Caleb & Della: 3/14/14: Day 12: Preachers Meeting

Woke up at 6:00 and ate breakfast. Today we have no idea what is going on; what time does it start, does Hector being sick affect anything…? I called at him at 7:00 and he said to get up there as soon as we can and that the car had broken down again. The only way to get to Hectors now is to take the dreaded bus. As we rounded the corner for the bus station a guy hollered out “run” and motioned for the bus to wait on us. When we got on we paid him our quarters and said we needed to go to El Rosario. It wasn’t too crowded so we were able to find seats. We got to our stop after about 25 minutes and we tried to get off at the front but the driver kept yelling at us; it turns out we were supposed to exit through the rear. Della said that it was a terrible ride but I didn’t think it was so bad. From the intersection at El Rosario we had to walk another 15 minutes to get to Hectors house. As we arrived Hector announced that he had gotten the car working and wanted to drive to our house to get the tables and the hotspot for the internet… I went with Hector and Della stayed. I asked Hector about the plans for Apaneca and when we might be moving there and he said that we would be working here in Ataco for at least two years and that there was already a good effort going at planting a church in Apaneca. After making a few more errands we got back to Hectors about 8:45. I threw together a quick PowerPoint with pictures of Central, Signal Mountain, and Lucky’s church. The preachers meeting started at 9:00. I counted 14 attendances including Franklin, Noé, Carlos, Harrison’s Dad, Ceaser, Osvaldo, Warner, and Fernando. Della was nervous but she gave our introduction in Spanish very well. Lots of plans and dates were discussed and we were well received. The meeting lasted until 12:45 including a 15 minute coffee break with honey bread at 11:00. For lunch “Foot Soup” was served to everyone. The soup was a large serving and the foot was a cow’s hoof. After the meeting Osvaldo’s wife, Luz Elena, and kids arrived. We visited with Ceaser, and Luz Elena, and Franklin until 2:50. Hector left as soon as the meeting was over to go to the doctor. It was great getting to talk to everyone and we managed to make plans to have meals at our house or theirs for all that we could. We then rode the bus back to our house with Franklin helping us. This ride wasn’t nearly as stressful. We got back to the house at 4:00 and were tired so we tried to take a nap. At 4:15 Rachael called and said the teen meeting was now going to be in Shucutitan and we needed to take the bus back again as soon as possible. The thought of a third bus ride in one day stressed Della to the max so I went without her. I got there about 5:15 and Jenny (Rachel’s mom) had just arrived and she presented me with a big jar of peanut butter. I thanked her and then walked with Carlos and mini Carlos (age 11) walked to Edgardo’s house for the teen meeting. As we walked, mini Carlos insisted on carrying my backpack and we talked about zombies. Carlos gave a lesson about Cain and Able. After the lesson he brought out some art supplies and teamed us up in pairs. My teammate was Javier’s sister Paola (age 5) and our project was origami birds and a frog on a pond. The meeting lasted until 7:00 and then we walked back to Hector’s house. Manuel was there with an 11 month chocolate lab and was trying to give it to Hector. Osvaldo was there and he said that if Hector didn’t want it that I could have it. I laughed and made a motion of Della stabbing with a knife and Osvaldo asked “you or the dog?” and I said both. Then we all ate delicious burritos while the dog tried to choke himself on the post he was tied to while whimpering like crazy. Osvaldo drove me home with mini Carlos, Carlos, Luz Elena and his kids. When we got to our house around 9:00 and they all came in and we all talked for a bit and mini Carlos asked if he could come over and spend some time hanging out with me tomorrow. Woot, time for bed.