Escapades in El Salvador, Day Tres: Why don't Pinatas glow in the dark?

Wednesday seemed to fly by really fast. While it doesn't seem like we did a whole heaping ton, it was actually a relatively busy day. Our big project for the day was to knock out the painting of the church. After our good, as normal, breakfast, the painting crew headed towards the iglesia to finish our given task. The awesome part was that we had come up with a couple of additional rollers so more people could participate in the painting. I took up residence on the wall that I had been working on most of the day on Tuesday with the goal of getting it done quickly and efficiently. As we worked away, little Tania wandered in and began asking us for dulce (candy). We had given candy out to the kids the previous evening as part of the VBS and she knew that we still had the bags in there somewhere. I'm kind of a sucker when it comes to that so I happily gave her a few pieces. As soon as she left, we had more kids begin to wander inside and ask for candy. It was here that we learned one of the more difficult things you can do is say "No mas" to Spanish speaking kids begging for candy; especially when they're cute! Seriously, try it sometime. After a while, Rosita came in and was just hanging out. She was pretty interested in doing some painting so I gave her a roller and watched carefully for a bit as she began painting. It was definitely fun to see one of the kids taking ownership of the project alongside us and having fun in doing so.

After we completed our first coat of paint, we headed to the kitchen for our lunch. Before we had come, the orphanage had been feeding a pig on site. They butchered the pig prior to our arrival so there was plenty of fresh pork around. Therefore, Milena made some awesome pork ribs for lunch. They were definitely very tender and seasoned well. Just when we thought our meal was completed, Milena delivered a banana split to each of us for dessert. It was definitely a great surprise and much appreciated due to the heat of the day.  One of the highlights of the lunch hour had to be the pepper eating contest between Leah and Daniel. There are these crazy, hot peppers that are on the table for each meal. The juice from them is pretty much only used to spice up food a little and they are rarely consumed. Entertainingly enough, the two of them decided to see who could eat the peppers and go the longest without water. Leah swallowed hers right away after eating while Daniel continued chewing on it. Unfortunately the peppers get hotter the more that you chew so it was entertaining to watch his desperate attempts to drink enough water to get the heat out of his mouth!

After we completed our lunch, we played with the kids for a couple of minutes before our painting crew headed back into the church to put on a second coat of paint. I had another embarrassing moment here when I stepped outside to fill my paint tray. I didn't realize that there was wet paint on the newspaper that we had been pouring on. Therefore, when I poured and walked back in the church, I noticed that yellow paint droplets had fallen from the bottom of my tray onto the white tile floor. I really didn't want to be "that guy" who makes the mess. It was easily fixed with a little bit of water, a hard brush, and a little scrubbing though so no worries. For another mission project, we had donated the money for a sidewalk to be built from the boys' house down the hill to where the other buildings were located. Remar workers began pouring the sidewalk today so it's always fun to watch the process of mixing up fresh cement for the sidewalk. It definitely makes a person appreciate the novelty of Quikrete in the States.

After completing painting, it was time for our team to prepare for church services and VBS. This evening, Daniel shared the parable of the Prodigal Son with the kids. The kids seemed to still be having trouble paying attention so we will need to rework things for Thursday evening potentially. Kalynn and Perri shared their testimonies with the group as well and Valmori led the kids in music. After that, we had the kids make their own friendship bracelets using beads. After the kids finished their bracelets, Daniel was going to hand them out candy. When the kids saw him get the bag out, they swarmed all around him and seemingly began to maul him as Daniel screamed "one at a time." The bag finally exploded everywhere and kids started grabbing all of the candy that they could find. All that was left when it was done was a laughing Daniel with an empty bag of candy.

After church, we went to the kitchen for our dinner. Tonight, we got quesadillas and french fries. I really feel spoiled by the great food that we're getting just because I know that food like this normally isn't prepared at the orphanage. As we ate, Matt began looking through pictures from his past trips to El Salvador. He found a picture from the first ever Northland trip to El Salvador and shared it with Antonio. The picture was of them all standing on the undeveloped ground where the orphanage now sits. Antonio began reminiscing about how Milena had told him that he shouldn't share his dream for the orphanage with the original team because they would think he was crazy. It's interesting to see how Antonio's vision came to pass despite the obstacles that were there. It's definitely a God thing.

After dinner, we changed into play clothes and came back out to play with the kids. We had brought glow sticks for the kids to enjoy in the dark. After the kids tired of pretend lightsaber battles, we split off into pairs consisting of an American and one of the kids at played hide-and-seek. I split off with Elias and Waltercito and was having fun. At one point, I was hiding next to a school bus and heard the seekers getting close and decided I needed to take better cover so began to run. I  hit a loose piece of gravel and went down onto my cut knee from yesterday. As I looked down at it, I  saw that it was bleeding again. After immediately being found, I went to sit down in the courtyard so I could look at it under the lights. I  had little Tania come up to me, point to my knee, and say "Oopsie Daisy." Truer words have  never been spoken.  ;)

Thanks to Kendell for being brave enough to snap a photo of the knee wound.