martes: Roaring rain and more

Dear friends and family,
Today, like most days during the rainy season, it rained. No, it was not rain; it was a deluge of Biblical proportions. I honestly had the thought that if one of the volcanoes erupted, there would be no way we would hear it. Yes, you think of some pretty wacky scenarios down here. Needless to say,  we experienced the tropics up close and personal today. We were in El Rincon which is nestled at the base of several volcanic mountains. There were horses on the mountain sides, cattle roaming the dirt roads, indigenous women carrying goods in plastic bowls and bundles on their heads, women wielding wheel barrows down the rutted, dirt roads, rings of barbed wire strung along the the top of cement block walls, dogs of every size, shape, or condition, garbage, motorcycles, also, in every size shape or condition, cornfields which rose at 70 degree angles across the sides of mountains, chicken bus graveyards, a boneless chicken farm (several of my people actually fell for that one), women in indigenous dress, and lots of folks on foot going about their days in the heat and humidity.

Today, we did home visits and the first round of our faith lessons. The deluge occurred during our lessons and the dirt road which separated the adult and youth lessons from the kid's lesson flooded so much we could not regroup after. It looked like the muddy/mighty Mississippi. Mona and I were so concerned about our adult lesson premier, that we were metaphorically high-five-ing each other because we thought the roar of the rain would drown out the mistakes we made; we soon discovered there was a microphone. Oh, well. It was an extraordinary experience talking with the women and despite my missteps in Spanish and our need for translation, it was just an awesome time spent with these adults talking about how all of our families are complicated. . . Biblical families, their families, and our families.

The teen and children's lessons were well done by our kids.  I witnessed every single one of our teens reaching out to talk with, and not talk at, everyone they came in contact with. They took a lot of pride in doing the work well and enthusiastically; they were engaged and caring. We also met extraordinary parents of students that Trinity sponsors as well as the students themselves.  Over and over we heard how thankful each student and parent was to God for the educational sponsorship support Trinity provides, and over and over they additionally expressed how this assistance had enabled them, instead, to use more of the money they earn for needed medication, more and better food, and badly needed improvements to their homes. Their lives are so incredibly modest that sponsorship seems to have an enormous impact on the entire family, now and into the future.

It is difficult to capture what went on today. It is better suited for a conversation rather than to struggle to describe it here when we have to be up at 5:00 tomorrow morning. Please have conversations with your people when we return.  We will need to talk about where we have been, what we have seen, and what we have done.  More importantly, we will need to tell you about the people we have met.

Before I post this, there were many funny things that happened today in the midst of some pretty weighty  experiences that I want to share, but the funniest had to be the verse on our shirts.  A certain unnamed Lutheran High School North valedictorian ordered our shirts with the wrong verse on them; however, most of us did not realize it until today. The verse that is cited on the shirt is absolutely abysmal for a team bent on spreading the love of Jesus. It was supposed to say I Corinthians 13:13, a classic verse about love, but instead it reads I Corinthians 3:14, basically fire and brimstone. Well, it really did not bother any of us  that much once we recovered, although we did recognize how ridiculous it had been that we had been wearing the shirt in Michigan at church repeatedly, but the unnamed valedictorian was beyond mortified, and that was the truly hilarious piece. In addition, Mona keeps forgetting she has had a name change so it is funny to watch the reactions when she introduces her understated, sweet self as Mona,  the Monkey. And finally, there are endless stories about mishaps in the bathrooms. (There are some pretty firm necessary regulations about bathroom operations here.) Last night I was trying to quickly get in and out of the shower and because I basically can't see without my glasses and things are pretty dark at night,  I applied toothpaste instead of body lotion and had to revisit the fairly arduous process of showering in the "electric" shower agan. Maybe that isn't that funny; its probably pitiful.

Again, everyone is pulling their weight and then some.  This team is  funny, kind, and great to be with. The Guatemalan missionaries are beyond admirable and great role models for all of us, and Ginny and Kevin continue to run a tight ship full of love, buckets full of wisdom, and kindness.

We are well.
Blessings and love,
Marisa, Mona aka Lisa, Dylan, Ryan, Alaina, Adam, Megan, Alaina, Lexi, and Sally