For those of you wandering, masks are normal here anytime you are in public. When you are at home, you don’t wear a mask. So at the orphanage we don’t wear masks, because it is our home. No masks at home is so much better, because after only one day, my brain is worn out trying to process all the words in another language, trying to remember kids and adults names, making the same grammar errors in Spanish repeatedly, the last thing I need is to have a mask over someone's face so that everything they say would be muffled.
We decided that my first project here will be to replace the insides of the toilets with newer designed parts. Toilet work can be hard on me because there's always bodily fluids that have been splashed everywhere, especially in the boys bathroom. YUCK! But hey, if you’re working for God, you can do all kinds of things as He strengthens you. Todo lo puedo en Cristo, que me fortalece. Philippians 4:13
On a side note: I’ve been learning Bible verses in Spanish this last year. It’s hard, but it helps me learn Spanish and for me, after I memorize the verse in Spanish, I can then say it in English without ever memorizing it in English.
In Mexico, things are different. Like on the way to the plumbing store, we see a guy in the intersection juggling machetes with his face painted silver. In my opinion, it’s way better than just holding a sign and begging for money.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MACHETE JUGGLER
When we arrive at the plumbing store, there is a guard at the door and he is squirting some hand sanitizer in each person's hand as they enter. Also there is a machine that you wave your wrist at and it takes your temperature, then there is a mat that is full of water that you are suppose to wipe your feet on, then you wipe them off on the next mat that is dry (most places have these mats and both of them are always dry. People just walk right over them).
At each business there is either a self serve cleaning station (hand sanitizer & foot mats) or a person (at larger locations) manning the entrance. He is also checking that everyone has a mask on.
Again, things are different in Mexico. At the plumbing store, you ask a person to help you, they take you to what you want to buy, I try to pick up the things I want, but luckily I have a friend from the orphanage with me to tell me how things work. He says, don’t pick them up! The store employee picks them up, takes them to the front and after 45 minutes of standing in one line to pay (there were only 3 people in front of me), then a separate line to pick them up, then back to the first line for a credit because they don’t have enough, then back to the second line to pick up the items. Wow, was I exhausted by the time we were done. I counted it up and there was a minimum of 10 different people that spoke to us about our transaction (BTW, we only bought 5 very simple items that we picked out in an instant). It is obvious that labor is inexpensive here based on how many employees there were.
On the way back we stopped by a produce store that gives us donations each weeks. Sometimes the items are on their way to going bad, sometimes they are great.
Here the cook is assessing the produce that we're unloading to determine how she can put it all to good use.
Today was a national holiday in Mexico. The kids didn’t have school. So what did we do? We went to school and had a picnic in the back where a forest area is. We brought a spaghetti picnic lunch, walked to the stream and went for a "follow the leader" hike.
The good news is, if I can’t fix the toilets, they can always become decorations as you can see from this picture of Nicole and the toilet with things growing out of it.
Life is slower here
By 4:30 I was napping.
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