As usual, time has gotten away from me. I’m trying to keep Sunday afternoons my
day for communication catch-up, but that doesn’t always happen.
Since the last post, Regina has started working and is doing
a great job getting the house ready each morning for classes. There is not as much work for her as
most households ask (I don’t ask her to do laundry, ironing, cooking, etc.), so
she gets done way before noon.
With the new classes starting on Saturdays, I’ll be asking her to come
by on Saturday morning to do the dusting and floors before classes. But that should only take an hour or
so. She’s still getting a good
wage for the amount of work she is asked to do. She’s been a blessing.
Looking back over my planner/journal, I see so many visits
with people mixed amongst the scheduled class times. It’s never a dull moment around here and I feel blessed to
get to interact with so many wonderful people.
The classes are going well. English Bible Study Group has pretty much concentrated on
Fridays, morning and evening.
We’ll reserve the Monday evening slot for a new study starting in
August. We have about 10-15
students weekly in the Friday English Bible Study class. It’s been very good. I love having lots of discussion.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are sewing days. We have had 2 ladies coming in the
mornings. We will add a new lady
to the class this week. Regina is
staying after her work is finished to work on some things, too. I have had a couple of other requests
for sewing times. Keeping Tuesdays
and Thursdays slotted for sewing helps keep the week more organized. It also keeps me from feeling guilty if
I sew (and craft) all day on those days.
I love it.
Currently, we are making lots of aprons and tote bags to be
taken back to the states at the end of July. These items will be part of a display at a friend’s shop and
also will serve as inventory for future sales. Enia is such a professional! She has only been using an electric machine for about 5
weeks and she is very detailed oriented and she doesn’t skip a step, even
pressing the seams. (I skip many
steps because I get in a hurry)
All of her aprons look so perfect!
I can’t wait to see them and give her the money! She is going to save some of it to buy
her very own machine! Woohoo! Zenelia is doing well with her style of
aprons. She is doing somewhat
easier styles. They are just as
pretty. Pilar will start class
this week. She knows how to sew on
a machine, but doesn’t really know how to use a pattern and how to make changes
and such. It will be fun to work
with her, too!
English classes are going well. You never know who will be showing up at each class. Everyone is hungry to learn, but
schedules get in the way sometimes.
We adapt the lessons to whoever is here for the day. Jacqueline and David are the teachers
(David will be starting this week and will concentrate on more of the very
beginning students.) They will cover
for each other when one cannot be here, and I will fill in when they both are
absent. We have a lot of fun with
the English students. It’s a great
experience to get to work with people who are dedicated to learn.
We have a teenage intern named Celina coming this week. She will stay for 2 weeks. She will get to do a variety of things
and get to see first hand what it is like to live here in Nica and be a
fulltime missionary on a daily basis.
The house will be filled with girls (Jalisa, Sofia, Celina and me), so
there will be lots of fun. Jasmina
could not be with us this week because of sickness. She will be missed and I’m praying for her speedy
recovery. I hate that she will be
missing a whole week of work. Her
jobs are seasonal and the season of teams coming from the US is almost over.
The fridge was repaired (the problem was not under the
so-called warranty, of course).
Now it seems to run all of the time. It freezes the stuff in the back and the front is not as
cold. I priced new fridges and
they are so high here. Oh
well… we’ll see what God has in
store for us. I hate to see the
next electric bill! But God has it
under control and I’ll trust Him and look for His plan.
We haven’t had a lot of rain yet. It is not good for the crops. Even though rains cause problems with flooding the streets
and leaks in the houses and such, we need rain. I wish we could get some days of slow steady rain to soak up
in the ground.
Right now it is harvest time and the peanut fields are being
harvested. It creates so much dust
in the air. You can see huge dust
clouds and the sky looks tan. Soot
and dust gets on EVERYTHING. Since
our houses are open to the outdoors, it’s impossible to keep them clean. We clean the floors sometimes twice a
day and that still is not enough.
Everything here is kept in plastic containers if possible. It’s much easier to clean the lid of a
plastic container than to wash fabrics, books, clothes, etc all of the
time.
I thank God every time I get to use the washing machine and
I love being able to hang up clothes on the back patio since Wil poured the concrete
floor. What a blessing that is! One of Celina’s jobs (along with the
sons of a missionary friend) is to paint the walls surrounding the back patio. Then I’ll have a friend paint a mural
on the back wall. I will enjoy
seeing Jesus on the wall every time I’m doing laundry.
I’m trying to behave myself with what I eat and getting
exercise. As always, it is easier
to fit all that in on some days than others. But I’m making a little progress. We are not making as many heavy meals as before. Sometimes we just snack. There are veggies and fruits available. They are expensive, but usually
available. I’ve been cooking meat in
the crockpot and it is delicious and chewable!
Well, I think that covers the last few weeks. Each week seems the same (classes, prep
for classes, visiting with people), but each week is different. I love getting to live here and serve
in this way. It gets hard
sometimes and I grow weary often, but my God is everything to me and I get my
strength from Him. I’m
a lucky girl!
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