Getting dirty (and sweaty) for Jesus

Today started off with bang...or should I say a snap (that would have been Bonnie breaking the drill bits...(where is Ace when you need it?). With the help of some archaic tools, we finished the framing for the fence around the playground. The rain forced us to ABORT several times, but we kept at it until lunch. Meanwhile Barbara, Bethany, Terry and Alex were shoveling dirt. Terry broke off the handle of his shovel and ended up using it like a giant spoon. Bonnie broke so many drill bits that she was afraid they would run out and never finish the project, so she gave up the drilling and went on to placing screws with the power drill. Chris believes that if you cut a board, it should fit, even if Cathy measured wrong, so he forced the boards into place with the use of a log (Camas said he wanted it "snug")...anyone want to hire us to do work when we get back???

After lunch a group of 'young people' (that includes Bonnie) decided to take a dip in the Caribbean. We hiked through fire ant hills and muddy trenches to get to a half stable public dock. Bonnie decided to swim in her muddy clothes as a way of washing them...talk about the ultimate multitasker. We all stood at the end of the dock, and no one would take the first plunge. Until....you guessed it....the old woman in the group jumped. The others soon followed suit. The water was warm to us, but the local children were forbidden to go in because it was too "cold". The children enjoyed telling us which of the fish we could see swimming around us would bite...but finally admitted that they only bite the hooks.

Josh and George didn't help with construction this morning, because they were in the medical clinic helping Dierdre, the nurse. They dealt with colds, congestion, scabies, worms, and gun shot wounds. (an accident of course). George has done more hands on medical work in the last 2 days than in the last 10 years from behind his desk (his words, not mine). They also became drug dealers (legal, or course) and Josh had to break up a kick boxing fight on the porch (between 2 local children...not the ones on our team).

This afternoon we were supposed to visit neighboring villages, but it poured most of the time. Chris discovered he has innate plumbing abilities that he didn't know existed. George showed off his prowesness as an electrician by installing lights under the covered deck. He displayed his machoness when he tried to jump off the ladder screaming because he mistook the gecko for a scorpion. Of course, finding a scorpion outside the ladies bathrooms last night has us all on 'alert'. Evidently George is a little more concerned about scorpions than the rest of us, as it took him 30 minutes to go down the hall during the night because he had to check out every nook and cranny for scorpions.

After dinner we are going to a church service at a local pentecostal church. The dress code at these services is much stricter than at home. Boys must wear long pants and collared shirts, and girls must wear skirts....to hike through the jungle...in the dark. We'll post later and let you know how that goes. For now, this is Chris, George, and Bonnie signing off.

Paula....George say's he loves you and misses his sweetie...