We spent the day in Nueva Florida entertaining kids waiting for a doctor at a medical brigade we had set up. It was hard to see all the families who were patiently waiting in line for hours to get medical attention and simple meds that they needed. I'm glad we were able to amuse the kids with face paint, balloon animals, songs, stories, and good-old fashioned rambunctious fun. The day started out with us singing worship songs on stage. We then broke off into smaller sections with some people doing face painting, some making balloon animals, some reading children's books to the kids, and some just playing with the kids. This devolved into a massive us vs. the kids balloon fight that lasted for the last couple of hours of our time there. It was good knowing that even though the kids in the villages here come from poor backgrounds, they're just like any other kids back in the States.
We also saw a mama dog and her three weeks-old pups. It was really sad because the mama dog was the skinniest animal I have ever seen and they said she was dying. Her pups kept trying to nurse but there wasn't anything she could give them. It was tough just knowing that as bad as the poor people here have it, animals must be getting it a lot worse :[
Towards the end of the day, some other members of Leah's church flew in and after a quick dinner at Wendy's, we had a church service in an outdoor church that we had been staging the medical brigade in. It was amazing to see how enthusiastic and excited people were to be there even though it was ridiculously hot and humid and there were no walls for the church.
Day 8 - Sunday, July 11th
We went to a church today Leah's church had built in January. It was on a hilltop and had a fantastic panoramic view all the village below. I spent some time just thinking about all the people we've met and how different each moment was with them. I'm really afraid that our interactions will become "packaged", that we'll just end up so numb to meeting so many people that we end up just following kind of a script. Pray that that won't happen?
After church, we drove to this beach resort park for some R&R time. We watched the end of the World Cup and had some tasty fish for lunch. The park was weird cuz it was a beach, swimming pools, and zoo combined in one so we would be walking to the beach and randomly see monkeys and water buffalo. It was more or less a relaxing time though I felt like we didn't really need it since its not like our work isn't enjoyable. The water was ridiculously warm, the warmest I've ever felt by far. And there were sand dollars in the water so that was kinda cool.
Day 9 - Monday, July 12th
We just got back from moving sand, assembling water jugs, and installing filters. I'm sitting in this really nice cafe right next to the hostel. It's owned by this really nice young couple, Luisa and Rafael, who speak some English, which is a nice change, and they're expecting their first baby :] It's always a nice surprise just talking to people here cuz you never know what to expect and they're often much nicer than you expect.
I was thinking about how bored I was when I was assembling the jugs today and how fortunate we are to be qualified for jobs where we can use our noggins. And then I thought about how fortunate we are to be even be able to work and not waste our lives away. There are so many people in the aldeas who literally don't do anything everyday cuz there's just nothing for them to do. I mean, they can collect recycling, but there are only so many cans and bottles lying around. And to think that much of the world either works jobs they hate or can't find work at all just reminds me of how high our expectations are and how blessed we are.
I think the amount of grime and sweat we go through everyday has changed my idea of what's dirty and what's not. Don't get me wrong, I'll be showering everyday when I get back, but put in perspective, we Americans are so finicky about being "clean". I guess it's just tough to worry about being a lil sweaty here when people have dirt floors in their houses.
I was thinking about how bored I was when I was assembling the jugs today and how fortunate we are to be qualified for jobs where we can use our noggins. And then I thought about how fortunate we are to be even be able to work and not waste our lives away. There are so many people in the aldeas who literally don't do anything everyday cuz there's just nothing for them to do. I mean, they can collect recycling, but there are only so many cans and bottles lying around. And to think that much of the world either works jobs they hate or can't find work at all just reminds me of how high our expectations are and how blessed we are.
I think the amount of grime and sweat we go through everyday has changed my idea of what's dirty and what's not. Don't get me wrong, I'll be showering everyday when I get back, but put in perspective, we Americans are so finicky about being "clean". I guess it's just tough to worry about being a lil sweaty here when people have dirt floors in their houses.
Day 10 - Tuesday, July 13th
Lindsay's gonna be flying back home tmrw cuz she hasn't been getting better :[ It's sad but I'm proud of her for making a really tough decision cuz I know she really wants to be here. JLai has been getting hives and he now has a 101.6 degree fever, but it seems like everyone else is holding up ok.
We went to the beach today for a UCLA rest day. It was almost picture perfect, like the beaches you see in Caribbean ads. The funny thing is we didn't really do too much beachy stuff. We went into the water, caught a jellyfish, played some soccer, plucked some coconuts (which were really good), and chased after some stray cows. It was all rather randomly amusing. The cows all had leashes on them and I managed to grab one for a baby cow, but then the mama cow kinda stared us down so we just ran. I've got some amusing pics and videos though. All in all, I think it was a good time to hit the mental reset button.
On the way back, we saw an old man selling cold coconuts that he chopped open with a machete. He was selling them for 8 lempira (less than $0.50) each. It's so hard to escape images of poverty here. We figured that he couldn't have been making more than 400-500 lempira a day, which is about $20-$25 dollars. It's such a huge discrepancy with what we've been blessed with in terms of work. It's crazy to think that even as a college student working part-time in an air-conditioned office, I can be making in a couple hours what this coconut vendor makes in a day. It seems unfair and unjust.
We'll be going to work in the hospital for the first time tomorrow. Pray that I'm ready to do whatever's needed and that I have the emotional and spiritual strength to get through any tough situations we might encounter.
No comments:
Post a Comment