August 5th - My 1st Full Day Here

This morning I took a shower. They had HOT water (unlike the hotel I stayed in), but I grew up taking "4 minute showers" as my dad would say...so I didn't waste any water. The water here comes from a well, so it is safe to drink. You hear all the time that when you go to a country south of us (i.e. Mexico), you should NOT drink the water. It is not because the water isn't purified - but rather because their purification process utilizes different chemicals than ours, leaving some microorganisms in the water that our body systems aren't used to.

Anyway, Esti & I went to the young/medium girls' circle this morning. They sing songs and have a devotion. One of the older girls, Cynthia, led the bible reading and followed up with devotion. I was told that she goes to the university in Teguc and is studying to become a doctor. Esti & I helped with breakfast (granola and a Hostess cake...Alina would LOVE it here). We chatted with some girls afterward - most thought Esti (who's 20 years old) was my daughter! After chatting, it was time for the girls to go to school.

I went to the toddler's dorm next, to play with the bubble-making machine that I had brought. At first, the toddlers took more interest in the actual machine than the bubbles coming out of it, but eventually started to chase the bubbles.

I then went to talk with Merethe about the library, but she said that the boys were still working on shelving for the primary library. She wanted to know if I could help her out by organizing their school storage room. She showed me the room which has 3 rows of metal shelving with supplies piled everywhere. There were boxes of donated items stacked on the floor as well. She mentioned that termites had gotten into the room (and she pointed them out), so all of the cardboard needed to go. I said that I could get it very organized...many of you know me & my perfectionism in organizational tactics, LOL. After she left, I looked around and didn't have a CLUE where to start. Everything was everywhere!!! I got a shelf cleared & stacked the entire shelf with wide-ruled notebooks. That's about all I could do yesterday since in the afternoon I was scheduled to work in the internet cafe.

I worked in the internet cafe from 12:15 - 2:45. Esti & Cynthia came in to use the internet, and at 2:45 Kim came by to take us to town. The road from Orphanage Emmanuel to town is a dirt road and their "potholes" make ours in the U.S. look like nothing. I'll have to try to remember my camera the next time I go into town. We got a few groceries and just saw a little bit of the town before coming back.

When we got back, it was too late to join the kids for supper, so I made myself a chicken-bologna sandwich with cheese and mustard on whole grain bread (supplies I had bought from town). After chatting with the volunteers, I decided to "call it a night" around 7pm.