Day 82

DR Day 12: We started Tuesday with an 8 AM breakfast. Usually includes things like boiled eggs, fried ham, scrabble eggs, baked oatmeal or an egg bake of some sort. And of course mangos or pineapple. Shannon (missionary) does a great job with the cooking for all the meals. There is no such thing as 2% milk. It is of the powder variety. I haven't eaten any cereal here. Just use it to make cafe con leche.

Then Joe and I went to the market. Its a fun place to go. Very busy and get to see lots of the DR culture all in one place. When I got back, Cass and I worked on painting a side of the clinic. She worked on the bottom and I started with some of the overhang at the top. Slow going. She got a bunch done and mine looks like not much. Very hot and humid out there. Should have started earlier to avoid some of that.

Stopped for lunch and then a siesta before going back to painting. However the clouds came in and we had a beautiful rain all afternoon. Umm, I slept.

About 5 pm we had a meeting with some students. The first was a boy that Jared Redding sponsors on a monthly basis at the Lucille Rupp school.

Some info about Ezekiel: comes from a single parent home; is the oldest with 1 brother and 1 sister; loves music and plays the drums; favorite subject is math and Spanish. His favorite sport is basketball, which is cool since Jared sent with me a nerf bball hoop set to give him. Ezekiel was very excited.

Shortly after Ezekiel left, Cassidy's student came. Her name is Albia. She goes to the Christian school on this side of town, CCED, started by Jim Smith.

Albia also comes from a single parent home. She has 6 sisters and 1 brother. Her oldest sister is 26. Her brother and one sister are younger than her. Albia was shy at first, but boy, once she got talking, she was something else. She loves to go to school. Is ready for the bus at 5:30 AM, but it doesn't come until 7. Works hard at school and likes to get on the internet. Kids are the same wherever you go. Not sure where she has access since they don't have at home. Probably school. Cass gave Albia some of her clothes, shoes and a cloth bag. Pretty neat to be able to provide an education and a future for just $26 per month. If you are interested, go to the Solid Rock Mission website and click on "Child Sponsorship". Very, very easy to sign up.

In the evening an American Holderman Mennonite missionary family came over for supper. They had 4 girls and 1 boy. Their grandpa was from Hesston and they still have an aunt that lives there. Small world. Had a great time hanging out with them.

Cass and I closed our day with Gin - the game. I dominate, but she's catching on.

The Rooster and the Crickets: The clinic sits right next to a barrio. On the other side of the wall lives a rooster. Pretty sure its not the same one from every time we are here since they eat them, but there is always a rooster over there. Sometimes at 3 AM he will croak out a couple crows and go back to sleep. Other times at 5 AM that guy will just starting a crowing his heart out. When the rooster shuts up, the crickets take up the quiet with their chirping. Some years ago I had surgery on my right eardrum and have better hearing in it. If I lay on my right side with my right ear in my pillow, I can't hear the crickets. They must chirp at a frequency my left ear is deaf in. In this case, I wish the same could be said about the frequency of the crowing of that rooster.