Three-Ring Circus
Wednesday, Aug. 19th
Here comes the three-ring circus run by your favorite mission team in Chiapas! In ring one, we have the team girls continuing with another installment of the kids' program for the children of Tortuguero. Today's topic is wisdom. That's where all those cool crowns come in (wisdom is like a crown).
And in ring two, we have the guys hard at work building Joel's house. It's great that he's going to be living out here full time as a missionary to his own people. It's also good to see all that hard work planing wood and building door and window casings coming together in something that actually looks like a house!And in ring three, we have a bit of a slow start. Originally, the plan was that a doctor and his family were going to join us to put on a medical clinic. Unfortunately, his car broke down and he will not be able to make it. Joel has some medical knowledge, and we had people who had walked for miles to see a doctor, so Joel did what he could for them. 
He needed a bit of help, though, so Katie and I jumped in and stayed busy running back and forth across the field between the clinic, the church (where the kids' program was taking place), and the supplies in the trailer. We also had fun trying to figure out how to be the "receptionists" for a clinic at which no one spoke English and some people didn't even speak Spanish.
Act II - After lunch, we all piled into the vehicles and drove the 30 minutes or so to Punta Brava. With the guys' help, we put on another kids' program in this cute little oven... I mean church. The kids here are great to work with and the parents often watch through doors and windows. Even a bunch of older teens want to take part in the lessons.Act III - A few people needed to have their water filters serviced. Somehow my group ended up without a translator. I had fun trying to explain in Spanish why we were putting a hole in one of the buckets (it was to let the air escape) and that the filter could be gently cleaned with a tooth brush. I think they understood and they were grateful for the help.Act IV - Nope, this day isn't over yet! The church requested an evening service. Nathan provided the preaching and we helped him out as we could with songs and testimonies.After a full, busy, wonderful day of hot, sticky ministry in the jungle the tired team hit the hammocks. We'll be back with more tomorrow!Elizabeth, for Team Chiapas
Gabby working with the kids in Tortuguero
Daniel telling the crayon-chewing story to illustrate forgiveness.
