March 23, 2014

Today was our first day of work, and what a day it was! We had breakfast at 7 AM and I tried the Guatemalan version of bananas. I didn't like them that much, but I tried them! After breakfast, we sorted through and separated all the supplies we brought for the elderly before loading the truck and heading to pick up some of the Moringa trees the camp has. Once we had separated the "good" trees from the "bad" trees, we all piled into the back of a truck for a very bumpy ride to the village outside of El Faro. It was like a roller coaster!

We visited 5 out of the 9 today, and at each house we visited, we planted 3 Moringa trees so that the people could use the trees for food and supplements. Visiting the elderly was such a strange experience for me. Their houses were no bigger than my living room, their beds were made from rope, and yet everyone was so joyful and happy. At the first house, there were three sick puppies. I made sure to hold and pet each one. The fourth house was my favorite, though. There was an old man lying on a bed outside of the house and he looked almost exactly like my dead grandfather. Seeing him was one of the highlights of my day; it made me feel as though my grandfather was saying hi.

After visiting the fifth house, we headed back to the camp for lunch and to regroup before continuing our day. Lauren and I went with Megan, one of the missionaries here, to take care of her river otter. The otter's name is Lola and she is about 7 months old. She loves to bite your fingers and toes; it's her way of saying hi. We then ate lunch, got changed into some fresh clothes, and filled up water balloons for our time with the Kids Club. Half of us stayed at camp and half of us went to the village of Santa Maria; I was in the group that went to the village. Lauren, Bethany, and I went to the school right on the beach and helped out with the Bible club that is run there every Sunday. We got to play with kids and talk to them, along with talking to some of the adults and volunteers.

After the Bible club, we came back to the camp for relaxation time and dinner. Megan had offered to let Lauren and I take Lola swimming in the ocean, so we did! We went swimming with a domesticated river otter in for a good hour. Lola loved to sneak up on us and attack our hands and feet and cling to us when we tried to move. I fell in love with Lola in that hour. Dinner tonight included some amazing donuts because of the Real Madrid win earlier today. (People came from the village to watch the game at the camp and their cheers wear audible from anywhere in camp.)

After dinner, we washed the dishes, and then Bethany and I sat down with some of the missionaries and we were talking about everything from Jordan to peanut butter to Nascar. We had a good conversation with them before heading to the chapel for our team meeting. There, we got to meet Naomi, Lenny, and their mother, missionaries from Chicago who had been at El Faro for almost a year. They talked to us about their experiences and what it was like making the switch. Keith then showed us videos on the Moringa trees and the medical team that had been here last week before discussing our plans for tomorrow. We all chatted a bit more via icebreaker cards Mr. Dean had and discovered more about each other. All in all, today was a great first day, and I can't wait for tomorrow.

-Sereen