Whew, these days are flying by. We'll be leaving 2 weeks from tomorrow. I can't believe it! We have one more week with just me and Mary and then a team arrives on Dec 28. We will work with them for the week and then leave when they do on Jan 4. I'll be back home in AR and freezing my petunias off wondering what happened!!
We stayed at the house today and worked many hours on our Spanish lessons. Mary did some laundry and I washed my sheets. We each felt a little under the weather, so we had naps. Then we walked on the beach for a while at sunset. We took our showers and then sat down for more studying. We've just been snacking on whatever we are hungry for. We haven't really cooked a meal here for days. When we are in town, we usually eat a meal at a restaurant. So it all evens out nicely.
We are having dinner here tomorrow with some friends, so Mary is cooking 2 big pots of beans to have them ready for the cook to finish up tomorrow. We'll have rice, slaw, grilled chicken and tortillas. Yum! The beans smelled so good tonight, I could have dived in for a bowl, but it was too late to be eating much. It will smell good tomorrow, though! I've missed the cook. She is so patient with me when I'm speaking Spanish with her. The last time she was here was when the Thanksgiving team was here. My ears were so bad that I couldn't hear much of anything. The cook was sweet to write down her part of our conversations for me. My ears are much better now, so hopefully, I'll be able to understand her better.
Mary was watching her pet ants again today. They had found a dead beetle type bug in the house and she watched 2 ants try to carry the bug. They were having a really hard time. Then we saw them by the door. They had called in reinforcements. They were going pretty fast. I think it had something to do with the fact that Araceliz, the cleaning lady, had a broom in use. Anyway, Mary was wondering how they were going to get the bug down the step that is about 3" or so. It turns out that they just fell over the edge. They regrouped and took off with the bug towards their home under the plant near the clothesline. They were still moving at a very good pace. I went to hang up my sheets on the clothesline and Mary yelled that I was stepping on some of the ants. oops. She talks sweet to them as long as they stay outside. She's warned them that if they step into the kitchen, they are gonners!
Today as we walked along the beach, there was a man and woman sitting on a rock and he was playing a guitar. I took a pic with my phone. He actually sang very well. They were friendly. It was such a sweet moment. We hadn't been on the beach for a few days and there was a lot of sand moved around and swept away by waves. It's still amazing to me every time we go out there. There were hardly any shells on the beach until we got to the south end, and still then, not too many. Mary has gotten quite a few nice ones to take home.
I can't remember if I mentioned that yesterday we rode the bus with a live chicken. It reminded me of this summer when we visited the ICU (sort of) wing for children at the hospital here in León. It's a very nasty place and not sanitary at all. It breaks Mary's heart and she can't go inside much anymore. Anyway, as we were visiting baby Milagro (from El Sapote) in the ICU, there were cockroaches crawling across her little, nasty bed. Under the bed to the right of us was a live chicken in a straw bag that the mother had set there while she was holding her baby. So sad to think of the conditions here.
Also, yesterday, as we were walking down the street from the bus to catch a taxi, someone came along side of me and tapped my shoulder. I knew Mary was on the right of me, so I wondered who it could be. Turned out that it was a man from the Sewer Pond village that recognized me. His daughter's name is Dariela, and I had gotten to hold her twice this summer when we were doing ministry there. I hadn't seen him on our last jaunts there. Perhaps he has a job now. Anyway, he seemed pleased that I remembered him and his baby daughter. He was on a bike and asked where we were going. I told him the grocery store. He said goodbye and rode off. Not much of a conversation, but I was very happy to see him. And it is so nice to be recognized by people. It makes me know that our presence here is making a difference for them, even in little ways.
It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a few days away. We'll probably be in town a little bit this week as we give out toys on Wednesday to the kids at the Sewer Pond and Concrete Pit areas. We'll probably try to go into town on the bus on Thursday. We'll probably stay here at the house on Friday and Saturday, since the 24th is the big celebration with families here and Christmas day is a holiday. (Our last excursion into town, just the 2 of us, will be next Monday.) We'll probably have Saturnino go to a restaurant in the next little beach town on his bike and bring us back dinner to eat here at the house either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We have to find out when they are open for sure. Christmas is bittersweet for Mary this year, since her mother and one of her brothers went to be with the Lord earlier this year. I listen to Christmas music in my room at night because it bothers her to hear it. So far, the decorations in town haven't bothered her too much. I think it's because the hot weather here is so different that Christmas back home in AR. It will be a quiet Christmas and that suits me fine. I always like to spend the day by myself with Jesus, so being here just the 2 of us will be sweet.
I guess I should go to bed now. There's much to do tomorrow. My sweet, clean sheets are calling my name. ahhhh
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