Feb. 28, 2008 - Guest Blogger: Ecuador Day 6
Day 6- February 13 We awoke at our usual time and ate our usual breakfast. Then we flagged down our usual taxis to take us to the usual church so we could meet our usual missionary. We found out that the construction crew had nothing to do because they finished the church yesterday, so today they would lay bricks at a different church. Since I wanted to lay brick and Mr. Tony wanted to do medical clinic we traded off. The brick layers were: me, Pastor Gary, Mr. Ricky one of the missionaries, Jonathan, and Mr. Peterson.
We went to the hardware store and bought cement, which was our mortar, and 15 machetes for you guys back at the states. Sadly, we couldn’t find the special machete that had a serrated back and like a huge saw/machete combo. Then we drove to the church and dropped off the cement and drove to a DIFFERENT church to unload cement for that church’s floor. While we were there we ate some guava, my third exotic thing there. The others was the chicken soup and the Middle-Of-Nowhere-Ice-Cream. I didn’t care for it (guava).
Well, the cement was late, so the others needed some entertainment, so they told me to chase the village Turkey Lurkey. I caught one of his youngsters, and he didn’t like that. Then I tried to catch him, and he didn’t like that more, so he ran after distracting me with a false attack. I got even with him by sounding like another male turkey, and he didn’t like that. They said afterwards he chased EVERYONE, so that’s why they egged me on. He must respect twelve year- old rednecks, or maybe he could see my guardian angel with the butcher knife daring him to peck me.
The cement finally came, we unloaded it and went back to the other church, and I found out my job was to soak bricks and bring them to the "masons" as we called them. My other job was to carry water and dry bricks to the barrel we were soaking bricks in. I rested maybe ten minutes the whole day besides lunch. I also got in a little trouble with Pastor Gary because I drank a Coca- Cola and I’m not usually supposed to have caffeine, but dad said it was okay. I was VERY tired after the end of that day. We finished 1 1/2 walls, though.
We wet to the Italian restaurant that night, and I got lasagna with pepperoni in it! Then the missionaries gave Mr. Peterson a celebration kinda like El Mazatlan does, because it was his birthday.
After that we went to the hostel and had devotions. Mine was the best one of the week! ( Here’s a dollar, Mrs. Stommel) It was about prayer. After mine and Dad’s we went to bed, and I fell asleep very fast.
Notes: El Mazatlan is a favorite Mexican restaurant here that sings Happy Birthday in Spanish, while putting a sombrero on your head and painting your face w/ whipped cream.
Mrs Stommel is our pastor's wife who was trying to get her husband to stop kidding and said he had to give her $1 every time he did, which eventually extended to the whole group, so, she said, she could pay for her next mission trip. (it was a joke)
