Today started later than other days. We managed to sleep in to about 8 AM (we've been getting up every day at 6 but today is not a work day). When we got to Jen's house at 9 we heard the news that Dave is still not well, and in fact had taken a turn for the worse. Jen said she'd stay at the house until the doctor got there, and we would go on to the beach without her and she would catch up to us. She wrote a note for Adan and gave me some money to buy lunch for everyone.
Before our devotion we went upstairs to pray over Dave and then we sang “The Lord Bless you and Keep You.” This has been our rally cry on this trip. When we sang it at the church the other night, the villagers were very moved. Our prayer this morning was that God would touch Dave with his healing hand and put him back on his feet.
Our devotion this morning was given by Shawn Gross and was based on 2 Corinthians 12 – When I am weak, then I am strong. She also talked about 1 Corinthians 13, agape love. The love we have felt from the villagers this week has been incredible. Everyone has given freely of everything they have in order to make us feel welcome and comfortable. Everyone has been amazing, and we've felt the love of God like never before.
We went up to the church where we could see the work that was completed when we went to Martinez yesterday. The footers and retaining wall for the altar have been poured. There is an asymmetry to the sanctuary but it seems only fitting. After all, the love God has for us is so much greater than the love we have for Him. In this, our relationship is asymmetrical, just like the sanctuary of el templo.
About 10:30 we piled into several trucks to go to la playa – the beach. The drive from La Palmilla to the beach is about an hour. On the way we stopped at Martinez de la Torre for chickens. We estimated 5 people per chicken so 14 chickens for 70 people. We got 4 with no chile, 5 with chiltepin (very spicy), and 5 with barbeque. Then we went on to the beach.
San Rafael is the last little town we hit before the beach. It was originally settled by the French. It's a smaller town than Martinez or Tlapacoyan but it has a certain European charm to it – stucco buildings, statues, fountains, everything you'd expect in an old European city, yet with a Mexican undercurrent to it. The shore area looks like a shore area – lots of hotels and restaurants, lots of recreation areas, lots of people out trying to make money from the tourists. When we got to the beach we settled in a cabana on the beach with a thatched palm roof and several hamacas (hammocks). The hamaca is my favorite place to lie down. It's open and breezy and very relaxing. At our host family's house they have two hamacas and I found it best to lie there when we were resting after desayuno (breakfast).
The sand was very hot. It's darker than the sand at the Jersey shore and it burns your feet so you either have to run across the sand or wear your sandals down to the water. Some of us waded and some swam, while a few of the guys from the village went fishing. Fishing is different here – they use a large net with weights on it to trap the fish and scoop them up. However, after early success they didn't catch many fish.
There were vendors everywhere selling trinkets – little carved birds, bracelets, shell sculptures, and my favorite – hamacas! Eric wanted to buy a hammock but they were 150 pesos and he only had 100 so the guy said OK, 100. Then he sold them to everyone for 100. So I got my hamaca. I know just where it's going when we get home, too.
The chicken was fantastic. I'm all about the picante so I took the chiltepin which also came with roasted jalapeños, onions and cactus. It was so delicious, roasted on the fire and falling off the bone.
We stayed on the beach until about 5 and then we headed back to La Palmilla for a farewell service at the church. We got to the church at 7 (most of us, anyway... we got off to a late start but that's fairly normal here!) and the service began in earnest. Their services are always well-attended but tonight we had people in the overflow and out the back door, all waiting to say Adios to La Caravana. A few of us got up and gave a short testimony about what we experienced on our trip, translated by Jennifer. We spoke of the incredible love of the villagers, and of the amazing way they showed their gratitude for us. We each feel like we received more than we gave while we were here.
After our testimony and a sermon we heard from Adan from the building committee. He presented us with receipts for the materials and services they purchased with the money we brought down – 120,000 pesos. Afterward the praise band asked us to play a couple more songs and we played a couple easy songs we all know. Our favorite part was when we taught the church how to do “Allelu allelu allelu allelujah – Praise ye the Lord.” Everyone enjoyed the standing up and sitting down. It was fun.
We finished with communion, which in Spanish is slightly different format than we're used to but includes all the same elements, confession, prayer, and sharing the body and blood of Jesus. Afterward we lined up outside and said goodbye to each of the villagers as they walked by, while they each said to us “Dios los bendiga” - God bless you all. All in all the service lasted three hours. It was very moving.
It was tough for each of us to say goodbye to our host families. For me, over cena with Damian and Doris, I found it hard to put my feelings into words, especially in Spanish. But I finally offered this sentiment, which I believe is shared by us all: “Yo regreso a Estados Unidos, pero mi corazón esta aqui.” I return to the United States, but my heart is here.
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