Monday the13th

Monday the 13th I woke up to the alarm this morning at 6:45. It was cloudy and hazy and that about describes my state of mind and body. Got down to breakfast and made my oatmeal in the new found microwave. Kids were to come early but not everyone got the word so they filtered in slowly. We had some basketballs out for the early ones and got a couple of games of 4 squares going. Got in and started working on our puppet plays for the smaller children and then went to opening exercises and had our lesson on Peter’s denial and restoration. Then after snack we went back to work on our scripts until lunch. Lunch was shorter today but I still had time for a nap. The room had been stripped so I used a tee shirt for a pillow case and napped on the bed cover. After awaking the second time today by the alarm I got the second shower with no shower curtain or towels. I had brought a couple of wash clothes which sufficed as a towel.
We had a special guest today for the two older classes. She was a puppeteer and did a lesson on puppets and started the kids on a project to do a puppet play for the rest of the kids later in the week. We went outside for a few calisthenics and a game of capture the flag. We came back in for Bible memory and closing exercises to finish the day. While the kids were waiting for their parents I we got them building some human pyramids and other games.
Back in the room the bed was perfectly made and new towels were neatly stacked on the foot of the bed. The bathroom was spotless and the toilet had been repaired.
Tonight we went to Silas’ house for dinner. It was a short walk from our compound. Some of us decided to walk but when we arrived at our gate the guard was on his rounds turning on all the outside lights on the buildings. Barb buzzed us out when the van arrived but they had to wait for the guard to return. As we walked in the opposite direction from the Center we passed three large concrete houses. None appeared to be finished but were in various stages of construction. On our return I did notice lights on the first floor of one of them but could not tell if it was actually occupied. The road was gravel or maybe I should say red clay and it only took a few minutes to catch up with the van. When the gate opened at Silas’ house we were warmly greeted as we entered a slanted courtyard with several attention getters. To the right was a huge mound of earth that rose to a height of 10 or 15 feet under a metal shed roof extending from a building higher up the slope. It had an iron door on the front near the bottom. We learned that this was a homemade oven for his bread baking business. The building we visited later to find it had a large number of loaves of bread set out on tables. We learned that the cinnamon rolls we had Sunday came from this oven. Across the yard from the oven was a huge pan near an open fire. This is used to make batches of a kind of donut each morning. Other artifacts included some chairs and an automobile.
Silas used to be a chef in the Center but now has several businesses in which he endeavors to hire impoverished young men and teach them skills. One business is a catering business which is used by many of the SIL folks who enjoyed his cooking in the Center. He has recently participated in the Joni Erickson campaign to provide wheel chairs to people in third world countries who need them. In working with this campaign he learned of a woman with twins whose condition prevented her from being able to care for them. As an act of kindness Silas and his wife Mary took them in even though Mary already had a tiny infant and several other children. The boys who work with Silas also stay with him.
Entering the home we found ourselves in a long room with couches lining both walls. There was a coffee table and several smaller tables up against the couches. Some plates were piled on the coffee table along with silverware and napkins. Once we were seated and the conversation was rolling the food started arriving severed by the children until the coffee table could contain no more. Several of the smaller tables were moved to the center to hold additional pans full of food. On the menu was rice, fish in a broth the color of soy sauce, coos coos (called foo foo here), a collard greens type veggie which was I believe water pumpkin leaves, a stew of chicken and carrots and beans and potatoes that was spicy and delicious as were all the other dishes. I was so full I missed one of the orange root vegetable dishes. The beverage was one made from hibiscus petals and is supposed to be very healthy. I had a drink prepared with a similar fashion in Mexico.
Silas shared with us some of his background in the villages and some of the religious trends. He also shared about his work with Joni in the Wheels for the World project. We closed the evening inspired to pray for Silas and his family and for God’s blessing on his ministry. We formed a circle holding hands and several of us did exactly that.