6/15
Sunday, my first opportunity to meet with the whole church. I awoke and had breakfast with the family and then went to church. Alma Rosa and Jonathan came with us. A few cultural notes: we stand during all the songs, we sing all of the verses, we stand to be served communion, and are seated after receiving the cup. It was good to be in a congregation again, especially after hearing about a number of the brethren who came on Saturday because it was a 4 hour trip one way. Another family came from an hour away. It is truly inspiring to see the dedication in these people. Many couldn’t join us because many of the taxis and bus weren’t running due to protests and blockades put up on the streets by a disgruntled teachers organization.
After service Latisha informed me that I would be teaching the younger kids (about 6 of them). So I was at easy among my peer group the 7-13 year olds. We introduced ourselves, made our favorite animal out of play-dough and I read the opening act of Joseph’s story in Exodus.
I met up with Miguel and Pedro after class and they invited me to spend the afternoon with them. I accepted and went to Santo Domingo, a cathedral, which is quite impressive with the amount of gold-work done on the ceiling and various altars. There is a historic convent next door that we toured. It was very large, having a huge courtyard and garden. We went and bought pollo asado (grilled chicken) and took it to their house to have lunch. We dined and chatted about different things. They discovered I had never watched lucha libre (except for Nacho), so after seeing Spain dismantle New Zealand (5 to 0) Lucha Libre came on and we watched a bit. Miguel brought out his guitar and taught me the notes for a Beatles song it goes dum, dum-da-da-da-da, da, da, dum da da, repeat. You know the one. We listened to a bit of his music library and then I got to meet his uncle Felix. Felix make barro which is a type of pottery. He is a Christian and his sister (Miguel and Pedro’s mother) was converted by seeing the change in Felix’s life after he was baptized. He was making cups on the potter’s wheel, and he was very skilled. He could throw down 7 cups in 5 minutes. It was so impressive to watch his fingers mold and shape the clay with just a nuance of a touch. We talked a good bit about the church and its internal administration. He seemed like a very kind hearted man as he was very gently spoken.
Pedro is a salsa dancer. Pedro is a skilled salsa dancer. Pedro is an award-winning-competition-dominating-don-suave of a salsa dancer. I say all of this and I haven’t seen him dance one step, but I have seen his trophies. I say all of that to say that he invited me to go to a class with him on Monday nights. I am very interested to soak up some real Latin culture through this experience. I left their home returning to Gerardo’s where his family met me and took me to McDonald’s (because I’m American right? It’s what we live on). We came back home and I was informed to pack my bag because Jorge was going to come pick me up since I am to go to the beach with him and his family (those who are visiting from the States) and we want to leave early in the morning. So I packed my bag and watched the Magic become so less Magical.
Made it to Jorge’s house where I used Aaron as a weight to do some exercises in the backyard, showered, went to bed.
Note: I really enjoy the relationship I am cultivating with Jonathan; he’s a good kid, with a good heart. He’s young but I hope to set a good example for him and be an encouragement to him and his family.
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