12/03/2011 (posted 17/03/2011)
Had a really poor night's sleep last night.
At one stage I must have been awake for around 45 minutes feeling uncomfortable and restless - my sunburn was also slightly stinging and I felt like I had bugs crawling all over me.
What was funny, however, was Jonny's mid-sleep antics. At one point he shook my arm and asked 'Are you Liset?', and I also heard him talking in Spanish and at one stage praying in his sleep - a bilingual and pious man so he is (another of his Irish expressions).
Once again I didn't wash this morning. I felt I needed the extra half an hour in bed after the poor night's sleep I had. Obviously a morning wash is a lovely tradition which I'll be gratefully continuing when I'm home but our here, it's just not necessary.
The girls were 15 minutes late to the group devotions they were leading but we didn't make too much of it. Team harmony is so important and girls moods go up and down like a yoyo anyway (I'm sure all men reading this are with me on that) so we left it after a little gentle mockery.
Breakfast was once again Hojaldra. I can't get enough of them but I dread to think how many calories are in each one - they're essentially a fried mix of butter, sugar and oil.
We also had banana porridge with it again - no-one likes it but we have to eat everything we're given to avoid being rude so there's no way to subtly hint at the cooks to not repeat certain foods or drinks.
I did my bit by having a glass this morning (I flatly refused to yesterday) and it was foul.
In the morning we hiked for around 45 minutes to another tiny neighbourhood and once again went from house to houswe preaching the Gospel. We saw at least 3 or 4 people accept Christ which was amazing - the one massive downside is that these people can't afford Bibles and neither can the church, so we're worried that our work here will slowly be undone by time. We're going to badger OM into sending some.
While we were there we came across a tree that produced some derivative of apples - they had soft flesh and were tangy and juicy. I felt like a true Panamanian just picking and eating one.
We returned at 1:15 shattered, hungry and dehydrated.
We had some freshly caught fish with a TON of rice - a quite ridiculous amount which I consumed with great gusto before finishing off the portions of some of the girls. I felt very satisfied afterwards.
It's becoming apparent how so many Panamanians have sizeable stomachs despite living on such little money - they have buckets of carb-heavy and sweet foods and drinks with each meal. I arrived in Panama fully expecting to lose some weight due to small portions but if anything I've put on a pound or two from the sheer quantity of rice I've consumed.
I used the afternoon to nap until 4, when we played football against some guys from a neighbouring community. Pastor Envelio said it was important to win, and we trounced them 8-2 despite playing in walking boots.
We had four of us gringos who were so tall compared to them that we easily won every physical tussle - they just bounced off us. We also employed a very Italian direct style of long-ball over the top which, when combined with our superior strength, worked a treat.
They tried to play silky latino football with tricks which just didn't work. We think that at the end they were mocking our style of play for being boring but at the end of the day, we won.
It was absolutely shattering in the blazing heat so we cooled off in the river.
We then led a service at Joel's house which was heavily attended, I think mainly by extended family who are visiting to pay respects to the guy who died a couple of days ago.
Bonnie did her sermon then we did the Jailhouse drama in which we use the song 'Everything' by Lifehouse. I then talked for around 15 minutes, totally unscripted, to explain the drama and I also linked it to the Gospel message and my personal testimony (see a previous blog for this). Making it up on the spot was fun and it went down well so I enjoyed it a lot.
When we returned home it was 9:45 - the service started an hour late to no-one's particular surprise. So I climbed straight into bed and that was that.
JG
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