our day...

 I am at home with Abigail and Carolyn.  I told the girls we could watch a movie after they finished their bath, and Carolyn asked to watch "Jesus" (we recently got the movie "Magdalena", which tells the story of Jesus from the perspective of Mary Magdalene).  We have been joined by two young ladies and their older brother, our neighbors.  I smile inwardly as they sit, captivated by the words of Jesus.  Even spoken by an actor, these words have a peculiar power.

The girls have gotten bored with the dialogue, and are rough housing together. 

Alex is out this evening, meeting with a local Wounaan family.  They are relatives of his, on his dad's side, part of the Cabezon family.  They asked him to come and pray with their family about a conflict they had with the church.  Alex doesn't know the details of their history, but hopes to be a tool of reconciliation in their midst.

We visited their house two days ago.  At the door sat three men, carving tagua nuts to sell to tourists. This is how most of the Wounaan men in this area spend their time.  They invest hours each day carving both cocobolo wood, and tague nuts.  Each intricate tagua carving will be sold for about $5 to a middle man, unless they can find a direct buyer.

Their simple cement home has been built slowly, by their own hands.  The roof is stuck on haphazardly, waiting to be properly installed once they sell more tagua carvings.  Several children run in and out of the house.  As Alex and the man of the house chat, our hostess prepares "hojaldras", or fried bread. They have invited us to eat with them. From my observation, it's seems like eating together is the glue that holds Wounaan friendships together. I am honored by the invitation, thankful for God's provision, and humbled because I know that this family has barely enough to eat.

They serve us the hojaldras, with fried Spam and strong coffee.  The girls make short work of our dinner and spend the rest of the evening running around their living room with the other children.  Soon we say good bye and walk home.

As I am writing, the movie is ending, and it's almost time to put the girls to bed.  I pray that Alex's meeting has gone well.  Tomorrow is another day.