Oct. 24, Monday

4:08 PM
M&Ms (Maou and Machetes)
Today started with Randy picking up Arieli from El Centro (one of the names for the primary campus of the church we are work with). She is amazing! I don't really know anything about her and only met her today, but she is amazing!

We've been having trouble getting our meals set up, and are forced to eat slightly more expencively because, being from the US, it is dangerous at the local market where El Salvadorans shop. However, Arieli offered to come and prepare a few meals for us twice a week!

We buy some of the things and give Violeta or her money to buy what can be bought at the market meaning not do we have time to eat better meals and have the opportunity to try the local cuisine, it is cheaper too! (Or at least that is what happened this time. I am not completely clear on how this works yet, I just know it's crazy awesome.)

At San Martin the girls started out continuing with ohas (leaves) raking and the guys went down into the property's drainage canyon. . . thing and cut away the over growth for the next rainy season. With machetes.

It's actually kind of fun. If you aren't near anyone else swinging a machete, then it is mildly terrifying depending on the person and their proximity and how well you trust them with large pointy objects that range from dull to quite sharp.

Well, fun until you are taking a picture of people working and a certain someone who shall remain unnamed decides it would be funny to throw one of the branches near you, but misses, smacking you in the face and almost taking out your left eye.

(I'm really fine aside from my nagging love for drama. The force of the impact and closeness to my eye was worrying at first, but It just left two little scrapes. ;)

At lunch we went back up, this time through the drainage canal we were cleaning at the end, and after that switched to yard work because the guy we were working with had other things to do for the day. (At least. . . I think that was the reason for it? He may have just been sick of us but there's no telling.) Since we finished eating early, a few of us got together and played this AMAZING card game called Maou. Spangilsh-when-we-remembered-it style. Oh yeah.

Tough cookies folks, the only rule I can tell you is that I can't tell you the rules. (If you ever want to start a game however, I'd be more than happy to tell all you need to know. SO MUCH FUN!!! <3)

Coming home, Randy took Arieli back to the church and we all began preparing for guests! We had our neighbors, Ana and her two children Otto and Daniela, over for dinner which was a lot of fun. I tried undertstanding the conversations between her and our more experienced Spanish speakers, and I was able to pick out a few words, but mostly botched the actual conversation topic. For instance, at one point Karen was talking and using her hands a lot and said gigantic baby, but I thought she said 'bebe', meaning drink. Suffice it.to say her hand motions would have made the rest understandable, but I thought she was telling one of the weirdest stories ever.

Ana's husband Hulio is currently in California staying with his family after having suffered a stroke while working in the US. Ana would like to bring the children and stay with him, but for various reasons has been concerned about doing so.

If you could, please pray for their family and for God's hand in their lives.