13-Working with Gary

Corina and Marco work at El Jordan, which works with poorer families in Santa Cruz. Marco picked Mike and I up from our place at about 9 this morning. We were going to go out into the country to help someone build a gate on their property, but because of the intense rain flooding the streets (yes, I do mean flooding), plans for that were canceled. So instead, we went to the property of a guy named Gary, and worked with his family. I think the family consisted of Gary and his wife Mary, and their three kids, Christian, Monsurat, and Gary Jr.

Marco told us after that it was good that we were there to help because rain was leaking through their roof, often while they were trying to sleep. We didn't do much with the actual construction of the house, but we mixed the cement and sand for the mortar, and moved bricks. What we spent more time sweating over was levelling the ground to begin with. They gave us shovels and used them to their full potential, I would say.

After a couple hours of work, mixed with some Spanish conversation con los niños, we went down the road for a bite to eat with a man that might be related to Gary. We were able to strike up a bit of a conversation with him, and he asked us what kind of food we like. I responded saying "food is good." in my limited Spanish. He asked us if we like quenwa, and with the knowledge of such a food I obtained from my mom, and the coincidence of it being the same word in both English and Spanish, I was able to say that I indeed to. So we entered a nice little eatery, mainly inhabited by chickens and other birds which I couldn't name. After we got our food, I could see the purpose of the chickens around us. Our delectable quenwa soup was tastefully flavoured by chicken feet! Unusual for a Canadian, but very tasty.

We returned to the house to level the driveway with our handy-dandy shovels while the kids looked for a frog to no success. Mike and I took short breaks and I got a chance to go for a little walk with the kids, on which they tried to convince me to buy them a pet duck for $0.42 Canadian, but I wasn't sure what their dad would say... And with the very aggressive love they had for their puppy, I wasn't sure how long a duck would last.

When we were finished the driveway, we cut the grass out front... with a machete. Harder than it sounds.

With all the coca-cola they were kindly giving us, we were full of liquid, though thirsty for water, none the less. I think I got a bit of a burn on the back of my neck. There was a lot of sweating going on, but you probably don't need a mental image of that. I really enjoyed being able to do some manual labour today, and the chance to get to know this family. I hope to spend time with them again in the future. I think the chances of seeing them again are pretty high. And I hope to take some pictures of them for you when/if we see them again.

Right now, we're just sitting at our place with the two fans going. We just got some apples from across the road, which we very nice to eat with our noodles. Thank you for keeping up with my blog and I hope you continue to do so.

Please pray:

-For the family that we worked with today, and that they will continually seek and submit to God.

-That rain will not fall on the city until Gary's family have a roof above their heads.

-For the health of Mike and I. We've been doing pretty well so far, but hey, eating in restaurants inhabited by chickens may catch up to us some time soon.

-Ken's health, as he is still surviving on a high cracker diet.

Thank you all for your prayers everyone! God bless you all!