July 29
Hello Sunday! And what a beautiful morning it was indeed. I
woke up to the sound of rain gently falling on the metal roof. That’s one of
the most comforting sounds ever! Reminds me a lot of home, especially during
the rainy season. Jen and Victoria were still asleep so I went ahead and took
my warm shower. When you’ve been taking cold bucket baths for the past 5 weeks,
you can imagine how good a warm shower feels. Not that I’m complaining about
the bucket baths. I grew up with stuff like that, so it’s no biggie. You do
come to realize though how much running water and access to water heaters are
things often taken for granted, among many other things. When your lifestyle
changes from a very materialistic society to a very simple way of life, you
really do learn to appreciate the simplest of things, even things like being
able to see myself in the mirror every day. Here at the mission, we interns do
not have a mirror in our room, nor are there any in the bathrooms. So unless I were
to go into one of the girls’ rooms, I hardly get to see how I look at the beginning
of the day or any time of the day for that matter. But you know what? That’s
been very liberating for me. I love how I haven’t had to worry about how I look
or making sure I meet other people’s approval by the way I dress. I can just be
comfortable. Being here at the mission has taught me a lot about what it means
to come before the Lord, just as you are. And it’s amazing how something as
simple as a mirror, of that lack thereof, can remind you of that.
We had another tasty meal for breakfast. Evelin’s parents
are awesome! We’ve been so blessed by their hospitality and warmth. They take
such good care of us when we are here, and the same is true for her tia’s and
tio’s. They’ve all been so warm and welcoming. And I could say the same about
the people at her church. I would say, it’s pretty much the culture, which I love!
Today was a pretty special day of celebration at church.
After the service they had 19 baptisms! 19!! It was beautiful seeing people
give their life to Jesus one after another. There must have been one heck of a
party in Heaven! Haha! The whole church then shared a meal together, which once
again was quite satisfying. It was funny though ‘cuz Evelin went up to her dad
and said, “Dad, what’s Jennifer going to eat? She can’t eat meat.” And her dad
was like, “it’s ok, there’s chicken.” And she says, “but dad, she doesn’t eat
meat.” Again he says, “that’s ok, there’s chicken.” “Dad, chicken is meat.” Hahaha!
I guess some people have different opinions on what is considered meant and
what isn’t. But no worries, there was lots of rice, beans, and tortillas for
her to eat.
Once we were all through we headed back to the house and
rested for a little bit. Jen and I chilled on the hammocks on their front
porch. Evelin’s friends Andrea and her brother came over after a little while
and we all went out on a hike. Not too far from Evelin’s house is a river and
some waterfalls. So we were climbing up and down rocks. It was a lot of fun and
boy did I work up a sweat! It was probably the most physical activity I’ve done
since I have been here. And of course, the beauty of this place is still so
captivating. That’s something I’ll definitely miss when I go back.
When we got back to the house we rested a little bit, had
dinner, and hit the road once more. Bye bye Teguc…and now I am back in my bed.
We made it back safely to Talanga and things seemed very calm and peaceful when
we arrived.
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