07.24 Tuesday - Leaving the jungle

Maria Morelos, La Ventana, Misol-ha, PalenqueEach day has been so good that I keep thinking the next day won't be able to top the day before. So far that has not been the case. This day began with the usual crowing of the roosters, and then most of our team made our way down the road to watch the sunrise around 6:30. It was just beautiful. A couple hundred pictures later, we found a trail on the side of the road that went down the side of the mountain into the jungle and we went exploring. We passed banana trees, coffee plants, corn stalks planted on steep slopes, giant trees, and an occasional villager heading into the jungle with their machete.After returning home covered in mud, we  packed and said "adios" to our sweet host family (Bernardino and Eunice) who cried when we left. The next village we went to was La Ventana. It was way up on a mountain, which we realized after Chris, Kyle, Rose and I  got out of the van and decided to run the remaining 2 miles. We ended up walking part of it because it was so steep.  At La Ventana we held another children's program while the medical team worked in the clinic. These people spoke less Spanish than some of the other villages we've gone to, so instead of just translating from English to Spanish, we also used Ema, the little girl from our host home, to translate from Spanish to Ch'ol. Most of the children were girls and they were very enthusiastic and fun to practice our Spanish on. We had a great soccer game going  (or "futbol" as they call it here).After leaving La Ventana it was time to head out of the jungle after 5 wonderful days, and we drove to Misol-ha where there is a very large waterfall and a pool of water you can swim in. There was a cave behind the waterfall that we also went swimming in. By this time we were thoroughly exhausted from our full day and we piled into the van and drove to Palenque where we are staying at a nice hotel. The day ended by eating at a Mexican/Italian restaurant, enjoying warm showers (instead of cold bucket baths), a toilet that flushes, and real beds.In closing, Psalm 106:1-2 says, "Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His loving kindness is everlasting."  I am so grateful to the Lord for giving us such a wonderful first trip into the jungle and for the precious people we met.Adios,Julianna