Day 4

Hi :)

This morning we had breakfast with some of the Bolivian men who are working with us on the church. We sat outside and had hot porridge (Jake grinds amaranth every morning) and fruit. Jake had gone to Yapacani to get more supplies for the church so Marg had to be at the site as a translator.

Carolyn and Francine took the quad to the site and Carolyn’s back was covered in dirt! It hasn’t rained for a long time and the roads are sheer dusty dirt! A funny story about last nights dinner; one of the little boys who had been helping us out was sitting by Pete at dinner and he somehow grabbed Pete’s glasses unbeknownst to Pete, and was wearing them. We looked over and this little boy’s face was hiding behind Pete’s glasses! It was really cute.

At the site, bricks are beginning to go up. We worked on two of the walls today. The bricks have to be wetted so they do not suck the water from the cement as the cement is drying which is what a few of the other men in the community love to do. Laying the bricks is very difficult and the Bolivian men do that part of the process. Then a few of us come behind them and taking a spoon, smooth the cement in the cracks to make sure there are no gaps and it looks good, a process we call ‘spooning’.

Lunch was soup again but this time chicken and peanut soup and a salad with boiled bananas for dessert. During our devotion time, one of the mothers put her daughter in a wash basin near us for her bath. She is very cute and was having fun putting water everywhere.

Four of the Bolivian men wanted to play some of their music for us after we ate so they took out their guitars and mandolins and played a few songs. They are amazing and very talented! It was wonderful to listen to them play and sing, not only because they are very talented, but because they play completely from their hearts. One of the older men was clapping and dancing to the music and the women and children came to join in the singing as well.

A few of us came back to the house earlier to help put tin on the multi-purpose building which is used right now for when the community comes to have dinner or watch a movie. Ray, Pete and Jake sat on the roof and Lisa and Francine handed the large pieces of tin up to them. Ray and Pete joked about how they would need good sunglasses to shield their eyes with the sun reflecting off the tin.

Irene had stayed behind to help with the spooning and when dinner time came, they told her she must sit down and eat with them. She ate with all the men as their honored guest, as it is custom for the women to eat separate, but she was to sit with all the men.

One of the Bolivian women, Roberta, came over with her two small children to help Marg cook supper. They made a delicious roast. The oven broke down half-way through cooking it so they used the outdoor oven which is what the natives here use. The outdoor oven works so that you make the fire inside it and then move the coals to the side and stick the pan of whatever you are cooking inside. It works wonderfully!

Three of the Bolivian men came over for some supper and after supper we conversed with them in both Spanish and English, learning from one another. These men are excited to learn English and Lisa taught one of the men the days of the week in English. Irene and Lisa showed them pictures of their family and home as well. Irene was talking with one of the men about the word OK. In the Spanish book they were looking at, OK meant ‘de acuerdo’ but that was much too sophisticated for the meaning of OK so they decided that OK in English is the same as ‘bien’ in Spanish even though ‘bien’ means good or well in Spanish.

Some of these men sleep in a hut outside the house and as we were falling asleep, we could hear them playing their instruments and singing. It is a peaceful way to fall asleep; hearing music and singing as well as birds and other jungle noises.
Ciao :)