Last Wednesday a group came down from Oakland to help out Matthew. He thought I might want to join them as a translator. I guess he figured I would understand, though not approve of, the use of the words hecka and hella. I consented on the basis that I would get out of teaching for a few days.
My mom contacted them ahead of time and arranged for them to bring me gifts such as peanut butter and toothpaste. The later of which you can buy here, the former not so much. Way to go mom.
On Wednesday and Thursday they were working at Matthew's feeding center. Some gave hair cuts, and washed the hair and feet of patrons while others worked on cementing the walls of a newly purchased, neighboring building that will eventually be a clinic.
From Friday to Sunday we were in Chinandega, another Nicaraguan provence. A local church there was building a new building and Matthew had wanted to help. Before he got involved they had sold $2,000 worth of tortillas and put up a frame. Since he found out about them he has been able to connect them with State side churches that have provided a roof and walls. Our group was able to help out more with stuccoing of the walls and filling in the floor with dirt as well as doing some VBS stuff and visitations.
My favorite part was getting to talk with the girls in the neighborhood. They were super loving and receiving. Even those in their teens would come up to me and hold my hand or play with my hair and chat. I know, me saying something positive about physical touch, a shocker.
I also got to ride a horse. It ran me in to a cactus. Blood was gushing from my leg. Well maybe not quite, but I did get a scratch.
A side note, our "hotel" wasn't the classiest of establishments. The lack of water was one thing, but I'm getting pretty good at creative showering techniques. But then Sunday morning at 12:30am, up came my dinner. About half of us had food poisoning. That continual queasiness kept up for the rest of, the much mellower, Sunday. Not my finest moments but I'll spare you the details. I tried to remind myself that some people don't have food to get sick off of but that didn't help much. I am feeling much better now and Matthew dropped of a plethora of medicines this morning in case I have a relapse.
As far as the group went, they were very cool. I was amazed by their willingness and graciousness. Does anyone actually want to wash crusty homeless feet or hold back my hair as I vomit? And they didn't touch my school.
There was another main girl translating. She was Korean (as was the team) so she knew the strange side dishes they brought with them and how to play their violent versions of rock, paper, scissors. She was in charge of group translating and I got to stick with my stellar Spanish conversation skills. Even in my poor translating (like I know what a plainer is in English) is a better match for me than teaching. That realization, combined with my 24 hour fast, made going back to school on Monday rather disheartening but I have to trust that God has me exactly where I am for a reason.
And unrelated, my roommate just bought a widow maker for our shower, it is this electrical contraption that lets you choose, cold, medium, or fairly-hot water. The result, a cleaner, but also more spoiled, Joy.
Oh yes, there is a hurricane. It is raining a lot here but we are totally safe. The electricity is off hecka a lot, but what's new? And there is lots of amazing thunder and lightning.
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