Today we went to the store (which happens every day or every
other day) to get what we needed. Nathan
also went to Chito’s house where he has a construction materials store to get a
part for the washing machine. We now
officially have a working washing machine.
At 3:30 pm we all walked to the daycare to spend the rest of the
afternoon there. This is an outreach
ministry to the neighborhood which is an extension of the North zone church
congregation. It was neat to see the
building and be there because 6 years ago when we were here Nathan had worked
many many days helping to build the daycare building. Now 6 years later it is up and running and a
vital ministry to the neighborhood. The
temperature was 102 degrees today, so very very hot. The rest of the week shouldn’t be this
hot. After the sun went down we sat
outside with Elizabeth, Ezekiel, Jacob, and Claudia. It turned out to be a nice evening.
11/18/14 Day 6 Feliz
couple anos Jennifer
This morning we went back to the daycare from 10-1 (it takes
about 20 minutues to walk there & I push all three of our kids in the
single stroller we brought with us). I
think we’ll (the kids and I) be spending our mornings here the rest of the week
while Nathan works out at Juan’s farm.
This evening Pablo and Vero had us over for supper. We had supper, celebrated my birthday and
talked with them until about midnight.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate.
Last time we were here they had a two year old Valentino…he is now 8
years old and they also have a 4 ½ year old Pedro. Last time we were here their house was just
being built. They are in charge of the
West zone church. There house butts
right up against the church building. It
was really neat to see their house fully done now and where they are living. We got to know Pablo and Vero pretty well
last time we were here as they had been so kind to us.
11/19/14 Day 7
Another day at the daycare.
I really love being here and our kids love it too. It’s a great way to serve and have our
children be around other Spanish-speaking children. Some of the children have just gotten over
having chicken pox or are at home because of that. Some of the children also have lice and are
not required to stay home if they have it.
Please pray for us that none of us get any sickness or bugs from being
here. Tonight from 8-10pm we had a
worship/church meeting at the West zone.
Vero picked us up so that we could make it there faster than
walking. Please pray for us as we travel
in other people’s vehicles for safety, as no one wears seat belts/carseats.
11/20/14 Day 8
Delbert brought Lydia, Liam and I to the daycare this
morning while Nathan strapped Jayvin onto his back with the babysling we
brought and rode the bike to Juan’s house to work on his farm today. I can tell very much that the children at the
daycare are well loved and taken care of by the teachers. We’ve been staying for morning play time,
lunch and a little bit after lunch. For
lunch the kids usually get rice or pasta with some kind of meat in it and
shredded carrot. They also get dessert
which is ice cream, jello, pudding or canned fruit. Delbert explained to us that at this daycare
ministry the teachers sign a paper that says they are not required to get paid
and that they are serving freely as a ministry opportunity. This technicality is required for the government. Then anything that the parents pay for their
children to be there at the daycare all that money gets split up and divided
amongst the teachers for their pay that week.
They could get much or very little depending on what the parents pay
week to week. It seems like for these
teachers it really is a ministry, but it is also their livelihood. Every once in awhile the daycare then hosts a
garage sale with items for the community to buy and all of that money is then
used to purchase things that they would need to run the daycare (i.e. food
supplies, bedding, toys, etc.). It
really had amazed me this week how content the children are with very simple
toys for hours on end and how little they get to eat for lunch and are very
content with that.
11/21/14 Day 9
A very long day for all of us! We got up a 6am and Nathan left for Jorge’s
farm by 6:30am to help stack and sort and pick cherries. It’s cherry picking season and he is usually
shorthanded on Fridays and Saturdays. Vero
(Pablo’s wife) and Angelica (Jorge’s wife) are sisters. Their farm is just a little past Juan’s farm
out in the country. The kids and I were
also at the daycare today from 9:30am-1pm.
They were short staffed today as well so my help was greatly appreciated
and needed. We came home and all ate
lunch together and then Nathan went back to Jorge’s farm again to work from
3pm-7pm. At 8pm Elizabeth asked us to go
to the Folklore festival in town that was going on. We got to see men doing asado (cooking meat
on an open fire) and children singing and dancing to music on stage at the
school. It was very interesting. On our way walking home we met someone and he
recognized Nathan right away. Last time we were here his parents and he along
with his sister were the first ones to help start the ministry in Darwin (the
next town over from Choele Choel). We
worked alongside them for quite a number of days and he quickly recognized
Nathan. This boy was 12 years old then
and now he is 18. We are so greatful for
all of the interaction with the local people here and it was so good to see the
positive impression that Nathan had made on this boy from 6 years ago. 
11/22/14 Day 10
This morning Nathan went over to Delbert and Frieda’s house
to mow their lawn and then we went to the grocery store. Frieda has been having some test and health
issues, so please pray for her. We also
went to the store to buy as much food as we need for a couple of days as Monday
is a holiday here and the stores will be closed. At lunch time we packed a picnic lunch and
walked down the the Rio Negro (river) to eat lunch and play this
afternoon. This is the first time we’ve
been to the Rio since being here and our kids just loved it. We wore them out good so that they took a
good nap this afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment