Down Day

I have very little to report today, mostly because I spent the day resting and recuperating and making sure my stomach would behave itself. I read, I wrote, I kept myself hydrated, I prayed for the team at the worksite. I ate lunch and was pleased that I had a genuine appetite for it. And I looked forward to getting back to work tomorrow.

When the team got back, they filled me in on the day. It was sunnier and hotter onsite today, which meant everyone was more tired and dragging than at the ends of previous workdays. There was breaking of rocks (again) and mixing of cement (again). Lee was Superwoman of the Pickaxe they tell me; this makes me proud.

But the big news is that they started cementing the walls. By all accounts this is a very special talent that requires flinging wet cement at the cinderblock wall at just the right angle with just the right force to make it stick. This this is apparently far harder than it sounds. I already have an admiration for those who can do it, without even having yet seen it in action. I'm sure my admiration will only increase tomorrow. I'll probably be outside, breaking rocks. With Lee.

Another neat report the team brought me is that we've bought a high-efficiency wood stove for the church's neighbor. The house next door to the church belongs to a member of the congregation, and for three years they've been letting us use their water, their electricity, their outhouse, and, at times, their porch (which in the local houses is an integral part of the living space) for the construction work. We wanted to give something back, and what we gave was a new wood-burning cookstove that burns 80% more efficiently — and even burns well enough to use corncobs as fuel, since wood can get scarce and expensive here — and will make cooking a much easier task for the household. I'm told that the woman was so happy to receive the stove that she fired it up right away (she knows someone who has the same kind of stove, so she understood how to use it) and made fresh tortillas for the whole team. It sounds like a good gift to me.

So that's a brief report for a down day. Well, down for me; the team was up, and did good work and good ministry. And so we'll do again tomorrow.