Today was a tough day for us. We did a lot of walking and a lot of sweating. But first we went to the Sunday market in Berlin. I always enjoy walking around the market in Berlin. Sunday is the main market day here in Berlin. It’s when people from the surrounding cantons come into town to buy and sell things. People from Berlin set up their stalls inside a big building. You can buy almost anything you want at the market (within reason): food, clothes, shoes, medicine, jewelry, makeup, cooking supplies, etc. It’s always an adventure exploring the market in Berlin.
Lots of fruit
We headed off for San Francisco around 8:15am. But
first we stopped to pick up the 2 police officers. They were different from the
ones who accompanied us yesterday; one woman and one man. They were incredibly
friendly and pretty silly as well. We met up with several people from the
community at the church and then began our door-to-door deliveries and census. This
morning we were walking to the caserío of Los Jimenez in San Francisco.
Just like yesterday, all of the families were
incredibly nice. Everyone greeted us warmly with handshakes or hugs. They were
appreciative of the gifts we brought but even more appreciative that we made
the walk to their house to get to know them as a family. At some of the houses,
only a couple family members were present. This is typical any time you go
door-to-door. People might be at the marktet, kids might be playing with
friends somewhere, and the boys and men might be in the fields working on their
crops. So we talk with and take of picture of whatever family members are
present.
Maggy, amazing woman that she is, made it to most
of the houses with us today. There were a couple times she stayed behind with
one of the police officers. But they hit if off great and were able to
communicate and goof around. I recognized even more families today than
yesterday. I stayed a couple extra minutes with the families I knew well so we
could chat. It was wonderful to see them again even if it was for only a short
while.
Back in the truck we go
Picking up the police
Adorable!
Nice picture!
Water filter in use
Riding a horse and carrying a baby
Pushing Maggy up the hill
Beautiful!
Having fun
Baby coffee plants
Cool spider web
Climbing down using the cross
Maggy in the police officer's hat
(he put it on her)
Giant passionfruit
Chasing Maggy up the hill
Accompanying Maggy down the road
Walking back down from a house
What a view
With one of my friends from San Francisco
Veronica and her father
This woman lost her 12-year old daughter
about three years ago.
Giving Michelle a kiss
Giving Katherine a kiss
Adorable family
President of the Directiva and his wife
A "store" in someone's home
An oven for baking
A stove for cooking
This 85-year old man lives alone
We spent more time talking to him
With two lovely ladies
Greeting another man
Walking through a coffee farm
He didn't want to look at the camera
Papaya
Ready for Christmas
Dishes drying
The side of someone's house
Brothers
Reading the card
67 year old husband and 23 year old wife
And their two children
Handing off a package
Cuties!
Poinsettia
Noni fruit
Drawing on someone's house
A gift from Westminster several years ago
Saying goodbye
By the time lunch came around we were very hungry! I
was ready to devour anything they put in front of me. Lunch was rice, pipian
(kind of squash), 2 hamburgers, and tortillas. I ate everything and then
debated eating a 3rd tortilla. But I decided it would probably be
best to stop at 2. When lunch was over we were completely stuffed and ready for
a nap. However, taking a nap in a hammock was not in the cards. Even though it
would have been heavenly!
Almuerzo
In the afternoon we were visiting the caserío of Los Rosales in San Francisco. Though we only had 7 packages to deliver we were told that the walk was going to be very long. And the walk was indeed very, very long. Maggy stayed behind with her new police friend and chatted with some kids as well. Michelle, Katherine, and I plowed down the side of the mountain with the Pastoral Team and members of the community. Though no one actually fell down, several people came close. I know I slipped a couple times.
The families we visited were equally as welcoming as all the others. Most were even more grateful because they knew we’d made the trip down just to see them. I have to say that the trip down was definitely worth it, not only to see the families, but also because it provided us with some humility. And it’s always good to be reminded that most of the world lives in circumstances much worse than us.
After delivering all the packages it was time to make our way back up the hill. And let me tell you, it was INSANE!! Whoever said walking wasn’t a cardiovascular workout clearly has never walked this hill. I think my heart was beating about 200 beats per minute. By the time we reached the top everyone was sweating, red in the face, and very out of breath. But it was totally worth it!
Getting ready to make the long walk
Down they go
Bamboo
Cooking tamales. She gave us several!
Pretending to be asleep
With a beautiful older woman.
She also had blue eyes.
The cute couple
The man walked with us all day
Making our way back up the hill
Maggy making more friends
Another friend
We look pretty good considering we almost died
Meandering around
We finally got back to the church around 2:30pm. We
were exhausted when we finally sat down. Thankfully, the lovely ladies of San
Francisco had made us coffee and brought pan dulce as well. We hungrily ate the
sweets and drank the coffee. Then it was time to head back to Berlin.
We need coffee!
Kissing my bird, Chiquita
With my little friends
The origami they made me
Dinner
Computers and iPads by candlelight
1 comment:
The pictures of the market are terrific. It's great that you got to see and visit with so many people that you knew.
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