WORK DAY #3

Another B-E-A-YOUTIFUL day in Guatemala. The sun has been out, and it has only been now, as I headed up the hill after spending time with the children from the toddler house that fog seemed to roll in. Margarita, one of the house-"mothers", got excited and said: "It's a cloud! I love being in a cloud!"

It got me to thinking that it would be nice to tell you more about Guatemala, and the cultural and geographical differences that we are experiencing. Guatemala City is about 5300 ft. above sea level. The thinner atmosphere makes climbing stairs a bit more of a chore, especially for us old people (aka: chaperones). But I think we're adapting. Every day we get to go up and down and up and down several times during the day, whether it's to chase a soccer ball that happened to escape over the fence or to check up on the garden or visit the infant house. Of course, what goes down must also go up (if we want food or sleep), so we have to navigate a series of steep steps. Good exercise!

Other things Guatemalan: we are going through so much bottled water. We must end up changing out several 5-gallon jugs of agua pura - purified water - since we cannot drink the local water. The Guatemalan microbes aren't too kind to us gringos. So, no rinsing our toothbrushes with sink water, no opening one's mouth in the shower, no tasting produce from the garden without rinsing...you get the idea. We have also been told that a bit of a 24-hour flu-like bug has been going around, so we've been worried to see if any of us would be touched by carelessness or by nature. Or by a different style of cooking, which some of us have embraced boldly. The food has been awesome and interesting: different soups, meats, and stews. There's always cereals and bread/toast with all the regular condiments such as peanut-butter and jams. But this morning's breakfast consisted of refried black beans, fried bananas, and queso blanco, a mild type of white crumble cheese. Some lunches have included chicken, rice with salsa and fried eggs, beef, lots of fruit such as mangos and melon. Todays lunch had small cherry-like plums. Very soft and very good! Unfortunately, a few students have fallen a little ill, and we're not sure of the source. One with an upset digestive system, one with the flu, and another with stomach cramps. They have all stayed indoors, and pretty much slept the day away, which is good. They'll really be ok, moms and dads, we're taking good care of them! We're hoping and praying they'll be feeling better for our day away tomorrow to Guatemala City.

Another thing Guatemalan (or Central American) - we're not allowed to flush toilet paper down the toilet. (then why do they call it TOILET paper??). Instead we have to dispose of it in the garbage can in our stall. Needless to say, we don't stay in there long and we try to keep the garbage bag cleaned. The showers don't have a lot of water pressure, so if all three showers are being used at the same time, we get trickled on - the next best thing to dry-cleaning! :-) All in all, we are adjusting to the changes that are needed to navigate being in a different culture.

Casa Bernabe is an amazing place, and there is so much that goes on here. The garden, as I've said before, is AMAZING! A sizable group of students today helped enlarge the already huge garden by pick-axing, shoveling dirt and filling 3 new tiered sections. Every two weeks Tony, the all around maintenance man and gardener, plants a new crop for crop rotation. The garden produces year round, which is amazing! The garden provides for the kitchen of Casa Bernabe, another nearby orphanage, a couple of local families...and if there is any left over, the cooks here are free to take it. Tony wants to build a greenhouse in order to grow tomatoes in a controlled environment, free from disease and pests. If you want to know about pests, ask Megan Wetselaar, who came up after this morning's shift in the garden with legs that looked like a battle zone. Baking soda past, Calydryl, and lots of bandages later, she was good as new...almost. Ok, nice little tangent...but back to the garden. Casa Bernabe's sewage system, as well as the pig-pen's waste, all empties out (minus toilet paper) into a wastewater treatment plant, which after all the natural processes take place, produces a 98% clear liquid (free of solids) that is pumped and used to fertilize the garden.

Remember I mentioned pigs? They had 5 big ones, and 6 small ones. HAD. This morning, an older couple worked all morning and slaughtered 4 large pigs in preparation for an easter feast on Sunday. I (Pastor Rick) got there in the middle of processing one pig. A few other lucky students got to witness the demise of another pig before it got all butchered. I asked how: gun? knife? No, was the reply. The lady pointed to a sledgehammer, and then pointed to her forehead. Now we know. Again, culturally, a very hands on approach. After the pig is rendered, they even take the fat layer of skin and deep fry it in its own lard as a special Central American treat called: Chiccharones. Several of our group were offered and tried it, but they didn't see it as very..um... palatable!

Our day started with devotions from Kristen VanderMeer and Austin VanProoyen. It ended with yet another presentation on the life of Jesus - this time Jesus before Pilate and Peter's Denial. It was an awesome day to spend continuing to work in the garden, drywalling a room, further preparing a hillside for a fence, and spending time with the precious children who call Casa Bernabe their home. The students are all getting an immersion lesson in Spanish, they're falling in love with the little children and this place, and we're discovering that God is using Casa Bernabe in an amazing way, by bringing people who have a heart for God, a love for these children, a desire to see them loved and have a safe haven, and who enjoy this culture as a gift of God, and an arena in which to do ministry. We've met people from Cincinnati, San Diego, Pennsylvania, New Orleans, Wisconsin -- all serving God by blessing this ministry and these children. We're grateful for the opportunity to serve God here. Tomorrow is our day out, and Friday will be our very last full day here. Amazing experiences so far - too bad it has to end so quickly. But such is service week: it's an opportunity to grow so that when we get home, we will be challenged to look at the world and at other people with changed attitudes and new eyes and a servant heart.

We'll have closing devotions tonight, and a birthday party! Senora nanninga has hers today! Pastor Rick has his tomorrow!

Thanks for your continuing prayers and support.

crazy group of toddlers on a broken tramp! funny!

Visiting the remaining pigs
Jesus before Pilate in a play



Brian doing an awesome job wheelbarrowing dirt!
making chicharrones...


Brenda blessing people by doing laundry!
Megan's battlefield zone legs. bug bites




breakfast of refried beans and fried bananas


making fried bananas
backrub lines are AWESOME!
Yesterday's play cast - Jesus in Gethsemane