Day 5: My birthday!

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I was up most of the evening thinking about all the people here....how crazy it is for them to be as poor as they are, yet so happy...almost happier than us Americans! I am determined to learn as much about the people, language and culture in order to help them!
We enjoyed a traditional breakfast (black beans, cheese, ham and avocado burritos with cafe). The devotional was quite good. Candy presented on culture shock, which is quite relavant for her. She is doing such a great job embracing each day.
We ended up spending most of the day at the second work site....hiked through the corn fields, through the mud. Jefferson was SO happy to see us! His face is always full of joy. The goal today was to level out the dirt on the outside of the home so that it is even with the inside. The hired workers will be pouring cement on the outside that will act as a walkway to the homes. The most entertaining part was removing a huge tree that was 14" deep and the ground was saturated with its roots. We all took turns picking away and using machete's to toss the dirt into the street. After about 45 minutes of strenuous work, we headed to el escuela Arcade Dios (the Christian school Pastor Francisco supports). We arrived just at their recess break and we welcomed by over 150 kids! The kids loved when we got out our cameras...we must have taken over a hundred pictures between the four of us! We watched them as they played soccer with the ball we got them, and the girls played hand games with us (the same in every country...so at least I knew most of them!). I just love their energy and excitement. During the recess, they stopped for a little snack that consisted of fried corn patties and coleslaw. The best part of the visit was when Johnny told a bunch of girls that it was my birthday. They gathered around me and started singing happy birthday in Spanish. Absolutely adorable! I couldn't stop smiling 😊
After about an hour, we headed back to the sites. This is when it got hard. We had to hack the tree out of the ground using nothing but an axe! Oscar (an older worker) went nuts hacking away at the tree, but he got it out! It took 4 men to move the tree off the worksite and across the street. Again, the ladies brought us lemonade and we soaked it up (really hot today).
I started to hack away at the dirt to break it up and unintentionally hit a huge ant hill! They swarmed up my legs and into my shoes...biting me like fresh meat! I ran quickly to the van and tore off my shoes and socks. Those bites seriously hurt... 😞 Marta started working in the same area I was working in...and apparently the ants didn't bother her at all. She had bare feet and was chopping away within inches from her feet. They just aren't as concerned about safety as we all are.
Off to lunch!!! The same ol' stuff...except....afterwards they brought out "atol de elote" which is a sweet corn soup. It was made by mashing corn, boiling it til it was a paste, adding milk and sugar. Wow was it tastey!!
After lunch, we went on home visits. One was Rosa, Alex's mom (Alex is from Pastor Francisco's church...he sang. He has a disability where he is always crouched down and uses his hands to help himself walk). Rosa's husband has Alzheimer's and she struggles with back pain. They all live in the same group of hoes with tons of dogs. One of the dogs that greeted us had red glasses drawn on his face...how cute! I guess that's one way to show that the dog is theirs! LOL Rosa also asked us to pray for her throat because it hurts when she speaks. After the time with Rosa, we walked across to Alex's home. Him and his family had just received one of the new homes. What a difference when comparing his mom's living conditions to his!
The next visit was to Angela's home. She lives in such terrible conditions. Her home is lower than the street and is covered by trees - this allows for water to come into the home and mold to grow rapidly. Angela explained to us that she has severe back pains and intestinal issues. She explained that she has to take a lot of pills, but they are expensive. Her daughter is disabled and in a wheelchair, so it becomes difficult for her to make it into town or to even have a job because she has to be with her daughter. One thing that made Angela so special was her sense of humor. Listening to her tell stories made us all laugh. She tried to see the positive side as much as possible. One thing Wally told us, was to not touch the walls or anything else in the home. Any place that does not see sunlight has the opportunity to breed chiggers and other bacteria.
The next two families were not home so we got to enjoy some extra free time back at the hotel until dinner at Pastor Raphael's home.
We arrived just after dark and were welcomed into their beautiful home. A long table set outside with flowers, underneath beautiful lights. Raphalito set out cheetos and Yucca chips for us to enjoy while dinner was finishing up in the kitchen. It was a nice relaxing evening. The food was brought out onto another table (buffet style). They let me pile on my food first because it was my birthday....yum um yum!! Mimita made chorizo, steak, corn tamales, beans, fresh tortillas, and plantains. The meat was cooked so well it didn't need any seasonings! Arturo joked with me throughout the meal that it is a tradition that the birthday person must have seconds and thirds of the meal...nice try! I was stuffed!
After some laughs, dinner was cleared and I was suprised with a birthday cake and yet another happy birthday in Spanish (4th one for the day!) How sweet! A whip cream frosted chocolate and vanilla pudding filled cake, topped with peaches and strawberries. I was not expecting this special treatment 😊
Perfect timing....it started to rain. We were summoned to go under their car port canopy. As we were conversing, Mimita came out of no where with a furry pink party hat and a matching stick and a Raggity Ann pinata! Apparently, it really is a birthday tradition in Spanish cultures to have a pinata! LOLThey blind folded me and spun me around 10 times. Johnny kept moving the pinata up and down...so it was quite the challenge for me, but I finally got ahold of it with one of my hands and beat it down! Apparently not hard enough because it didn't break! Then it was time for the rest of the gang to try it out. The best person to watch was Candy. It was her first time ever hitting a pinata and she went to town!!! Destroyed it! LOL
The pinata was filled with scrumptious El Salvadorian candy and it put smiles on everyone's faces. What a birthday to remember.
We then wanted to get a nice group photo, but couldn't get the camera to position well. But Wally had an idea...he found a roll of toilet paper in the van and used it to stabilize the camera...never dull!!! 😊

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