Hey everyone! KJ, Emma, and Carissa here! Today was an awesome day. It was also our hottest day so far, but we’ve been keeping cool and staying hydrated. It’s hard to believe our week is almost over. We’re having a pretty great time. Carissa is going to tell everyone about our day!
Today, we went to El Puma to visit Michael and his family. Some of the team finished painting his house, so it is now very blue, while the others either handed out coloring pages or participated in an intense game of soccer. At first, there weren’t many boys to play soccer with— most of the girls liked coloring better— but they began showing up out of nowhere to play and joined a random team, making it difficult to know who to pass to.
For lunch, we had a very American meal— hamburgers and French fries. We also celebrated the birthday of a man on the other team. There were balloons taped to the ceiling of the dining room and Mama Maria and the other cooks made cupcake-style brownies for everyone. There’s a bet going right now to see if anyone will get the privilege of carrying out a birthday custom from down here for him— cracking a raw egg on his head and dumping a cup of flour over him.
After lunch, we rode out to another village. It took a while for people to arrive, but then we were busy playing football and soccer, blowing bubbles, painting flowers and cats and butterflies on hands and faces, and handing out medicine. KJ, Emma, and I then got to meet a family making tortillas for dinner. It was interesting to watch them flatten the dough, let it fry, and then add it to a large stack that was all for tonight. Tomorrow they will be getting up at 3 in the morning to make more tortillas for their breakfast! I also got to help ladle food into the containers— which ranged from plates and bowls to pitchers and buckets— of the kids, mothers, and grandmothers who lined up to get some of the stew we cooked. It was humbling to see them get so excited over a scoop of stew, when we have so much food at home.
We’ll see you tomorrow with another update! Everyone has finally pooped…so thank you for your prayers. Tomorrow we have a 2.5 hour hike to a village. On Friday, some people will be laying a foundation for a brand new home in Las Portillas. A pastor has lived there for many years, but we just saw photos today of what used to be his house. It was completely wiped out in wind storm. The end of our week is shaping up to be a lot of fun…with some hard work mixed in.
