Monday, Oct 11, 2010

Painting and a Termite Nest

Up not quite as early this morning. Coffee and conversation amongst the team while I prepared a devotion for the morning. Jervis arrived about 7 and we conducted morning devotions. Ken asked that we progress through the week could we please spend some time sharing our testimonies.

The morning meal was prepared and delivered by Melissa and company and we enjoyed delicious breakfast burritos wrapped in soft taco shells. And it was very good.

Shortly, we traveled the short distance to the work site and met with Garrett, one of the interns, who was our boss for the day. Initially, I wondered if Garrett would be able to deal with all the questions he was getting, but in not too long a time, he had us all painting walls and ceiling beams.

Sorry, not able to post pictures at this time....maybe later!!!

The day was filled with painting, joking and singing. Some of the team found that the acoustics of the building made them into incredible singers…at least that’s what they thought! Gary and Jacob did their best impression of Johnny Cash Live. We were joined later in the day by Melissa making her first ever visit to the job site during a day of work. She is usually occupied meal preparation, parenting and administration. I enjoyed a rare opportunity to talk casually with Melissa as we worked in one of the rooms painting trim. She is an engaging and focused woman with a passion for serving the Lord that burns fiercely.

Jacob took me out into the field to show me some of the compound, particularly the outhouse. I was to find out later in the day a truth about this outhouse. I needed to visit the outhouse later and when I opened the door and found a incredible patchwork of spider webs; and on the wall behind the webs, a brown mass of undetermined origin. The mass was about 18 inches and oval shaped.

Even though there are restroom facilities in the new building, I was glad that Jacob had shown me the outhouse as otherwise I’d have never found the termite nest. When I told Gary about it, he asked me to show him where. He told me that if I’m ever lost in the jungle, a termite nest can be burned during the night to keep bugs away. I also learned that if you have foot fungus, the smoke from the burning will cure the fungus. And, if you put the nest in the water, shrimp will crawl in to eat the termites and become trapped and then you have dinner!

Gary didn’t hesitate a bit. He walked to the nest and tried to pull it off the wall. It did not come loose, so he got a machete and pried it off. Then we went to the field and set it on fire. Thousands upon thousands of termites came out of the next. I’m told that sometime scorpions are in the nests eating termites.

We were all very tired and hot and sweaty by the end of the day and were thankful for warm water and clean clothes. A delicious meal was served again and then the team, two interns and Jervis met for our evening debriefing session. After sharing our high and low points for the day, Jacob shared his testimony.

We made a late, quick trip to town to the internet café to post this blog, but both cafes were closed. I enjoyed a wonderful ride with Jervis, listening to more of his vision and passion for Laugh Out Loud..