Today was another good day.
First, I made scrambled eggs to go with the leftover chuletas from a few days ago. They were very good according to the family. Breakfast is the only meal I've cooked since we've been here, which I haven't minded at all. Some of you know the way I cook, using so many different ingredients and adding things that I happen to think of at the last minute - can't do that here. Lori is adapting quite well to the very different cooking circumstances of La Palma.
After breakfast we participated in the "Children's Program" event. The children in the program came with at least parts of their family. Jesus and Jose both spoke to them as a group. As not all of the participants in the program attend services, this was a chance at a captive audience. They also sang songs that I believe that consider to be children worship songs (think Blue Skies and Rainbows). Then when their number was called (each child is given a number when they enter the program), they came up to the front and signed in. Then they went to a "photo station" of sorts where each child had their picture taken individually and then with their family. They then went to receive their bag of groceries. This is where I helped. Jose handed them the groceries, while I kept bringing the bags to Jose to hand out.
The bag contained groceries and toiletry items. Each bag weighed roughly 40 pounds. It was cute to see some of the children try to lift the bag that outweighed them. Some families had to call a mototaxi to carry it home. Some just struggled as best they could, one bag handle in a child's hand the other in the mother's. Yet, each had a smile on their faces with gracias on their lips. So much gratitude for what so many often take for granted.
After the groceries had all been handed out (save for a few no-shows), the Lalli family piled in Jorge's mini-van and headed for Ocotepeque, Honduras. Jorge Rodriguez is the preacher for the church in Ocotepeque, Honduras just a few miles across the Honduran border. He and his family are such gracious people. We very much enjoyed our visit with them today. Their kids had made welcome signs for us (in English!) and had hung them various places throughout the house. One that was not in English hung on the wall behind the dining table, "Disfrute su Alimentos" (Enjoy your food). Which we did - Gloria (Jorge's wife) is a wonderful cook.
They took us shopping for some items we have been unable to find in La Palma. This shopping trip to us to a neighboring town called Esquipulas. On the way their I noticed we took the road towards Guatemala, which I mentioned to Lori because she had not been with me when Jorge gave me the tour during our March trip. We said we'd like to go their sometime. Jorge said, "¿Ahorita?" (Now?) We said it didn't have to be now, just sometime. Then he told us, "Because Esquipulas is in Guatemala." Oh! We were actually going to Guatemala - ANOTHER COUNTRY - we'd never been to before, but Jorge had left that little detail out. It was nothing big for them.
Crossing the Guatemalan border is much easier than crossing to or from El Salvador (and cheaper). They just waved us on with smiles - no stopping to go to an office to have our passports checked with forms to fill out and $3.00 each like El Salvador, which is what we have to do each time we go to Honduras from El Salvador.
From Wikipedia:
We visited the Basilica because it was just so beautiful. We had no idea of its existence until we moved to La Palma. Jose had told us about it last week some time, saying it would be interesting to go see. And here we were, unplanned trip, walking through it.
We got back to La Palma in time for most of the youth class. I counted 15 kids (I think) that elected to come, on a Friday night, on a week off from school. It was very neat.
Tomorrow promises to be another good day.
Reminder: this week's daily prayer request for the Lalli Family Mission is to pray for a unified spirit in the local congregations as we strive to make plans that will help the body as a whole and each individual congregation.
First, I made scrambled eggs to go with the leftover chuletas from a few days ago. They were very good according to the family. Breakfast is the only meal I've cooked since we've been here, which I haven't minded at all. Some of you know the way I cook, using so many different ingredients and adding things that I happen to think of at the last minute - can't do that here. Lori is adapting quite well to the very different cooking circumstances of La Palma.
After breakfast we participated in the "Children's Program" event. The children in the program came with at least parts of their family. Jesus and Jose both spoke to them as a group. As not all of the participants in the program attend services, this was a chance at a captive audience. They also sang songs that I believe that consider to be children worship songs (think Blue Skies and Rainbows). Then when their number was called (each child is given a number when they enter the program), they came up to the front and signed in. Then they went to a "photo station" of sorts where each child had their picture taken individually and then with their family. They then went to receive their bag of groceries. This is where I helped. Jose handed them the groceries, while I kept bringing the bags to Jose to hand out.
The bag contained groceries and toiletry items. Each bag weighed roughly 40 pounds. It was cute to see some of the children try to lift the bag that outweighed them. Some families had to call a mototaxi to carry it home. Some just struggled as best they could, one bag handle in a child's hand the other in the mother's. Yet, each had a smile on their faces with gracias on their lips. So much gratitude for what so many often take for granted.
After the groceries had all been handed out (save for a few no-shows), the Lalli family piled in Jorge's mini-van and headed for Ocotepeque, Honduras. Jorge Rodriguez is the preacher for the church in Ocotepeque, Honduras just a few miles across the Honduran border. He and his family are such gracious people. We very much enjoyed our visit with them today. Their kids had made welcome signs for us (in English!) and had hung them various places throughout the house. One that was not in English hung on the wall behind the dining table, "Disfrute su Alimentos" (Enjoy your food). Which we did - Gloria (Jorge's wife) is a wonderful cook.
They took us shopping for some items we have been unable to find in La Palma. This shopping trip to us to a neighboring town called Esquipulas. On the way their I noticed we took the road towards Guatemala, which I mentioned to Lori because she had not been with me when Jorge gave me the tour during our March trip. We said we'd like to go their sometime. Jorge said, "¿Ahorita?" (Now?) We said it didn't have to be now, just sometime. Then he told us, "Because Esquipulas is in Guatemala." Oh! We were actually going to Guatemala - ANOTHER COUNTRY - we'd never been to before, but Jorge had left that little detail out. It was nothing big for them.
Crossing the Guatemalan border is much easier than crossing to or from El Salvador (and cheaper). They just waved us on with smiles - no stopping to go to an office to have our passports checked with forms to fill out and $3.00 each like El Salvador, which is what we have to do each time we go to Honduras from El Salvador.
From Wikipedia:
Esquipulas is a town in the Guatemalan department of Chiquimula on the border with Honduras. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The town is famous for the Basilica of Esquipulas which houses the Shrine of the Cristo Negro (“Black Christ”).
We visited the Basilica because it was just so beautiful. We had no idea of its existence until we moved to La Palma. Jose had told us about it last week some time, saying it would be interesting to go see. And here we were, unplanned trip, walking through it.
We got back to La Palma in time for most of the youth class. I counted 15 kids (I think) that elected to come, on a Friday night, on a week off from school. It was very neat.
Tomorrow promises to be another good day.
Reminder: this week's daily prayer request for the Lalli Family Mission is to pray for a unified spirit in the local congregations as we strive to make plans that will help the body as a whole and each individual congregation.
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