Day Five

Breakfast was a half hour later and I think everyone enjoyed the extra time. If nothing else, it was light outside when we got up! With blue shirts in hand (the shirts from the mission), we made our way down the mountain. After breakfast, Joanne showed us some of the buildings that we were unable to see on Sunday's tour. She explained the office and how the departments are divided up between people. She also took us to the warehouses and we walked through the store. It's very walmart-esque. Some of the things that are donated to the mission we found a little humorous - things like blonde hair-dye and leather winter coats. We then regrouped and those who have been here before this trip (Josh, Sarah, Steve, Ken, Zach and Danny) got to work on two (which turned into four) pallets of boxes full of juice, gatorade, and a mixture of things. Ever box was a mixture so they were sorting into types of items and also checking the expiration dates. Those of us who have not been here before (Angie, Cody, Jim K and Jim D) or were unable to see everything last time (Rick) and myself went on a tour of the school. After the tour, we joined the sorting team and had a few adventures. We found quite a few of God's lovely creatures like cockroaches, maggots, scorpions, and one plump little mouse!

We had a few minutes to visit the nutrition center before lunch where Angie fell even more in love with Rex :-) Josh found his little buddy Salina, a cute girl with a big personality! There is a mother and her two daughters currently living there. Her younger daughter Molina is just a few months old and had cleft lip surgery on Saturday. She is healing beautifully. There are a few rooms for mothers to stay in if their children are here getting care. I love that Carlos is so family oriented and keeps the family together whenever possible.

After lunch we were off to do a feeding at a dump in the city of Teculutan. These people live in the villages surrounding the dump, a few live under the trees in the dump itself and many work in the dump. We arrived and walked around a bit waiting for the food. While we were there, a truck came in with a delivery of trash. You would've thought it was somebody handing out a million dollars the way these kids ran towards the truck, jumped on the truck, one even ended up doing a flip into the truck! They all helped unload it, looking for treasures along the way. One little boy found a half-filled bottle of soda. Another found a t-shirt and a play trumpet. Many were pulling out bottles and cans that could be recycled for money. It was just amazing to see these children jump right in to work and they didn't fight over their treasures. It was just understood that if you found it, you got to keep it. There will be more stories of this from other team members later.

The feeding itself is an event like non-other. There has been a feeding center here for over a year now so the people understand how it works. Tables are set up at one end of a large pavilion. The people form 2 or 3 lines, each holding their own bowl or container of some sort (some had tupperware, some had soda bottles cut in half, many had bowls - probably all items they found at the dump) and a cup or bottle for the drink. The bowl was filled with rice, black beans, a hard boiled egg and a tortilla. They get their bowl back, they get their cups filled with juice and off they go. Many stay and eat there, often getting drink refills. Many get their food and immediately depart. A few hang around because if there is food left over, they are able to get extra. For many, this is the only real meal they will have until Friday's feeding. I spent most of the time walking around and videoing the rest of the team handing out the food. I just love the smiles on the kids when you can catch their eye and give them a big smile. They are the most beautiful children.

We then loaded the bus for our cultural adventure in Chicimula. This is not a touristy place, this is real-life. We walked through the market where meat hangs on hooks, fruit and veggies sit in baskets, shoes and belts and hats are sold, blankets, dresses, we even found some brightly dyed baby chicks for sale! It was a cool experience to get out in a city and see a piece of their "normal".

It was a great day! Another exhausting day. Today we are back at the work site and then we'll be visiting the orphanage before dinner tonight. Pray for safety on the job, in travels, for good health and more chances to show God's love.

We miss and love you all!