Argentina Day 3, September 7, 2009
We were awakened at 6:00 AM by the sound of singing “Because He Lives” in the lounge. I think we all assumed that it was some kind of Bible study. We later found out they were Nigerians here to train and try out for soccer teams. As much as I approved of their early morning devotional time, I was glad I packed my ear plugs!
Today we were supposed to go help a lady named Tina to clean up her house. She is a single lady in the church and there is a lot that needs to be done to her yard.
However, it rained.
So we ended up working on cleaning and repairs at the church.
The guys pulled up old, dirty carpet from the stairway leading up to the church. They also worked on repairing the windows which would not close all the way.
The girls worked on clearing out and cleaning a room which will soon be expanded to provide a nursery space for the babies in the church. After that, they worked on picking up the trash around the church building. Littering seems to be a real problem. Much of the trash was stuck underneath plants because it had been there for so long.
Evelyn and Josias on Cleaning day.
These stairs were covered with old carpet that the guys had to remove. The carpet was full of fine dust, so you can imagine the mess it made to clean it up!
We had lunch a a nicer restaurant. I ordered a “hamburguesa completa” which means “hamburger with everything”. It was a small beef patty with lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers, ham, and a fried egg. It was pretty good! I also had a “Coca Cola light” which was served in a glass bottle. I had to then pour it into a glass to drink it, as it is considered impolite to drink directly from bottles or cans in this culture. I’ve included a picture of Don with his coffee. Notice the pretty little serving piece for the cream and cocoa.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a short 1 hour Siesta. We then went to the Hogar Betel to visit with the children. We taught our Bible story from Sunday and played Soccer and Jumped Rope with them. They were so happy to see us.
Finally, we went to have “cafe y Helados” (coffee and Ice cream). I tried the Mento Granazido (mint chocolate chip). It was the best mint chocolate chip ice cream I have ever had. If you’ve ever tried eating two mints in a row and noticed that the second one never tastes as good, that will give you an idea of what it was like to eat this ice cream.
Cafe Con Leche (Coffee with Milk)
Amazing Mint Ice Cream
Our whole team out for coffee and ice cream.
Finally, we returned to our hotel at the early hour of 8:30. This is the earliest we have been able to turn in so far and most likely the last time we will be able to this early until the team heads home next Tuesday.
Tomorrow we are going to try again to help out Tina, but it all depends on the weather!
One more note … I am finding that I understand and am able to speak more and more Spanish. Today, when people asked me questions, there were many times when the first response that came to mind was in Spanish!! This is a skill I really want to work on and I am enjoying the opportunity God has given me to practice here as we work for him.