June 18, Sunday

We slept fairly well. The electricity – and the fans - stayed on all night! At 7:30 a.m., the temperature in our room was 80°. We also had water pressure for showers! Not as much as we would have at home, but it was enough to get cleaned up and cooled off!

We went to church after breakfast. Juanita was the first to greet us – she is such a caring, enthusiastic woman! Josi and Pastor Miguel were also very glad to greet us. We visited with lots of people before the service. Pastor Miguel was very impressed with Vonda, Casey and Jenny for their command of Spanish. He said that he would speak slowly, so we could hear Spanish well and understand more. We were rather surprised that his sermon warned against the corruption that can come from some television shows, web sites, etc.

We had lunch afterwards at a restaurant about 30 minutes from the church. Though we were seated in the outdoor pavilion, the temperature was 101°. The food was very good, but I was much too hot to eat much. I drank LOTS of water – it was nice and cold, and I was feeling dehydrated. After lunch, several of us moved to an area under the trees. It felt much better, even thought was still 95-97°, because there was more breeze.

We went back to the camp for a while to rest. I didn’t sleep, but it sure felt good to lie down with the fan blowing on me. Electricity is a marvelous thing!

After resting a bit, we went to the church again for the welcoming ceremony. Fortunately, someone decided it was too warm in the church, and put chairs outside for all of us to sit on. Each of the members and officers of the neighborhood association introduced themselves, and said something about how happy they were to see us, and that they hoped our relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ would continue to grow. We each introduced ourselves then, and said something about being happy to be here. Brandon brought down the house, though. He said: “Mi nombre es QuiQui” and followed with a sentence or two in Spanish, and then switched to English. Neither Victor nor Martires could translate for him. Martires said that he was still getting over the name “QuiQui”. Later, Brandon told us that was the name his Spanish teacher had given him for class time. (I think I might have transferred to another class!)

We visited for a while after the ceremony, then went back to the camp A few showered before supper. Some of us helped get supper set up. We had a fun time at supper, and Martires gave a brief orientation talk. He didn’t have to say much, as we’ve all been on at least one previous team to Los Botados. After supper, more showers, and early to bed. There was a heavy downpour, so it was a little cooler.

I was feeling weak and tired, so I opted to shower in the morning. The fan stayed on all night again!