking forward to the chocolate. It takes them a very long time to restock something - like weeks. They probably won't have any more chocolate until after we leave. (and I don't usually eat it at home when I'm trying to be healthy) Too bad. I also got some 'organic' cashews. The thing I like about them is that they don't have any salt on them. I also got some tuna, soup and crackers. I think I'm set until the team comes in. I've pretty much run out of my instant stuff that I brought from home. Which is good, because it all has preservatives and stuff in it that I shouldn't be eating anyway. :)
We had bought 2 round watermelons at the store and the boy who put the groceries in the van set them in the floor. As we were driving, they were rolling around the van. Mary was chasing them and it was hilarious! Every time I looked back there, she was in a different seat in the van. It was kind of like that game where animals pop up through these holes and you have to bonk them on the head. I never knew where she was going to pop up. We've tried putting a melon in German's motorcycle helmet before, if it fits. We had a nylon insulated bag that was big enough for one and it kept it from rolling around. The last time we bought one and it rolled around, it fell out of the van and cracked open on the road. Since it was in a bag, we just brought it on into the house and tried to salvage it. We may have to find something to rig up as a melon car seat from now on. :)
We had a great time at Jericho church tonight. Mary gave a testimony about our getting to be here for 2 months over the holidays. It's so nice to see her more comfortable talking in front of the congregations. During the service, German translated for her and I tried to just listen on my own so I could practice my listening skills. I can catch quite a bit of what is being said. Sometimes I have to hear 2 or 3 sentences to get the context and then I can follow along. Jericho church is one of our favorite churches to go to.
Tonight, when they announced that we were going to take up the offering, a little lady from across the aisle came over and asked for a gift of a little money so that she could put it in the offering. German had 2 one dollar bills in his hand, and I just had a 20 córdova bill in mine, so German gave her one of his one dollar bills. As they were taking up the offering I looked over to see what she actually put in the offering bag. And I felt a little guilty for looking. But I noticed that she put in a coin. I looked over at German and he was watching her, too and we both started laughing. She had kept the one dollar bill (about 20 córdovas) and put in a coin worth about 5 córdovas). Oh well, it's between her and God about keeping what she had asked us for to use as an offering. She had blessed me by kissing my shoulder for handing her the money. And, besides, it was German's dollar bill to begin with. :)
After church, we went to Tip Top Chicken restaurant to grab a late dinner. That took a while, as there were no tables for a little while and service was slow as usual. But it was yummy. German always makes me laugh and the three of us had a good time.
We went to German's inlaws' house and picked up his wife and 2 kids, who rode out to the team house to drop us off. Ishmael likes to sit on his papa's lap and help drive. His favorite thing is to beep the horn. He has to put his whole little body into it to push hard enough. Mariangel always sits quietly with her sweet little smile. It was good to see Joana. I thanked her for letting us borrow German to run us around. We've tried not to use him too much on the holidays, so that he can have time with the family.
Tomorrow we will ride the bus into town for the last time. We'll probably grab lunch somewhere (we are getting very full of chicken!) or maybe an icecream cone or maybe both! and walk around the park and take some more pics of town. We really don't have much of an agenda. The last day of our retreat. We start working with the team on Tuesday afternoon.
it's been so wonderful to be here these weeks. It will feel strange to be back in NW Arkansas, and then to visit my family in Indiana for a week. I'll be coming back here for about 10 days in March, when the youth from my home church comes down. Then I won't be back until mid-May, but I'll get to stay for 3 months. I sure love it here.
Well, it's time to go to sleep. We're going to try to catch the 9am bus, which means we try to be at the stop by 8:30, cuz you never know what timetable the bus is actually running on.
I'm going to sleep with a full stomach and a full heart. God is so gracious and loving. And I am so thankful.
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