I slept pretty well last night. I didn't wake up in the night until about 5:30 and then I read for about an hour or so and dozed back off. Mary woke me at 8:30 by knocking on my door, but I was dreaming about the door knocking and it took a few minutes to figure out what was going on. The cleaning girl was here to sweep and mop our floors. They get so dirty from the house being open. It's nice that we can give her work. She is very sweet. Mary even shared some of her precious Pepsis with her. :)
We talked a little bit about Spanish this morning, but Mary said she had a headache from all the new info she's putting into her head. We opted to work on the toys for a couple of hours. There are tubs filled with different toys from previous teams. We are sorting them out by gender and age to prepare them for the Christmas give away at the Sewer Pond in a few weeks.
We made up some home made bags (sewn by ladies at Mary's church) with hygiene items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, washcloth, etc. We have 50 made up, but we need to put together about 15-20 more for all the ladies at the Sewer Pond. We'll have to use gallon ziplock bags for the rest. But even a plastic ziplock bag is useful!!
We have some kid's toothbrushes to give away along with their toy and some candy. I think the kids will like their gifts.
The clothes we were working on sorting are packed in tubs now. There isn't enough for a full distribution at the Sewer Pond, so we're praying about where we want to give them out, or if we should hold them till the next team comes and see what they have to add to the stash.
The van is still getting fixed, so we spent the day here at the house. Pastor Miguel had a list of how many households, how many boys and girls are at the Sewer Pond. He brought the list out to us on German's motorcycle. It's much more reliable and cheaper on gas than Miguel's car. Not to mention safer! It was nice to see Pastor Miguel today. He stayed for a little while and visited. He speaks only Spanish and we had fun talking.
Since there is no church near by the Sewer Pond, they had asked Pastor Miguel to come and have a service for them today. It was nice that he was doing that. There is so much ministry to be done there. I hope we get the chance to serve there more and more in the future. I'm glad to know that they asked for a service and that Pastor Miguel was willing to go.
If the van is not fixed tomorrow (and it doesn't look like it will be) Mary and I are thinking of taking the bus into town and finding our way around via taxi. Keep in mind that there are no street addresses. Some streets have names, but there are no house numbers. (no mail routes or anything like that) Utility bills are delivered by bicycle and places are described by landmarks. So, with our limited Spanish and no idea where anything is, we will have quite the adventure. La Unión is the grocery store that we go to. It's well known and it's not too far from a lot of the things that we think we want to see and a restaurant that we can eat at, so we'll probably just try to get there. We can always call German to talk to the taxi driver on the phone if necessary. We may have some exciting tales to tell after that!
My sister Pam is doing better today. Sore and very tired of laying on her back. The doctor said he thinks that they got all the cancer via the lumpectomy. The results of the lymph nodes will come back in another week or so. He said she wasn't out of the woods yet. She will start her radiation in a few more weeks. I know this is a hard time for her.
My friends, Jim and Cindy Sigmon, are home after a month in St John's hospital in Springfield MO. They were in a bad motorcycle accident that has left Jim with some physical obstacles to overcome and a brain injury. He has had remarkable progress to date. They attribute it all (appropriately) to God's hand on their lives. They have been wonderful in sharing their faith through all of this and showing their trust in what God has planned for their future. I'm glad that they can be home so soon and enjoy the holidays with friends and family.
It seems strange to see on facebook that people are going to Christmas concerts and stuff. It's apparent that Christmas is coming since the town here is all dressed up for it, but it just seems funny to think about it back in the states right now. I do miss Christmas in NYC. The whole city is dressed up and there is so much to see. I miss my friends there so much. I have very dear memories of my time serving there.
It's a quiet night here at the house. Mary and I opted to skip our evening walk on the beach. We are kind of tired both physically and mentally today. We are having a reflective evening.
I think I'll get off here for now and read a little bit before an early bedtime. My rest and strength come from the Lord. He is gracious.
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