Hasta Luego, Costa Rica

Wednesday was a perfect end to my trip. All day I was out in Los Guido with a group that was basically running Upwards sport camps. And it was a blast! In the morning, they set up a bunch of carnival games in the soccer field, and I would say well over 100 kids came out. I made balloon animals, and had a great time. Around noon, we cleaned everything up and went to the community center for lunch. After that, we headed back to the field and the group setup a soccer clinic, with six or seven drills for the kids to rotate through. They also had cheerleading for the girls. Another 100+ kids came out, many returning from the morning. When that was all finished, we had a bit of time to kill before dinner, so we went up onto a mountain that had a great view of San Jose. While we were up there, I caught a lizard, and Mihai decided to bring it back to the House as a pet. But, unfortunately, it escaped in the bus, and was not seen again. Back at the Villa, we had dinner and a devo from Ron Bishop, the founder of SCORE International. Afterwards, I needed to leave pretty quick so we could take a new group (there are six down here now, with over 120 people total) to the hotel, and pick the other group up to take to the House. That turned fairly chaotic because we did not know which rooms the new people would be in, and I could tell they were about to fall asleep where they stood. But, everything got sorted out, and we headed to the House, where I got packed for the morning.

Today, I am going to a big devotional in the morning that all of the groups will be at, and then head to the airport to start the journey home. This trip has been fantastic, and I have really enjoyed serving alongside some of the most dedicated Christ-followers I have ever met. I hope I will get the chance to come back someday.

Bad Bus Luck

Tuesday I got to go out with the big group on their free day. In the morning, we went to Fossil Land for zip-lining. On two of the lines, I grabbed onto the pulley with my feet, let go, and hung upside down. It was awesome! While we were waiting for the other half of the group to finish up, a few people also went down a waterslide that I heard was pretty sweet. After everyone was done, we headed to Fresas for lunch, which was good, as usual. In the afternoon, I went with the smaller group to the House, and we hung there for a bit while a few other people from the rest of the group went to get food to feed the homeless and get it ready. When the bus was coming back to pick us up, the clutch broke, so they had to get a different one. The group from the House got loaded into the new one, and we headed over to the hotel to pick everyone else up. But on the way, the bus took a turn too tight, and got stuck in the gutter. And guess what was parked on the street behind us; the other bus that broke. So, they called two smaller buses and split everyone up between them, and we went downtown to feed the homeless in those. That went just fine, and afterwards we went to the hotel for dinner, the group had their devotion, and then we went back to the House.

Mr. Clean

Monday I was not really sure what was going to go on, so I went to the Villa with my work clothes in my backpack, just in case. As it turned out, I left the Villa pretty quick and went back to the House to help unload some luggage. We have a group of 51 down here right now, and they are split up between the House and a hotel type place that I have not been to before. So, I helped unload their stuff at both places. After that, I went back to the Villa and helped clean up two of the bunkhouse rooms to get them ready for more people. Once that was all done, I helped clean dishes for a pretty long time, and then had some lunch. After lunch, I headed back to the House with our “half” of the group (only 14 people) to let them get settled in, and then went back to the Villa to help clean some more. Eventually, there was a break in the action, so I played cards with some of the interns before helping get dinner ready for the big group. We took it to the hotel so they could all eat together, and they also had a meeting and hung out. When they were all finished, we went back to the House for the night.

Lots of POPS

Sunday was a pretty normal day. In the morning, we went to the church that a few SCORE missionaries, Stephanie and Andrea, go to. This was the first church I have been to that had a full band. And did they ever use it! We sang a ton of songs! The pastor joked that they do not sing the traditional three song set, and that they know what time the service starts, but not when it ends. After church, we headed back to the SCORE House and had lunch delivered. We also had time before leaving again, so I took a short nap. Afterwards, we went to the orphanage and had a great time. One thing the boys there really like is getting shoulder and piggy-back rides, so a bunch of us were doing that for most of the time. The group also presented the “everything skit”, and at least one kid understood it pretty well. On our way back from the orphanage, we stopped at a mall for ice cream, and then went to the House for dinner. After dinner, a few people wanted to walk to POPS for some more ice cream, so I took them out. It was a perfect night for it!

It is kind of hard to believe, but I only have three days left, and then I head home on Thursday. It has been a great trip, and I have enjoyed everything I have had to opportunity to do.

Cleaning Day

Saturday I got a break from working on the garage because Walter was unable to come. I think that means Friday will have been my last day working on it, since I have been told I will be going out with the groups this coming week. I did still stay back at the Villa, though, and in the morning helped get the bunk house ready for a new group by cleaning the windows, and then cleaning up some paint supplies that were left out. After lunch I organized the tool shed area, which was very enjoyable to do, and then helped clean some floors. Once that was all finished, I helped in the kitchen until I needed to leave, washing dishes and cutting up some meat for a spaghetti sauce. Dinner was at the House, as usual, and afterwards I sat in on another Bible study the group had.

One thing I have to complain about is the next door neighbor’s asthmatic rooster. Every morning the thing starts making this hoarse, grasping noise that I guess is a crow. And of course it wakes me up! But, I finally figured out, after 3 weeks, that it does not wake me up until about 6:30, which is when I need to be up anyway.

Intern on the Roof

Friday morning I worked with Walter on getting some window type things screwed onto the garage. We needed to work from the top of the tin roof, which did a fantastic job of reflecting the sun back at us and raising the temperature. Luckily, we got some cloud cover for a bit. We also got chased down by some rain for a few minutes, but it stopped and we were able to finish those up by lunch. It was actually very enjoyable work. In the afternoon, Walter worked on adding some extra support to the frame, and I dug a trench that a drainage pipe connected to the downspout will be put into so that there are not huge pools of water when it rains. I worked on that until I needed to get ready to go, and then played cards with a few other interns while I waited for the bus. Dinner was a lot less hectic than usual since we had pizza delivered to the House, so I got a chance to talk with some of the people from the group, mainly about my northern accent. Apparently I say “bag” and “coke” very oddly.

Gutter Ball

Thursday I worked on the garage some more. In the morning, I smashed some holes through a concrete wall to put extra drain pipes through, and then helped Walter put the gutters up. While we were putting one of the end caps on, I did it a different way that I thought was easier than how he had been doing it, but accomplished the same thing. I could not really tell if his reaction was “Why didn’t I think of that?” or “Why did you do that? Now we need to fix it.” Either way, the end cap was on and the gutter went up. Unfortunately, one of them was not slanted enough to allow the water to run out, so we needed to take it down and re-hang it. We finished that after lunch, put on the downspouts, and then Walter called it a day. There was still a while left before dinner though, so I started painting the ceiling. After that, I helped get stuff ready to take to the House for dinner, then headed out. After dinner, I sat in on the group’s Bible study, covering Philippians 4:4-13, which was a good time.

One bit of very exciting, unrelated news is that season one of Star Wars: The Clone Wars comes out on blu-ray November 3. My guess is that I will own it by about November 3.

Back to the Garage

The plan Wednesday was for me to go out with the group from the House again, but they needed me to stay at the Villa instead to help Walter with the garage. In the morning and a little bit after lunch, I worked on painting what would be the outside face of some drywall sheets. I was only able to use a brush, so it took me a long time to finish them. While I was doing that, I also passed up sheet metal for the new roof when he needed it. Once the roof and the painting was finished, I helped screw the drywall onto the side of the garage, as well as keep an eye on a couple people from another group who were painting the ceiling and rafters. For as simple a task as putting six screws into a sheet of drywall is, it took us forever to get them done. I do not know if the screws we were using were bad or if I am just completely incompetent with a screwdriver, but to get one screw in took me about 7 other screws that ended up on the ground. It was pretty pathetic. By the time we were finally done getting all of the drywall up, it was time for dinner. I normally eat at the House with the group staying there, but this time I ate at the Villa, and then they picked me up to go home for the night.

The weather in Costa Rica has, so far, been very nice. Considering it is just north of the equator, it has not been too hot. I think it has been hotter back home in Wisconsin at times, actually. The humidity is not bad either, although when I went to Limon, which is on the other side of the mountains and closer to the Gulf, it was much more humid. They only have two seasons here, winter, the current season, and summer. Basically, the only difference is that right now it rains pretty much every afternoon, from May to November, and in the summer it is dry. There is no temperature difference. Perhaps the best weather is at night, when it gets down to about 65 degrees, which is perfect.

Tracts and Bracelets

Tuesday we were back to our normal routine. In the morning, we took the new group downtown to hand out tracts and power bracelets. This was the first time a group handed out the bracelets downtown, and it was a great idea. They were meant for the kids, but even the adults wanted some. Some people were also a bit mystified that we were giving them out for free. As far as the response to the tracts goes, this was probably the most successful time yet. Several people from our group were stopped to talk about the tracts and Christ further, sometimes for quite a while, which was really good. One guy in particular stopped two from our group to talk about religion in general. From what I heard, he held a very subjective view that all religions were right, and that you are “saved” through good works. However, both of these propositions are clearly wrong – John 14:6, no one comes to the Father but through Christ; Ephesians 2:8-9, saved through faith, not works. Throughout the conversation, he never changed his stance or even softened up, but perhaps it will be the beginning of change. After we finished up with the tracts, we got some ice cream at POPS (a Costa Rican Dairy Queen) and headed back to the Villa for lunch. In the afternoon, we went to a park on the top of a mountain that had an awesome view of a valley and hung out there for a little bit, and then went to a nearby church to hand out more tracts and bracelets. The church is actually the ruins of an old cathedral, the site dates back to the early 1500’s, and has now been converted into a garden on the inside and a big plaza in front. We only had a half hour or so there, and then headed back to the House for dinner.

A Full House

Another group came in Monday afternoon, so I went to the airport with Mihai to pick them up. Right before we left, he got a call from Raymond, who said I should go to the Villa instead to help out, but about five minutes later, he called again and said I should go to the airport. That was confusing. Once we got the bus loaded up at the airport, we took the group to the SCORE House where they will be staying for the week. I think there will be a group staying here now until I leave next week(!), which will make things quite a bit more hectic than they have been the last week or so. Back at the House, everyone got settled in, we had lunch, and Mihai gave them a quick orientation before we took them to the supermarket to kill some time. After that, we went back to the House and had some free time before dinner, which Jose and Raymond brought over from the Villa.

Quiet Sunday

On Sunday morning, we went with a group to the small church in Los Guido. The man who started the church, Pastor Gabriel, is the only pastor there, so he leads the services, including singing. During the first half of the service, a few people from our group shared their testimonies, as well as a man studying Spanish in Costa Rica. Then another missionary from the area gave a sermon. After a short break, a few more highschoolers from our group gave their testimony, and then the group leader gave a short sermon to end the service. After church, we headed to 2x1 Pizza for lunch, and then went back to the Villa to chill for a bit. A few people from the group went swimming, and I helped out with some dishes. In the afternoon, we headed out to do some souvenir shopping. We first stopped at a flea market that I went to with the soccer team, and then drove over to a street that had several actual stores. It reminded me a bit of the Wisconsin Dells. It is kind of fun to shop at the open markets, cause bartering is perfectly acceptable. Often you just have to act uninterested, or really be so, and they will lower the price. Next, we headed back to the Villa for dinner, and I helped out with some more dishes before Jose took us back to the House.

Calm Before the Storm

We got another late start on Saturday, which was nice, and headed to the airport to pick up a new group. They were supposed to come in the night before, but had a whole bunch of problems with the airlines (go figure). Jose and Manolo were also there to pick up Manolo’s wife who was in Argentina for surgery, but they left way before us. It took the group quite a while to get through customs, but once they were out, we went to the Villa for some lunch. After that, we had some time to kill, so we took them down the road a ways to a strip mall to shop and look around. Mihai and I just chilled in a little restaurant area inside the supermarket, and there was a dubbed version of “The Three Amigos” on TV, which I just watched and laughed at the lines I knew they were saying. I got the feeling that the humor is lost in translation for that movie. After walking back to the Villa, we had dinner and caught another cab back to the House. It has been a very relaxed two days, which is very nice because by Monday there will be three groups staying with SCORE, and there will not be fewer than that for several weeks.

One thing about Costa Rica that is similar to the U.S., but at the same time is far different, is driving. They drive on the same side of the road, the steering wheel is on the same side of the car, and they have traffic lights, but that is about it. The first noticeable difference is that speed limits are guidelines, not really set rules. In the past, I knew that our bus was often flying down the highway, and today I got a chance to catch how fast we were going; 90 KPH, in a 70 zone. And just about everyone was doing the same. Another interesting thing is that motorcycles can go pretty much anywhere they choose, and it is the norm for them to drive between lanes of traffic to pass everyone. I bet they are able to cut their travel time in half by doing this. Another difference is that it is not uncommon to run red lights, and that is even with a green light that starts flashing before turning yellow. Finally, cars do not stop much for pedestrians. Unless you are at a controlled crosswalk, if you make it to the other side without getting hit, you have earned your right of way.

Faith as a Mustard Seed

Friday morning was nice and slow, I do not think we got picked up until after 9:00. Once we got going, we went to the store with the medical group to buy food for food distribution in Los Guido. Everything went well there, and we headed back to the Villa for lunch. After eating, we did not leave right away, so I helped with a lot of dishes. Once we got rolling, we went to SCORE’s new 8-acre property and Jose gave us a tour. It is a very nice place somewhat in the countryside, and they have very big plans for it. Right now, the foundation for one building is all that is done, they finished it on Thursday, and the rest of the structure will be completed in early fall. I do not know what the timetable is for having the entire project finished by, but they plan on having at least a soccer field, a gym with a swimming pool, a dorm building, a church, and a smaller building to house about 30, which is what they are working on now. After we prayed over the site and looked around for a bit, we went to a local hole-in-the-wall shop for some homemade ice-cream. I got mint dipped in chocolate, which was pretty good. Then we headed to the grocery store again to pick up some more food to feed the homeless, and went to the Villa so the group could get it all put together. When they were ready, we headed downtown to the “red zone”, our normal spot, to hand it out. Everything went as usual, except for that a man talked to me for maybe five minutes. This was the first time that anything like this has happened to me while down there, and it was very interesting. I could not understand most of what he was saying, but he did say he did not know why he was in that place or in those circumstances. He also said that what Jesus has blessed, no one can curse, and that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. I do not know if this man was saved, he said he knew a little bit of the Bible, but he was absolutely correct about those two things. Once all of the food was gone, we went back to the Villa for dinner, and then Mihai and I caught a cab to the House.

MEDIC!

Ok, so it was not that kind of medical clinic, but it was still pretty hectic. After staying the night at the Villa, I headed out with a medical group to Guacimo, Limon early Thursday morning to help run a medical clinic. When we got to the church, they set their stuff up and started seeing people right away. At first, since I do not have any medical knowledge or Spanish skills, I helped reorganize some medicine so that everyone got double the amount of some typical, over-the-counter stuff. This was the group’s last clinic, and they had plenty of extra medicine, so they wanted to make sure they gave as much out as possible. In addition to medicine, they also had some basic reading glasses to give out, which I guess is a really big help to the people here. After finishing with that, I helped shuffle patients between the main line in the church, and a smaller one right outside the exam room. I did not feel very useful, though, because another guy was doing it also and knew how it worked a lot better than I did. Around noon, we were all going to break for lunch together, but there was a miscommunication, so we had to eat in shifts. That kind of made things crazy, but I guess it did mean we never had to stop seeing people while we ate. By the time everyone was done eating, the doctors had treated about 64 people. After lunch, I helped move the lines again, but this time I got the hang of things and felt much more useful. We worked for about 4 more hours nonstop, and treat another 140 or so people. In all, the group gave basic exams, medicine, and to some, reading glasses, to a total of just over 200 people. It was amazing! I think it was the best thing I have done here so far. After packing everything up, we headed to the Villa for dinner, then I headed back to the Casa SCORE. One thing I would like to ask is that you pray for the pastor of the church we were at. He is from Argentina, and has waited 20 years to come to Costa Rica to start a church. I think he has been here for about a year, and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He is going through Chemo right now, and needs strength for that, courage for his family, and a heart to continue his ministry. I know he would really appreciate your prayers. I also want to share how this medical team came to Costa Rica. For about 15 years, the leaders of this group have been going to Honduras for their clinics, but on July 2 they had to cancel this year’s trip because of the overthrow of the president, and the U.S. State Department’s subsequent advisory not to travel there. Well, some phone calls were made, and by July 4 they were set to come down here and stay with SCORE. And what a blessing they have been!

Yard Work

On Wednesday morning, I think the plan originally was for me to help Walter (yes, I have been calling him Walker. My bad) with the garage, but he never came. So, instead, I helped around the Villa with various chores; cleaning a few windows, washing off some porch stairs, getting rid of some spider webs, and helping Adolfo cut the grass. He was using a weed-whacker to cut it all, that is kind of the norm here, and I was raking up and bagging all of the cut stuff. While we were doing this, he showed me a mango tree that SCORE has in the yard, and let me try one right off the tree. It was a little too bitter. Finishing with the yard took up pretty much the whole day, but afterwards I put up some screens over a few windows in the kitchen to help keep the flies out. After dinner, I headed over to the House to pack some clothes. I left with a medical group early in the morning today to go to Limon (another province/state), so I stayed the night at the Villa to make things easier. On the way back, I stopped at the grocery store with Manolo to get some things for lunch.

A Child Saved

Tuesday I got to go out with a group to help with a medical clinic in Los Guidos, where “the hole” is. At the clinic, which was in the community center, another group performed basic checkups and gave out medicine, while our group entertained the kids outside. We had music, face paint, chalk, soccer, and power bracelets; the ones with the six different colored beads that present a basic story of salvation. At this outreach, a child was led to Christ, which is the first person I have direct knowledge of our ministries saving. After we had lunch, we went to “the hole” to distribute some food. Usually, we give it to several church families that live down there, but this time we also helped out a lady who had approached the pastor earlier and asked that we help her. It was great to reach out beyond the church community, and potentially bring someone into it (she said she would attend a Thursday night women’s Bible study). While we were down there, the pastor also told us that by this time next year, “the hole” will no longer exist because the government is making the area a protected environment. Some of the families will be moved to a new government apartment type complex that was built by a foundation called Costa Rica-Canada, but unfortunately, not all will be able to stay there, so many will be moved elsewhere. During our entire time in Los Guidos, we had two armed police officers as escorts, which was the first time this had happened while I was down there. I did not realize that they were there specifically for us until we were pretty much done for the day, but it served as an obvious reminder of the type of neighborhood we were in. After finishing up, we went to a local mall to kill time before dinner.

Argentine BBQ

And I quote, “Dad, you will be happy to know that on Saturday we finally finished the garage!” This is only true from a certain point of view. The garage is finished in that the old one has been replaced (although there may be some siding to put on one side, but we will see). It is not finished, however, in that we are now expanding it. On Monday we worked all day on it, and got a lot done. This is a much smaller project than rebuilding it was, so I am hoping it will be done before the weekend. After we finished that up for the day, I got some time off until dinner. We had a special dinner, called an Argentine BBQ, which included steak, chicken, sausage, and ribs. It was all amazing. I know none of my family will believe this, but I had two of everything; two steaks, two chicken breasts, two sausages (my favorite of the lot), and two ribs (four total). Afterwards, the group we were with had a final meeting since they are leaving in the morning (3:30 am!), and then we headed back to the House.

Oh, and for those keeping count, that is now two Star Wars references.

2 For 1 Sermons

On Sunday morning, we went to a church that is celebrating its 20th year of ministry this year, which is very impressive. It was also the biggest and nicest church I have been to here yet. We stayed for two services, but a guest speaker, John Wilkerson, gave the sermons in English both times and had them translated by the church’s pastor. It was really nice to be able to understand! The translation, however, was clearly not word for word. For whatever reason, the pastor decided to put his own twist on it, so it was like two sermons in one. Afterwards, we went back to the House and had pizza delivered for lunch. We had some time before we needed to leave again, so it was nice not to be rushed. In the afternoon, we headed to the orphanage. I believe SCORE sends a group or two there every Sunday, which is a fantastic ministry to the kids. When we got there, there was another SCORE group, but we got everyone together and each group presented a couple skits. I was very impressed that they were able to get the kids to sit down and listen. Usually they are very excited that we are there, and just want to play. After the skits, we handed out some toys and candy, and headed home for dinner. On the way, we stopped at the biggest Catholic cathedral in Costa Rica. Every August 2, 2 million people, nearly half the country’s population(!), come from all over Costa Rica to be there, some by foot for over 100 miles.

One of the most . . . unique . . . things to adjust to while I have been down here is the necessity to throw toilet paper in the garbage, not flush it down the toilet. The first time I heard that during the soccer team’s orientation meeting, I thought I heard wrong or did not understand. But sure enough, that is the way it works.

Every Job Needs a Foreman

Dad, you will be happy to know that on Saturday we finally finished the garage!

In the morning, I did some painting here and there around the Villa while Walter finished up the framing, and after lunch I helped out with some dishes. Then, in the afternoon, some people from the same group that helped out on Friday stayed back again and we tackled about five different painting jobs, including the garage. Raymond put me in charge of everyone, and I started them on staining a few more brick columns, painting the garage, cleaning and painting/staining a fountain, painting a dumpster, and cleaning and painting a grill. It was a lot more difficult managing only 10 people doing all of these jobs than I thought it would be. Some of the jobs were spread out, so I did a lot of running back and forth making sure people had paint, brushes, ladders, and whatnot. Eventually, as some of the smaller jobs got finished, I was able to pitch in and help clean and paint the grill. Right as we were finishing up the last of the projects, I needed to get ready to go to the House and get some much needed dinner. I am very glad we finally got the garage done, and Jose has said I will get to go out with some of the groups this week, which will be a nice change of pace.

All Hands on Deck

First of all, Happy Birthday America! For 233 years you have been the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. God willing, you shall always be.

Now then, on Friday an entire group stayed at the Villa to help out with various projects. I was with a few of them cleaning up the nearly completed garage. Once we got that done, we replaced a grate over the street gutter and then went inside to stain some brick columns. It seemed odd to be doing that to brick, but they were in a room that was basically a big covered porch, so I guess it helped waterproof them. It made them look a lot brighter red, too. After lunch, both groups went out to separate ministry activities, and I stayed behind to help Walter work on the frame of the garage. We should be done with that today, and be able to get it all painted, weather permitting, which means the garage should be completely, 100% finished by the end of the day. Finally! For dinner, we went back to the House again. I am guessing that is how it is going to be done the rest of the time this group is here, but already we are getting a pretty good system in place to make it less of a hassle. The bigger problem is going to be the massive amounts of garbage it generates, and no place to put the bags outside where animals cannot get to them.

Where'd the Ladder Go!?

Thursday we were finally able to finish the garage roof! The weather cooperated, for the most part, and we were done by about 3:30. There are still some screw holes in the sheet metal that need to be caulked, but that is a 2 hour job at most. I am not sure if there is anything else left to finish on the rest, but if there is, it cannot be very much. In the morning while we were working, the most exciting thing to happen yet occurred, but not in a good way. While I was painting over some welds in the roof framing, the ladder fell out from under me. Luckily, I had my arm wrapped over one of the main beams, so I was just left swinging there like a monkey, paint still in hand. All I had to do was set that down and grab on with the free hand, and I dropped down. Fun stuff. After we finished with the roof, I had a little bit of time before leaving for the SCORE House, and was able to chat with my brother one last time before he leaves for OCS (“Salute to a Future Marine”). One change-up from the normal evening routine was that the new group that came in, and is staying at the House, had dinner there. This was the first time we have done that since I have been here. It was actually more of a challenge to do than I thought it would be. There are about 20 people in this group and we brought all of the food over from the Villa in to-go containers. That worked well, but once everyone started eating, it turned into a bit of a mad house. After dinner, Manolo was checking out some electrical issues and turned the breaker for the whole house off and on real quick, which elicited some screams, which I thought was funny.

By the way, if you want to have some of the best pineapple in the world, you need to come to Costa Rica. Or, you can buy a Del Monte, which is exported straight from here. Mihai bought some a few days ago straight from the plantation, and they are awesome!

Salute to a Future Marine

I just want to take a minute to tip my hat to my brother, Alex, who is heading to Virginia tomorrow to begin OCS with the Marines. He will be there for 6 weeks, and will return next year after he graduates from college to finish up training and fully join the finest fighting force the world will ever know. I know it will be a tough 6 weeks as his body is pushed beyond its limits, but I also know he is ready for it, he is the most physically fit person I know. Alex, we are all going to miss you, but we will all be praying for you and supporting you from home.

Stay safe, and God bless!

Workin Man

Wednesday we got some more work done on the garage, although the day was cut short again by rain. There is still work to be done on the roof, but I am optimistic that we can finish it by the end of today, if the weather gives us a hand. So far, the construction has been very interesting to watch and be a part of. One of the first times I helped out, I saw a guy holding up an extension ladder while someone else climbed up, carrying one end of a huge iron cross beam. The welder that Walter, the head guy, is using (a Miller by the way, made in Appleton, WI!) has a custom power cord that is a mix of other cables spliced together to make it longer, with the splices simply rapped in electrical tape, and in places the bare wire is showing. It is also wired straight into the circuit box. But, hey, it all works! Once we finished working, I had the rest of the day until dinner to chill. That is the nice thing about staying back at the Villa to work; there can be downtime to relax, especially when there are only one or two groups down here. Of course, the trade-off is that the work is not quite as hands-on with outreach type ministries. Once dinner rolled around, I helped get some stuff ready, including cutting up some limes with a steak knife. Is there anything better to use for those? After dinner, I helped clean up a bit before Jose and his wife took us home.

A Humbling Experience

On Tuesday, continue we did, the garage construction. The weather was even better than Monday, so we were able to work from about 7:30 to 4. We worked the entire time on the roof, nearly completing the framing that we will lay the sheet metal over. In case you are wondering why we are building a new garage, the old was made out of wood, and was beginning to warp and rot, so they decided to tear it down and replace it with a metal one that should last longer and hold up better in the weather. After we finished working, I had a little bit of time to relax before dinner, which gave me the opportunity to talk to my family. Right after dinner, we headed out with a group to go feed the homeless. I have mentioned doing this before, but have not explained what it involves, so I will go ahead and do that. First, at some point during the day the group goes to the supermarket to buy food, and comes back to the Villa to put it all together in plastic bags. Then we head out in the bus to a spot downtown, we use the same one every time, and line up against a wall with the bus in front of us and the food in the middle of the line. Then we pass the bags on down both directions and hand it off to whoever needs it. We try to only give one per person so we can feed as many people as possible, but some people will come back for more or insist on getting two or three, and we do not want to argue. It is a very humbling experience, and I do not think I will ever grow tired of making the trip.

Soccer Trip, Day 8, Monday, June 22

This kind of brings us full circle, as I already touched on this day in a previous post (June 24, “A Volcano”). So, to not repeat myself too much, I basically hung out with the soccer team until they left, and then started the internship.