Ohhh how American I felt today!! We woke up at a very reasonable time with our houses for breakfast before church. Us interns decided to skip church and go into San Lucas for the market. Before we left, I decided to try to make myself a glass of sweet tea to celebrate this glorious day. I had to make the tea and then leave it in the refrigerator all day to chill. We walked down at about 10am, and went to this delicious coffee shop, Cafelito, where we got iced coffees and smoothies! What a fabulous way to start the day! Then, I went over to Pollo Campero and got myself a little piece of fried chicken to eat for later today! Stuffed the lovely box into my purse, and we headed for the market! Ya'll would have been in absolute AWE of this market! It was just mostly fruit and vegetables, but it was probably like 500 times the size of Kings produce on Atlantic Ave. LOVED IT. Everything was so fresh and we just had a ball picking out all of our goodies! We left the market about an hour later with 6 bananas, 12 zucchini, 1 papaya, 2 mangos, 1 pineapple, and 1 "star fruit". We walked the 45 minute hike back up the mountain to the Oasis, and were so sunkissed and sweaty it was delightful! We were so grateful for the sunshine today that we took every chance to soak it up! Once we got back, the girls hadn't returned from church yet, so we read al ittle bit and then took a short nap! When the girls got here, our guests for the day, the Chinese Church had arrived also, and we had a big American lunch of hamburgers! Sooo Yummy! Also, we got CHEESE PUFFS as our side. SO good. I thought about Allie the whole time I was eating them! After lunch, I got to talk with Mom a little bit about Germany, and her experience with the 4th of July! It sounds like she had such a great time! They celebrate on military posts better than we do in America I think!! After chatting with her, I went outside to watch some of the girls play soccer with some of the Chinese friends. (Talk about a tri-cultural day!!!) I also took this time to indulge in my fried chicken and sweet tea! SO SO SO AMERICAN! I looooved it! Also, I wore jeans, a white tshirt with a red sweater all day. Just loved bein' my 'Merrrican self!
At about 4:30 we went with Sarah and Doug Johnson (missionaries here who work with construction and sponsorship for Kids Alive) to their church for a summer barbeque celebration! They took all 4 interns, plus Gricelda, an independant girl from the Oasis that just recently moved out on her own! They go to an American church, and it's just beautiful! I can't even describe it to you, but I definitely just want to bring the concept of a courtyard back to America because it makes everything so much more elegant! They were grilling hamburgers and chicken for everyone, and AGAIN had cheese puffs!! We all chose the chicken option because we were kinda burgered out after having them twice this weekend and then for lunch today! Too much red meat after not having it for weeks is a baaaaad thing. Blehhh. After the fellowship with a lot of young people from their congregation, we sat down at tables in this big open room for their evening service. The room was set up with tables with 4 or 5 chairs around them with candles and bibles as well as paper and pencils for each person. They did some acoustic worship, and then the pastor spoke. He spoke on James 1, and after the sermon, we all took communion. I can't even begin to explain the blessing that it was to worship and fellowship with others in English. My heart was truly touched by singing so many songs in my native language, and hearing the word of God and completely understanding what the pastor was teaching! I think that I'm going to go back to this church with Doug and Sarah on Sundays for awhile. I really loved the atmosphere and just completely found myself feeling at peace and at home within the congregation. There is also a need for some Sunday School teachers, and since I have about 4 more Sundays here, I might volunteer to do that for a bit! Just like Chapel nursery riiiiight?? Minus the fun and humor of our sweet Gracie. :)
After church, Doug took us to McDonald's where we were able to get some yummy yummy yummy MCFLURRIES! I can't tell you how good they tasted! Everyone got the exact same kind, and we all just melted as we ate them all up so fast! SUCH an American treat and ending to our 4th of July celebrations!
Tonight the pastor read James 1:2, a verse that I've committed to memory, but sometimes don't challenge and remind myself of quite enough.
"Consider it pure joy my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds; for the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
I'm challenged by this verse daily, to remember that when times get tough, I'll be able to really rely on the Lord that he is blessing me with something, and whatever it is, He will show me His way and His timing in all of it!
Tomorrow is the start back to school, and we have a feeling it's going to be a rather challenging day getting everyone (including ourselves) back into the swing of that routine!
Hope ya'll are all taking advantage of being American tonight!
Three cheers for the U.S. of A!
cosquillas,
betsyyyyyy
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