Ever since I emerged from my room several weeks ago and stepped squarely on a squeaky frog – thank god for flip-flops! – I have been very cautious about where my feet land from about 6:00 onward.
As for the heat, it is reaching critical levels as we wait with dusty, baited breath for the summer’s first rains. Riding my bicycle to and from the office, an unintimidating 8 kilometers round-trip, I arrive home covered from head to toe in dirt thrown up by passing trucks desperate to get to and from the farms at this, the end of bean season. I wait as late as I possibly can to leave the office without letting darkness overcome my ride; the magic time seems to be 5:30. The sun sets and rises so early here, even in the summer, which suits those who choose to awake at 4am to begin the day’s work before the heat becomes unbearable.
After much struggle to understand the dynamics of the World Vision team in Morrumbala, I finally gave up trying to maneuver my plans around my co-workers, and began scheduling meetings with my 4 youth groups at times that suit me and the kids. This seems to be what everyone wanted all along, and as a result, my schedule is beginning to resemble something of a real job. When I’m not traveling to and from the city for meetings, I spend 2-3 days a week in the office and the other days in the fields with the kids, which is less like pulling teeth each time we meet (they’re really starting to like me and look forward to our visits, and clearly enjoy the activities and games I bring). After preparing a 15x20 meter plot for corn and reviewing the water cycle with one group several days ago, I inquired whether they wouldn’t accompany me to a nearby Catholic mission, an enormous, beautiful old building that has stood abandoned ever since the civil war.
We walked around, careful not to step in piles of excrement (fowl and human alike…) and marveled at the immense structure, lamenting that no one has taken the initiative to repair and clean it up. After a lengthy and unnecessarily complicated debate about when we would next meet, I left feeling very satisfied with the day’s work, despite the many scratches on my hands and arms from mulching with 8 month dry grass.
1 comment:
That is a pretty building, it is a shame that they go unused. Everytime I pass an abandoned church I think what could be done with them, people to house, fun to be had, sins to be confessed, children to "shhh", faith to be restored. But I suppose that is just the romantic in me. Good work with the youth group, I think that is how most groups work, at first they don't like you, then when they get to know you, they love you. And who couldn't love our favorite Southern Belle. Take care of yourself.
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