Just another ordinary day

May 9

◦                Beautiful night! I woke up a few times but didn't ever stay awake long. I have my own bedroom that is dark and quiet. My bed is comfortable with ample covers. The blankets even smell like talcum powder. Luxury! And yet something in my misses the"other life", the one that's not so comfortable but quite simple. I can't really put my finger on it, but I'm glad that I can be at home in both places. And I'm going to enjoy these "luxuries" while I have them!

◦                Breakfast was even later than arranged, so I had a lovely quiet time in my room.

◦                Some kind of cooked grain cereal with fruit and bread for breakfast - delightful!

◦                We read the midweek study (II Tim. 2) after breakfast and sang some hymns.

◦                I helped eleven year old Darla with her math homework (algebra) until it was time to leave for lunch.

◦                Lunch with Sra. Zarela and her three grandchildren - chicken, rice, potatoes, choclo and what I think was chicha morada. Self serve!!! I told student stories after lunch, and we sang some hymns.

Checking the list

Sra. Zarela and her three grandchildren with Pedro Huanca and Flor Coronel

Flor and I

He wasn't technically supposed to come in, but it was really hard to boot him out!

◦                Our afternoon visit wasn't scheduled until 3:00, so we waited around for awhile. I would have liked to take pictures of us eating caña, but I didn't want to annoy everyone with my picture taking.

◦                When we arrived near where our afternoon visit was supposed to be, we thought, we discovered that the couple had moved. Fortunately, we were quite early, so we had plenty of time to walk through the rain to the "new" residence.

◦                Don Oswaldo had a stroke some three years ago, I believe it was. His right side is paralyzed, and his speech is incomprehensible. We had a nice visit and sang a couple of hymns. Sra. Octavila, like many of the older folks around here, is illiterate, but the truth is obviously very dear to her.

◦                After our visit, Flor and I went to Real Plaza to the Starbucks there of all things!!! I enjoyed my grande coffee frappuccino very much!

◦                After arriving back at Camilo and Gloria's for the night, four year old Jacob followed me to my room and kept me entertained until supper time. That boy can talk!!!

Yes, the bicycle came into my room along with the boy.

Jacob pleaded with me convincingly to go with him up to the roof so that he could ride his bicycle up there.  I stayed until my nerves could take it no longer and then declare, much to his dismay, that it was time to go back down.

Wide circles near a rooftop edge that doesn't even have a lip when the fella's not super steady on his wheels made for an extremely nervous spectator!  And my continued pleas of "Not so close to the edge, Jacob!" went unheeded.  So that was that. 

◦                Supper was late and a grand affair with the arrival of a young man whose identity I never learned and Sra Gloria's brother, César, who also supped with us last night. Lots of conversing, but only my ears were involved.

◦                In bed by 10:00 at least.