Today was Spa Day. We took the day off from work and went to a spa in Huanchaco. We were waited on hand and foot, received deep tissue massages, and ate chocolate-covered strawberries.
Just kidding.
Today was better than that--it was an awesome day in the barrio. I would go so far as to say it is my favorite day so far from both times I´ve been here. Today was a big translate-on-the-fly day. We spent the morning visiting several of the women in the barrio who host and/or lead church houses, youth groups, and children´s classes. We brought them gifts, talked with them, learned a little bit about their lives, and prayed with them. Last year, I was asked once to pray in Spanish... and I almost had a heart attack. Today it was simple. The first few houses we visited I got a little teary-eyed at the things these people were sharing about. Family struggles, things they had overcome themselves, the hope that they have for a better future. But one woman really affected me. Her name is Carmen and she leads a community group that started about a month ago. She lives with an abusive husband and she has four children, ages 10 to 21, the youngest of which is her only family member who has a relationship with Christ. She spent about ten minutes just pouring out her heart to us, telling us how her life was so much better after she accepted Christ and how she knows that God will help her and how she has hope that He will change the hearts of her family members. She began to cry, and so we all got a little choked up, and then it was time to pray. I was privileged enough to be the one to pray for her, and I barely got through the prayer before tears started pouring out of my eyes. We all gave her hugs and kisses before we left, and she just kind of held onto me for a few extra seconds. What a blessing it was to be able to meet someone so strong and so faithful.
After lunch, we delivered several backpacks to kids in the barrio. Some of the kids are sponsored by people in the states who have met them on various mission trips, and so they send backpacks full of clothes, toys, snacks, and school supplies when our team comes down. So Anabel, Henry, and Maria all got Christmas a few months early. It was fantastic. We´ve got a great picture of Maria holding a toothbrush and toothpaste in one hand and skittles in the other. It´s classic.
Next, Spa Day began. We piled up a ton of chairs and a table onto two ´mototaxis´(motorized bicycles with small cabs attached to the back) and took them over to one of the women´s houses. The idea was to have an outreach event for the women in the barrio, especially for those who are not involved in the church yet. We had brought small gift bags for everyone filled with manicure kits, nail polish, and lotion. Tori taught a great lesson (I translated) about inner beauty and how true beauty isn´t about our external appearance, and how God thinks we´re wonderful the way we are and we need to believe that. We finished by saying how it is necessary to take care of ourselves, and how we wanted to serve the women by giving them maincures. We got everyone sitting around the table and had the gringas paired up with the Peruanas, and we simply served them. The looks on their faces were priceless. They seemed so humble and so thankful--it was such a fantastic experience. One of the women, Ana, who had led us around all morning showing us what houses we needed to visit, kept saying how elegant her nails looked and how excited she was. She remembered me from last year and we had a nice conversation about that as well.
Today was awesome.
Oh, and tonight there was a crazy mixup at the restaurant we went to for dinner--it took us 2 1/2 hours to eat and get back to the hostal... and we were only a few blocks away. The elderly lady who owns the restaurant seemed a little loopy... and as I listened to her interaction with other customers, I realized it was definitely not my fault she had written down the wrong entree. Here´s what happens in a normal interaction: The person orders something. She says okay. She brings something else. The customer goes along with it (because they don´t speak very good Spanish). The end. (An easy way to upsell, right?)
To my supporters, thank you so much for helping me get here. Please continue to pray for us. I´ll continue to keep you posted.
Spanish of the Day = wisdom is ´sabiduría´(which I forgot in the middle of a prayer) and yawn is ´bostezo´.
¡Hasta luego!
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