Today started off with being tired, followed by bun pan and eggs (over easy con queso y jamon), as well as mango (I think) juice and anis tea (sounds funny, I know, but it’s black licorice flavored). We had a life-threatening bus ride as usual, and my first task at Posada was sanding. I started out sanding in “style”- mp3 player and sunglasses I took from a summer coworker’s car. Later, I decided to just rough it. A lot of the older boys helped sand and get pebbles out of the cracks, which was nice. But, before I knew it, it was VBS prep time.
Today was the story of Noah’s Ark, interpreted by puppets. I played two of the three sons, as well as the dove and the ark itself. We also had to put together craft kits about God’s promises and a little rainbow decoration. This took quite a bit of time.
Oh, the snacks this morning were GOOD! They served us brownies, and their little breads and bananas were amazing as usual. Lunch was a traditional Peruvian meal, with rice, beans, carne verde, a sweet of rice and milk and purple corn, and a choice between lemon or lucuma pie. (I chose lucuma.)
After lunch, we set up the puppet stage for VBS. It started off with music, and then Jeff, Lisa, Grace, and I performed while Krista narrated. It continued with crafts, and then I went back to sanding. All in all, it was MUCH better than yesterday!
It was then time to play with the kids. I stood in the volleyball court for about thirty seconds, and then played with Melany. Once she saw Bethany with a girl on her shoulders, she wanted us to mimic them. Bethany and I didn’t understand it at first, but the girls wanted to play tag…and we had to run. That was tiresome, and the girls didn’t understand why because they felt fine!
Due to our tiredness, we sat on the schools steps and talked with others. This turned into a million kids running off with my camera to take pictures. I then realized my mom told me to take pictures of up-close facial features like a teacher did at her school. I tried it, but they all turned out either shiny or fuzzy. Then I had a theme idea: Hands and Feet. That turned out a lot better! It also made me realize their need for shoes. Some of the kids only had dress shoes to play in, while others had falling-apart converse knockoffs. Soon, we left for Loma Linda.
Dinner included an anis drink, chicken cordon bleu with potatoes and lucuma ice cream. Then we had Nicole do room devotions, and Dylan did group devos. Both were great.
Tonight we played a few rounds of Mafia before retiring to our rooms. And I forgot to mention: this morning I found a scorpion crawling out from under my bed. Yeah, sweet dreams!
Highlight of the Day: When I tired from attempting to take pictures of hands and feet, I stood by the trampoline and watched the kids jump! Melany came up to me, breathing heavily, and said “agua”. Since she was barefoot, I picked her up, carried her over to the hose, turned it on, let her have her fill, turned the spigot off, picked her up, and carried her back to the trampoline. Sure, I was tired of carrying her during tag and running around and working all day, but everyone, whether a wealthy American or a third-world orphan, needs water. And even Jesus said to not deny a child a cup (or in this case, a hose full) of water. No, Melany won’t remember this act tomorrow, but I’ll remember it ’til heaven.
Jessica Lippe 