Wednesday

 Day 4 – Feb. 14    Dia de amor y Amistad

Another busy day working alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in Cancun. After a delicious breakfast with scrambled eggs with chorizo, hot corn tortillas and fresh squeezed orange juice (and of course homemade salsas with the daily warning, “this one is picante or hot and this one is not,”) we headed back to the mission to inspect our handiwork…isn’t it interesting that the use of “our” doesn’t mean us, it means all of us…and it isn’t about just our team. We have watched in amazement at the physical strength and the ingenuity of our leaders here. From nonstop shoveling of heavy concrete to the use of a long tube of water as a level to the delicate hand of our mason, David, as he smooths and creates the perfect surface like an artist using his trowel as his palette. Our goal is to finish the concrete on this previously unpaved patio area which will not only be lovely, with a raised garden all around, but will also be safer for the children who play here with reckless abandon. Other heavy labor today involved painting the walls of the second floor and preparing the plastic chairs for repainting. You can imagine how very frugal the people are. Discolored chairs that we would set at the curb without a second thought are washed and sanded and ready to be painted.

The highlight of the day, if not our week, was the Valentines Day party after work at the church. About thirty members were able to attend. It was so much fun. We sang “I’ve Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My heart and they repeated it in Spanish. Another favorite song those of you who have served here will recognize, “Dentro, Dentro de Mi Corazon”. A super fun icebreaker game was led by Pastor Daniel. We had to remember the hand motions if the caller pointed to you and said either “elephant” or “giraffe” and this included the two people to either side of you, as well. If someone missed their cue, they went into the middle. It was so much fun and a great way to learn people’s names. Daniel preaches here once a month and has a lovely wife Jessica and two-year-old daughter, Hannah. His short sermon reminded us that love is action and that loving one another, sacrificing for one another, is not just Jesus’ suggestion to us but is in fact a command. Interesting, and inspiring, too, is their custom of always standing when they read the Bible. We are included as we read alternating verses in Spanish and in English, then in unison for the last verse. Wonderful to learn that here the emphasis for Feb. 14 is on the love God has for each of us.

The party continued with breaking out to make valentine crafts. All those supplies that weighed down our bags were put to good use. Children and adults enjoyed making something together at the craft tables and the language barrier was less of a challenge when you are just sharing glue sticks and markers. It was especially fun to watch how proud the children were of their creations. The night ended with a celebration of member Michelle’s 18th birthday. Hugs for the birthday girl and one of us said, “I’ve been hugged more today than I have been in weeks!” The night ended with pizza for all, a meal with almost universal appeal, but have you ever had shrimp pizza sprinkled with the hottest pepper flakes? Too tired to do a full clean up, all of us headed home with a few tired muscles, including our faces stretched from smiling nonstop.

Tomorrow, another big cement day. And in our cheerleader voices sing out “Si, se puede”, yes we can!