Day Of Rest...

Hello! This is Steph blogging today on one of the most relaxing days a person could ever have!

So today, after a long day of building, we were allowed to sleep in! After a great breakfast (where Shelly finally started calling Kathleen Kathleen instead of Stephanie), we were able to partake in a Lutheran El Salvadorian church service. Before the service we met with the pastor of the church as well as the female pastor of a local church. We learned about what programs they had at the church and about how much they are starting to grow and prosper. During the service, Rosalie, Shelly, Lynn, and Dewey all had the opportunity to participate in the service by reading passages. After the service was finished, the pastor announced that the money collected during the offering was used to buy dried goods (rice and beans) for families of the community that were in need of help. We helped distributed the goods to the families and to see the gratitude in their eyes was absolutely breathtaking. Then the pastor gave us all a give of a wooden cross that was made from bits of houses that were destroyed in the earthquakes of 2001. The children of the church gave us the necklaces and huge hugs.

After the church service, we went back to the hotel to grab our swimsuits to head to Lake Coatepeque with one of the families we are working with (Ricardo, his wife Lihia, and their six year old daughter Maria Louisa) It was beautiful! We had an amazing lunch at a restaurant on stilts. That was a bit of an experience because it would sway every now and then with the wind. It was kind of funny because on the ride there we were talking about brats for our Packer party tomorrow night and what did we have for lunch? A brat! Well their version of a brat, you get the idea. After lunch we hopped on the boats and rode to a little beach and swam in the lake. It was great to just relax and enjoy the scenery. Katie played with Maria Louisa by the shore because she was a little afraid to go out in the deep water. We all had a blast just joking around and getting to know one another in a more relaxed setting.

Now we are sitting around relaxing all checking emails and enjoying cervazas before dinner. Don't think this is what we do everyday folks! Tomorrow we get back to work, but it is going to be a special day for Diane G and my mom. We work for about a half day and then we are going to the village that they worked at last year to see the family and house they built. It is also World Habitat Day so we are going to be interviewed by the local and national radio stations. Have a great night guys! Thanks for all the support and the messages you have been leaving. We appreciate it mucho! Buenos Noches!