Friday, July 16, 2010

Blessed!

Craig has officially survived his time time running the school by himself. Our friends have returned from the states and he can take a deep breath. I have to say that things went amazingly smoothly. He did a great job and had bit of fun with it to.
On Wednesdays they only have school for a half day and they have the afternoon off. So this last Wednesday Craig decided to take the students out to lunch to bless them and thank them for helping him through these few weeks. He had them pile in the back of the truck and took them out to Burger King (not a favorite of Craig's but a special treat for the boys that they LOVE!). After that he decided that they should have some fun and go down to the lake for a swim. He brought them all to our house to get shorts for them to wear because they were all in their work clothes and then of they went. They had so much fun. They swam for several hours. What a blessing it was to see them so happy and having som much fun just being teenage boys!
Well the next day Craig went to work and a couple of the boys asked Craig if he wanted a chicken. They wanted to give him a chicken to say thank you. So Craig said sure and off they went. One of the boys ran back to his house and came back carrying a live chicken. Craig was surprised because this was not exactly what he was expecting. Then they asked if he wanted it alive or dead. Thankfully Craig said dead (probably because he knew what kind of response he would have gotten from me had he brought home a live chicken). So they killed it and cleaned it up to send it home with him. They were so proud of this nice big chicken that they were giving us (probably the skinniest chicken I had ever seen but big for them). We both felt so blessed that they wanted to bless and share what they had with us. They had a chicken so that is what they gave, and it sounds like it was one of their bigger chickens which touches my heart even more. Part of me wanted to give the chicken back because I know they need it more than we do but I knew that this was something that they wanted to do, and it made them happy. Through giving everyone is blessed, the giver and the receiver!

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Common Sights

"Tuk Tuks" - they are 3 wheeled taxis. There are probably more of them then there are cars. They are everywhere.

It is very common to see families with little kids, even infants riding motorcyles. It is very rare to see them wearing helmets.

Little stands like this are everywhere in the afternoon and evening. This one is selling tostadas and juice.

Everybody has clothes hanging up to dry. Dryers are rare because it costs a lot for electricity here.

Launcha-these are water taxis. We have ridden them several times to get to different parts of the lake. The kids love riding them.

Tamales- They are wrapped and then cooked in these huge banana leaves. There are several different dishes that they prepare and cook like this. Craig and I haven't been able to figure out the difference between them though. They walk the streets with 5 gallon buckets full of these to sell to people.

Fried Plantains-many people eat these every day. They are very sweet.

A boy and his dad out fishing in their boat.

Bike Cart- this one is selling chips and other snacks

Bike Cart - this one is selling something similar to snow cones