Sabado

26 Jan 2013

Saturday is not normally a workday around here, but for those who want to, there are always jobs to do.  Kory got busy right away as he can’t stand sitting still when he is somewhere with the intention of working. 

There is a small camping trailer sitting next to our RV that was donated by someone.  A guy is coming next week to stay in it but last week they had a terrible freeze here and it broke several of the water pipes in the trailer.  Bob asked Kory if he knew how to repair plumbing, so it was Kory’s lucky day.  He just loves solving problems and then improving on the system.  Kaleb helped Kory a bit but we are struggling a little with his attitude today about working, on a Saturday and helping his father is not something he enjoys.

Yvonne gave Kaleb and I walking tour of the property this morning – about 80 acres of the 800 they own is developed.  It’s all very impressive and nice as Mexican standards go – even nice for American standards.  They have two huge conference buildings and a cafeteria that seats 300 people.  Currently they can sleep 300 people, too, so they are set up for the masses.  In the summer they have youth camp so there is a nice swimming pool, basketball court, fenced in soccer field, and a whole baseball field including bleachers.  There are dorms, cabins and duplexes scattered throughout the place and public toilets and showers just where they are needed.  Just like Warm Beach camp, this is sponsored by the Free Methodist denomination but it open for any Christian organization to use.

Bob has single handedly raised the money for almost every building in this place so he’s like the grand master around here.  One of the biggest buildings has his name on it.  What a legacy.

During coffee break this morning all the workers and volunteers sat around and chatted a bit, prayed a bit and talked about the day.  One guy went into the restroom and came out with a baby tarantula he’d just killed.  These are not the kinds of experiences we were thinking of having on this trip, but I’m just glad it wasn’t Kaleb or I that encountered it.  The other creatures in nature are far more entertaining, however, as Yvonne has a bird feeder and the variety of birds is phenomenal.  There is a huge flock of quail that are outside all the time chirping away and this morning just after we got up there were three desert rabbits with the biggest ears I’ve ever seen sitting outside our RV.  I’m waiting to see Road Runners and to hear the coyotes.  The desert certainly has it’s unique qualities.

I think we will all go through internet withdrawls while we are here as the guy who supplies the internet said he saw the usage was WAY up yesterday after we arrived!  We were being so careful and just going on one person at a time, but he told us not to look at any photos online because they use up so much of the resources, but Kory forgot and looked at my photos on Facebook, of all things.  So, I’m having to be the bad guy and just tell the two of them they only have five minutes a day to look at something quickly and get off.  I will only be posting one photo a day on this blog because it also is a usage hog, as we sure don’t want to use up the allotted bits and bytes this guy has paid for and generously allowed other people to use.  He said when his monthly allotment is up, he shuts it off, so we don’t want to contribute to that, either.

I have been able to understand some of the Spanish being spoken around here but I can’t for the life of me conjure up any Spanish words to speak myself.  Everything I want to say just comes out in Norwegian.  It’s so frustrating!  Kory’s doing much better than I.

Kory was able to get all the broken pipes repaired in the trailer by dinnertime – just by using stuff he found in the work shed here.  He’s a McGyver type of guy so he’s good on the mission field for those kinds of things.  They now have him prepping to build two sets of stairs going up to their new conference center building.  I saw several doors with broken hinges and locks that he could work on, too.  I guess he could just move on in here as his handy man skills are invaluable.

Kaleb and I weren’t nearly as productive today as Kory.  There’s a lot of work to do in the conference center but because it’s being used for a retreat this weekend, it’s not accessible.  Yvonne suggested we walk the two-mile nature trail and see about realigning some of the stones that mark the path’s edges, since the rain often washes the stones away.  So Kaleb, Yvonne and I spent a lovely afternoon walking and talking and bending over picking up rocks or scraping our feet along the trail, getting the rocks back in line.  We didn’t see much wildlife as it was the heat of the day, but we sure saw beautiful views of the desert. 

Bob wasn’t feeling well today so I loaned Yvonne my Oil of Oregano drops and some fresh lemon juice and vitamin C that hopefully, combined with prayer, will get him over the hump.  He started coughing last night and didn’t sleep well so he’s pretty punky today.  It rained hard last night so none of us slept all that well.  I had the vent open above our bed and woke up with a wet hip as the rain was just pelting inside the RV.  Too funny.  I had to get up and close all the windows as the strong winds were blowing the rain inside.  I’m sure the desert appreciated all that water, however, so I won’t complain a bit and if we are lucky, before we leave, the desert plants might start to bloom because they got some rain.

The sunset and moonrise were spectacular today.  I’ll have to wait to post photos of them, however, but they touched my soul.  So far, so good.