::From Bad to Good::

Hello Everyone-
This week started out pretty rough. We lost the internet connection at the house, Leslie lost her sunglasses, I lost my iPod and the bank took back the “Customer Satisfaction Credit.” We were feeling pretty lousy and questioning why we are even down here. As the week progressed, things got a little better. We put everything in perspective by realizing all the blessings God has given us by living here. When we first moved here we did not have an internet connection, then for 2 months we picked up a wireless signal but now it is gone. It was a blessing to have the internet while we did and we should not complain now that it’s gone. We should have known the credit from the bank was “too good to be true”. We felt deceived by the language “Customer Satisfaction Credit” and the fact that it stayed in our account for 10 days. We did not understand it was never ours in the first place.
With the money out of our account, we were feeling very restricted, so we decided to take $500 from our “no-touch” savings so we could breathe. Again having savings is another blessing from God.
There was no school on Wednesday, so both Leslie and I went to Quimixto. It was Dia de los niños, “children's day,” and Randy and Sandra brought candy for the kids. The majority of the people for the clinic had traveled to Yelapa to get a free vaccination from the Red Cross. Leslie had 2 patients and after treating them, they treated us to some fresh coconut milk at their house. One patient, Carlos is one of the original people in Quimixto. He was born and raised there and has 4 kids still living there. His sister is currently staying with him too. The reason Carlos went to the clinic was because of his Left foot. He has had swelling and pain since last July. Leslie looked at it and recommended he see a doctor immediately. Besides his Left foot, he has a bad right hip and uses crutches. This did not stop him from getting his machete and whacking off the top of the coconut for us. The people here are very hospitable.

Thursday we had school, as usual, only 3 of our 6 students showed up (because of dia de los niños) so we could not do all that we planned. We reviewed the Bedroom and Kitchen, and worked on verbs, then played their favorite game “Bingo”. On our way home I took Leslie to a movie. She likes surprises, and the movie was a good morale boost for both of us. We saw “P.S. I love you”. It was a good story of love, it made both of us cry at certain parts.
Friday, everyone was there at Pan de Vida . Leslie took over the class and I played barber to cut one of the kids’ hair. I ended up cutting two kids’ hair! I talked with Pastor Luis Miguel and plan on painting the Pan de Vida logo on the front of the building... I will have to show the final piece if it works out.
Leslie said the prizes for the cool cash auction went well. The kids originally did not understand how the auction process worked, but with help from one of the parents they caught on by the end. The kids bought all of the prizes and the big winner of dinner at McDonalds is Cecilia. She gets to bring a friend and chooses to take her older sister Brenda. Next week is Mothers day, so we plan on taking them Saturday the 17th before coming up to Washington for the visit.
After school Friday, we hosted dinner for Vera and a guest. Vera has had a new visitor every day since coming home. They all ride in on a bus from the neighborhoods around the dump. It is great for us because we can meet these new people and hear their stories. Anyone who would generalize that the people here are poor because they are lazy, are wrong. Every one we meet wakes up very early in the morning and works long hours to bring home money for the family. The problem with living in a tourist area like Vallarta is they are not paid much, and once the slow season starts they cut workers quickly. We visited with Vera’s friends until 9pm and then gave them a ride to their house in our car so they would not have to take the bus for an hour. When we arrived, the family was waiting and we shook hands with all of their 4 kids.
Saturday I helped Ric pour the cement floor we were going to make when my dad was here. They brought in dirt and we laid the best floor yet. The husband, along with leveling the floor with dirt, placed blocks at key locations to indicate the desired level of cement... This made us use more cement than I think we needed but it will make a very nice surface in the end. We had a long steel beam and using the blocks as pivot points were able to make a smooth and level floor.
Leslie taught class by herself, which ended up being very crazy. The church had made boxes for “dia de los niños” and given them out with balloons. There was a lot of extra noise and the kids could not focus as Leslie tried to teach them the “Fruit of the Spirit” from Galatians 5. Next week we will have to review the same topic.

Today at church, Pastor Ric surprised us with an award for all we have been doing at church and in the community. He gave us a paper certificate and some money to go treat ourselves. In light of loosing the “customer service credit” at the bank, it is great to see new ways of God providing.

Please be praying for Leslie. She did not sleep at all last night due to extreme sinus pressure and pain. It is from her upper jaw to her head. She is uncomfortable and is tired of being so sick. It seems that she has not been completely healthy since March. She has had everything from a sore throat, to swollen glands, to back/hip pain and now these sinuses. She has been handling this very well but we really would like for her to be all better.

Monday and Tuesday of next week we have been invited to two dinners. One is at Dennis and Faye’s to show them the video I have been working on. The other is at Ric and Joy’s with Randy and Sandra. Yeah! Leslie is glad she doesn’t have to cook.

Sorry for such a long entry and no pictures, but this has been a very long week and I had a lot to cover.

God Bless!

Joel and Leslie