SCPC - Living Waters Mission to Mexico

Monday

2010-08-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the church in the morning, and as we were getting out of our car, we saw a boy riding a bike carrying a live turkey in a bag.

Amy asked “Is that lunch?” He said it was. I tried to honor the turkey for his or her approaching sacrifice and went on my way.

Later, we discovered that that turkey was indeed lunch, but not that boy’s lunch. It was our lunch!

Poor little guy. The soup wasn’t quite as good today because I had become friends with the main ingredient.

The installation team kept working on the system all day today, while the education team and their crew of young women decorated the church for the evening celebration.

Guess what? Today was hotter than ever!

We had running clean water by the time our celebration occurred, and the church was pretty. The girls had done a nice job making it look festive inside and out.

Brent draws the first fill:

Cheryl and three students take a break from decorating:

Feeling good about our progress, we took a little time to have some fun!

Jerry impresses the girls with his limbo abilities:

Tod and Jim join an impromptu volleyball circle:

Brent and Freddie discuss their interpretations of scripture:

We zipped back to the hotel to prepare for the ceremony, eat, change clothes, etc, then headed back out to town to join the party!

During the ceremony, we presented the local church with a banner and a bible, brought out some clean water and raised glasses in front of the congregation, and praised God for the opportunity to do this work and meet such wonderful people.

We finally got our chance to sing Seek Ye First in front of the crowd, and thanks to a little practice together earlier, it actually sounded pretty good!

All the local education students and installation men were presented with certificates of completion for all their hard work, we hugged, shook hands, took hundreds of photos with everyone, changed our shirts (into the ones they had given us yesterday) and took hundreds more photos, then we went outside into the plaza to have some food and cake and fried dough.

We have many pictures of individuals getting their certificates, but we will save those for later. Here we are with all the adult women who took care of us all week and Pastor Ismael: We did it!

I have the most sincere hope that this system and situation that we are leaving here will bring years of clean water and healthy people to this community. Everyone here is so generous, so friendly, soft-spoken, and sweet. They deserve all kinds of goodness.

We slipped out as the party was winding down and made it back to our hotel a little before eleven, though it always feels later because of the way we spend our long days and how the heat takes away our energy.

Still, it was a satisfying conclusion to the day. Our glasses (of clean water) are raised to the people of Pencuyut!

Sunday

2010-08-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

We got up today and headed down to our usual breakfast restaurant attached to the hotel, and were given a traditional Sunday breakfast of delicious shredded pork. The cooks had asked us yesterday if we wanted to try this, and we said “Sure!” We’ll eat anything. As it turned out, this was an excellent choice. Many of us thought this was the best thing yet. The pork was cooked underground overnight for 12 hours and soaked in special spices. Yet another reason to love this place.

We had also agreed yesterday to spend part of today visiting the ancient Mayan ruin of Uxmal (pronounced Oosh-mall), and then we were going to attend the Sunday evening service in Pencuyut.

We squeezed into our cars and took the scenic drive there, about an hour and a half. It was cool to see some more of the geology and topography of the region. Most of the peninsula is quite flat, but we got to go over a few hills on this drive. A few of us talked about how we had visions of Mexico that were more brown and gray, a little dusty, maybe a tumbleweed here and there...we assume these conceptions come from movies. It was not like that anywhere we went. This is out the front window of the car on the way to the pyramid. It was just gorgeous everywhere we looked.

We arrived, paid our entrance fee (except for Freddie and Delany who get in free since they are Mexicans) and started to explore.

Delany took this picture, so she's missing.

Jerry brought the thermometer, so we could finally document what was happening here. It was a gorgeous day to wander amongst the structures and photograph this place, but it was...you guessed it...hot.

We had an amazing tour of the ancient ruin, much of which appears to be barely ruined, or at a minimum excellently restored. The grounds are beautiful and park-like, with lots of healthy grass, lush greenery, and freedom to climb in, on and through the buildings.

We all took many beautiful pictures of the structures and grounds (at least we thought so). Being able to climb up one of the major pyramids was a treat and hard to imagine in America. No safety railings or officials telling us to stay away from the edges or yelling at us for violating the sacred history of the space. You could imagine how someone could easily fall down the entire towering stairway (just like the good old days), yet no one did!

That ability to really experience the site made it a wonderful cultural and archeological attraction and a memorable day for us. What a stunning place.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the church service. Once cleaned up, we headed over to Pencuyut.

We got there a little early so Donna, with Freddie, could deal with important matters of business with the church leaders, and I must leave it for Donna to describe what transpired there. The rest of the team milled around doing such things as taking pictures of the incoming storm and practicing our harmonizing in case we were asked to sing. Luckily for the congregation, we were not.

Here comes the rain again...

In a little while, we attended the church service which traditionally begins in the evening, presumably to prevent heat stroke. The service began with a bunch of lively music backed by guitar and keyboard, and who was tickling the ivories but Pastor Ismael, whose capabilities continue to be revealed impressively with each passing day.

We were warmly greeted during the moving sermon by Ismael in which he likened the hidden pathogens that can be found in water or on our hands to a lack of faith that may be in our hearts, using the story of the Centurion in Matthew as an example. You can’t see faith by looking but it might be there, even in places where you might not expect it. He did an admirable job of tying it all together.

During the singing of a song that appeared to be the equivalent of our passing of the peace, we shook many hands. It seemed like the entire congregation came to greet each one of us. Near the end of the service, Ismael had us stand up front and, with Freddie translating, thanked us for all we have done, and had some of the men and women who have been helping us this week present us with gifts. We each received a beautiful shirt and a hug or two. Donna responded by reading part of our mission covenant, and Cheryl read them a very appropriate Bible verse from Thessalonians.

After a discussion right there in the sanctuary about how they were going to swing the celebration tomorrow, and who was going to make what kinds of food, we tried to make our way to the cars. This wasn’t as easy as it might be, because lots of people wanted to say things to us and shake our hands again and take our pictures in groups and with individuals. Thank goodness for Freddie and Delany, as they have become good friends and integral parts of our team. They always seem to be there when we need them, even when we are all running around independently.

We came back to the hotel, most of us went out for a quick dinner, and we were all ready for bed before we were done eating.

It is the end of another great day here.

Saturday - Take 3

2010-08-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

This is my account of Saturday, though we already heard from Jerry and Jim that evening.

Let’s start off with some startling news...Today was another scorcher.

Water was run through the carbon filter, so another stage of the system is functioning. Some of the local guys, including Pastor Ismael, mixed some concrete right on the ground inside a circle of sand. Once thoroughly moistened, it was laid over one of the pipes that was installed slightly below floor level on a previous day. It is fun to watch how quickly these guys solve problems. As Tod said once, they use concrete and stone like we use wood.

The system is pretty much done now, but needs a few tweaks and connections to become fully operational. Teaching the operators and testing the system are planned for Monday. Sunday is to be a day of rest.

The education team did a few more lessons in the morning session.

I have to admit, my part of this job is rough. This is how I spent much of the day today.

I discovered that some of the State College men on the installation crew didn’t like seeing pictures like this after they have been sawing and drilling and breathing in fumes and bathing in sweat all day. I tried to explain that it’s not easy to develop this kind of engagement, but I don't think they were buying it.

In all seriousness, these women have been great students, enthusiastic and eager to learn what we have to teach. They really want to have clean water, and keep themselves, their families and their community healthy. That is an ideal situation for a teacher, so I can’t take credit for our success. They deserve it all. The portions of the curriculum that we have chosen to deliver were also quite nicely put together and the projects and activities well-designed, so thanks to the instructional designers at Living Waters for that hard work, and thanks to Cheryl for thoroughly preparing for and organizing every session. (You can see her in the background getting ready for the next lesson in the pic above.)

After lunch, the women and girls who didn’t teach yesterday led the children in the afternoon session. They did well.

Some of these girls are natural teachers. We found out that two of them are sisters and they have nine children in their family. As the older kids in the family, they might have a lot of management experience. Many local children and townspeople attended the afternoon session to receive the message.

Ahhh, sweet, clean water.

More cute pics from the afternoon session...

It really was remarkable what these girls were able to do on such short notice and with no practice. I was impressed daily.

They were great, and lots of kids learned more today about clean water, bottle care, and ways to protect their health.

Here's the whole crew - Check out that banner!

Back in Da House!

2010-08-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

We are finally back home, having retrieved our dog from the Koch's house (Thanks for being part of the team, Kochs!) and our kid from the grandparent's house in Pittsburgh. They were aided by a little help from Fiona's Godfather Greg (Thank you all too!)

So I guess we are now going to post all the missing stuff, even though it will be out of order.

I will title them by the day they are covering so you might be able to reassemble them in the correct order if you wish.

Or you can just look at the pretty pictures.

Shawn

On the plane

2010-08-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

We are all on the plane to Philly!

Montezuma is taking his revenge on all the guys. This might be a loooong flight.

But we are mighty oaks who won't be easily felled.

We're getting closer!

Back in the USA!

2010-08-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

We have made it to Houston, all together, but missing a couple small sentimental items. Brent accidentally took a small pocket knife into the airport. For some reason, security doesn't like knives. They let him bring a big nail through, and several of us thought we could probably do more damage with that than with the Swiss Army toothpick, but what do we know?

Donna lost a bracelet somewhere between Mexico security and her plane seat. No one could find it anywhere, so she was told to go file a claim on Continental.com. We all wish her luck with that.

We are in Houston until 3:55PM, then on to Philly. We all hope someone will be there to pick us up.

Most of us can't wait to be home!

Sleep wins.

2010-08-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Can't...keep...eyes...open...

We have over 1000 pictures from our camera alone, and most of the other members of the team have a bunch too, so I assure you there will be pics.

Just not tonight.

Coming soon to a blog near you.

Really, they are.

Thank you everyone for your support and patience.

Shawn

Heading Back...

2010-08-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, what we have here is a failure to communicate.

I am sorry about the lack of posting and pictures, but those of us with computers and cell phones here came up with the name "Whack-a-Mole Internet" for what kind of wireless service we had at the Hotel PUUC. You know the game. There it is! Wham. It's over there! Wham. We often had a signal, but nothing would go through except in the middle of the night or early morning. You might be able to send a text or update Facebook, but uploading a photo to the blog seemed to be asking too much. I think I just got lucky that first night. Perhaps the hotel filled up with guests on the weekend and the bandwidth was maxed out. Thursday we might not have had as much competition.

Anyway...Now back at the Technotel, we have it. With a name like that, you would hope so.

We have another early morning planned as we try to get to the airport on time, and we are all beat from the work, the mental stress, the incredible heat, and the overwhelming nature of the emotions that ran through us last night.

I am going to make sure everything is in order for tomorrow and if I haven't collapsed I will try to add more pics from the last several days, and a little text. If things don't go so well, we will have enough stories and photos to give several adult ed sessions if anyone is interested, or maybe a special evening event. Hopefully you'll see results soon.

Wish me luck.

Day Four - (Saturday) - By Jerry

2010-08-15T21:56:00.001-07:00

I wrote a song for my first musical called “Day Five.” It was five days into an investigation, but Sherlock Holmes was lamenting about his recently deceased father and pondering life. It’s a bit melancholy. But this “Day Four” has been anything but melancholy. It’s been almost festive because we’ve come just an inch short of our goal of getting the water system in by the end of Saturday -- which is actually “Day Three” of being here.

The water tank is full, the initial filters are in place, the carbon filter is working and everything else is in place, ready to be tested. Tomorrow’s Sunday and we’re in such good shape we’re taking time off to do some sightseeing. Each day here, the women have spent a good part of the morning cooking/preparing a noon meal for us and the whole work crew. So each day at lunch we’ve broken bread with Brent, Jim, Tod, Shawn, Amy, Cheryl, and Donna, along with our interpreters Freddie and Delany, AND the members of the congregation who have been helping -- about 16 in all.

We had rain today, and it really came down for a half hour or so. It did manage to cool things down. Shawn and I thought it would be beneficial to have a thermometer to take video and photos of so people back home could see what we’re dealing with heat-wise, and it’s been quite an adventure finding one. We went to a number of hardware stores near Pencuyut and no one had one. We figured that they have no real need for one since it was always very hot and humid. But I had success tonight. After dinner, which was fabulous, Jim and I went to a larger hardware here in Oxkutzcab and by golly they had one! So maybe it’s actually better that we only have it now and won’t be able to check the temperature until our day off. If we knew it was over a hundred it might have affected our productivity.

But the down town was wondrous this evening. When we were leaving the restaurant there was a gorgeous, fiery sunset, and now we’ve descended on Amy and Shawn’s room to just chill and have some fun. We will sleep well tonight, knowing we’ve come a very long way since Thursday morning, and knowing that we’ll leave here very successfully.

Love to all!
jerry

(Author's note - This was written on Saturday evening, but we couldn't get online then, so we are posting it on Sunday evening. The Sunday evening write-up may or may not be coming soon!)

Jim chimes in...

2010-08-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

(Note from Shawn - These are Jim's reflections on the day, but I had to post it from my account since Jim hasn't signed up as a blogger yet)

Jim says:

What Jerry Said...

Well we had one heck of a dasayuno, and as usual a great drive to Pencuyut. Jerry and Amy were with me, and we stopped and experienced the local sold waste management facility - wild dogs, vultures, and dense smoke. Not an ordinary experience. That was followed by domestic turkeys crossing the road. They weren’t the kind that we have in Pennsylvania. They were a lot skinnier, and white. All that before we even got to the church.

Once there, it was time to add chlorine to the “raw” water storage tank, aqua cruda tanque. That’s necessary because of local regulations. Once we got that and other tasks underway, we decided to check out where the water comes from. Turns out they have a well, and it is considered a municipal system. A couple of the local boys took me, Jerry & Tod there. There were normal fixtures for a municipal well - pressure gages, valves, etc. The fun really began when the local boy shook the power cable, and said, “iguana”. I said, “iguana - donde es iguana?” And he points to the well. Turns out the iguana was down in the well - and it hissed. Shake the power cables, the iguana hisses. He got a little upset we were disturbing him. Now this is the water supply for the entire town.

We looked around a little more, and inside the water system area, there were avocado and orange trees. I stepped on an avocado, and Tod says, “Hey, you made guacamole!” The local boys carried a few back, and I think we had them for lunch.

Once back and after wondering what the iguana has been doing in the water, I had some piping work to do, but lunch was ready. Another incredible meal homemade by the local ladies. Their dresses are so beautiful, white with exquisite embroidery. The meal included habeneros, and I was stupid enough to try one. After everyone made fun of the sweat coming off my face, we got back to work.

(Photo added by Shawn for illustrative purposes.)

We were missing parts for the raw water system, so Freddie and I headed to the local hardware store, which was a much different experience than going to Lowes. First off, it was a family hardware store, and everybody was there - dad, mom, and all the kids. Not surprisingly, they thought I was a tourist. Now how many tourists go shopping for piping hardware, I don’t know. But I explained (via Freddie) what was happening and they were into it. Parts in hand, we departed, and this time went down the right way on the one way street. We stopped along the way for some small lemons growing along the road.

Back at the church, Nemias and I finished the piping, and then they let me put my name in the freshly laid concrete. We then moved onto the first part of the treatment system, and when we checked the piping we only had a few minor leaks. The small lemons in some cool water were very refreshing for our water break. I taught my friend Don Andreas, an older man of the community, to fist pump, and we now call him “Switch Man”, as he helped me flip a switch when I needed power.

I can’t wait to worship tomorrow. This has been such an amazing experience.

Jim

Day 2 - By Shawn

2010-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

I got my photo transfer capabilities working here, so we can have a little visual illustration to accompany the text today. Eventually I will go back and add photos to the previous posts, but tonight is enough of a challenge with our spotty Internet, so please enjoy and be patient for more.

Friday 8/13

We arose at 7:30 and met at the restaurant attached to the hotel for breakfast. We were served delicious sandwiches piled high with turkey, ham, avocado, lettuce and more. This was not familiar breakfast fare for many of us, but most agreed it was exceedingly delicious.

After breakfast we headed back to Pencuyut, and seemed to arrive quickly. Maybe we know our way now, or perhaps the conversations in the three cars helped pass the time. When we arrived, we had the unsettling realization that this day might turn out to be hotter than yesterday, which had seemed like an unlikely possibility at that time.

The installation team got to work and before long the sound of flowing water was heard. It wasn’t going through the whole system yet, but the first tank was being filled, and the network of pipes, filter elements and electronic devices grew continually more complex. These are some hard workin’ fellas. Check out Tod's pants in this shot. He did not lose control of his bladder; these are sweaty Presbyterians.

Over in the church sanctuary, Cheryl led the education team in preparation for the day's events, which were expected to be exciting as we were trying to make up for missed time yesterday, and the afternoon session was intended to be led by our students who would in turn begin educating the local children. We were told perhaps 20-50 children might arrive. If the thought of teaching 50 kids who speak a language you don’t understand doesn’t strike fear into your heart, then you have a stronger heart than me.

Our primary message of the day was about the process and value of hand-washing. Clean water doesn’t do a lot of good if your hands are covered with germs all the time. Among our lessons, we did a fun one demonstrating how germs are spread from person to person using hand lotion and glitter, and this was quite successful. Our ‘germs’ that started on the first girl’s hands made it all the way down the line to the last person. We also looked at the girls’ hands with a special “black light” that makes dirt sparkle and shine. Even after washing their hands, there was still plenty of dirt hidden in the creases and cuticles of these women. It all helped to reinforce that there is good reason to wash hands, and that it isn’t as easy as many of us think.

I got to do one of my favorite lessons that we missed yesterday which involves pouring two glasses of water for each student, one clear and clean looking and the other brown and lumpy with some white foamy stuff floating on top. The girls looked closely and smelled the clear water and agreed that it appeared to be pretty clean. When they sipped it, however, they discovered it was salty and gross.

Then we had them look at the dirty water. No one wanted to drink that, so I got to freak them out by guzzling several cups of it. They were convinced it wasn’t poison, and took some sips, some even finishing their entire cups. It turned out to be Oreos crushed in the water. What we learned from this was that you can’t tell by looking whether something is safe to drink.

Soon it was time for lunch (!) and the teams and locals all convened at the meal area to dine on handmade tortillas (some of which were made by our own Donna, who got lessons on proper tortilla production), rice, black bean soup, lettuce, peppers, onions, and fried chicken.

This was simply delicious, and I for one thought this meal was even better than yesterday’s. Jim and I were sitting on the side of the table closest to the courtyard, and we both agreed that it felt like there was an oven door open directly behind us.

It was amazingly hot.

The educators had a long break before the late-afternoon session, so Amy and Cheryl and some of the girls who didn’t leave during the break worked preparing for the arrival of the children. They had to make costumes and props for the big production number of Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea and Pharaoh having less success in his pursuit.

I went off to take pictures of the installation team and the local area. As I walked around, I found a yard with a mother turkey and several chicks looking for food, a yard with a skinny horse in it, and a fairly well equipped playgound that didn’t look it got much use, despite the number of children in the neighborhood.

The girls who were going to lead the afternoon session were taking the job quite seriously, and one of the girls, Eva, told us she hadn’t slept much the night before thinking about what she was going to say and do. We told her that Cheryl could totally relate to that!

When it finally happened, the afternoon session was great. The three leaders were enthusiastic, well-prepared, and confident. They held the children’s attention for over two hours straight! Amazing considering they only learned this stuff yesterday. Here they are teaching about the power of soap.

We think close to 60 people were in the room for the parting of the Red Sea, and the kids seemed to love it. Many kudos go to our awesome interpreter Delaney for her efforts orchestrating and gently directing this part of the program from behind the scenes. The sanctuary was full of the cutest kids ever!

As the evening was winding down and we prepared to leave, I noticed Ismeal the pastor lying under a truck, working on the engine. This is truly a full-service church! We are ready for Joel to begin offering this service when we get back.

We were about ready to get in the cars when were told there was a surprise gift for us. Each of us was handed a plate of “Yucatan spaghetti,” which consisted of thick spaghetti and sliced hot dogs in tomato sauce. The men especially gobbled up the carbs after a hard day’s labor. Surely several pounds of sweat were shed today.

We soon said goodbye to everyone, which is becoming a fairly lengthy process now that we know so many people, and we made the trip back to our hotel in Oxkutzcab.

A quick jump in the hotel pool for many of us sufficed for an evening shower (though a few of us were more civilized) and we then headed out to look for dinner. Tonight, we decided to ask the locals where they like to eat and a male elder suggested two options. Delaney became the de facto leader for a moment and took us to one of these, which turned out to be a large open-roofed room with a huge projection TV playing a Black-Eyed Peas concert and other assorted music videos on it while we ate. The food we had was traditional Mexican, though the menu had hamburgers and fries, and Italian options on it as well.

Back at the hotel, we got Jerry hooked up to the blog as you can see below, and it was time for bed once again. These are full, busy days, but they are very fulfilling and fun.

Jerry Goes Digital!

2010-08-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hola! This is Jerry’s first chance to put in a word or two, so I’ll put in two! First of all I have to speak about the installation team of Tod, Jim, Brent and me. And, of course, since I’m the one doing all the work, I’ve had little time to take any video of the process. And of course I’m kidding..!! I’m actually the one doing the least work, so thus far I’ve shot two hours of video. I think it’s going to be an epic documentary! Watch for it in theaters near you!

Actually, it’s been a awesome experience so far. The church members have been terrific in doing the work of preparing the rooms for the installation. They work really hard, and with great enthusiasm. They definitely “own” this project. The language has been an interesting process, as well. Our interpreter, Freddie (who also sells shirts) has worked with a number of Living Water systems, and not only talks to the guys for us, but has a lot of suggestions about the system.

Tod, who has been the installation team leader, was extremely worried that we would arrive and find four barely finished rooms, and he was visibly relieved to see the shape of the water rooms when we first stepped into the church grounds. They were ready for us to just step in and get to work -- which we did.

I have to praise Tod, Jim and Brent for the fantastic work they’re doing in getting all the pieces of this water puzzle put together. Give us a wooo-hooo! WOOO-HOOO!!

And the education folks are really having too much fun. And the young people they’re working with are beautiful. And the “big” hit has been Shawn. They love him! We just can’t figure that out...

The small towns here are very interesting due to the variety of the dwellings, where there may be a small farm with thatched-roof huts next to a walled and stucco “hacienda.” The people are tiny, compared to typical Americans, but they seem much bigger when you get to know them because they have enormous hearts, and smiles.

We’ve had our dinner each night in downtown Oxkutzcab (Osh-coos-cob) near the town square, which reminds me of what the town square must have been like on warm summer nights when Marti’s mother was growing up in the Dominican Republic. I actually got a bit teary eyed thinking about it...

Anyway, the water system is 3/4 done, and it looks like we’ll get it finished tomorrow (Saturday) so it’s been an extremely successful venture.

Via con dios!

jerry sawyer

Day One

2010-08-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

6:00 AM Thursday 8/12

We arose early and gathered in front of the Technotel to wait for our interpreters Freddie and Delaney (pronounced like Daylahni). Coca-Cola Light (diet coke south of the border) and coffee were acquired at the small market across the street for the much-needed caffeine burst for many of us. Delaney was the first to arrive and we overwhelmed her with introductions. Freddie was at the mercy of a bus for his transportation, and took a little longer, but eventually made it and there was much rejoicing. We piled all our stuff in the cars and took off for Pencuyut (or Penkuyut as many of the signs say here) with our two new friends. We gradually passed out of the city of Merida and saw less and less traffic as we went. We passed a bunch of black vultures hanging around a dump site, a fair number of curs or semi-wild dogs in the streets, though they look like the kind of dogs people would have for pets -- all sizes and breed combinations. We took one small unintentional detour on the way, but arrived in good time.

10:00 AM

Pulling up in front of the church, those of us who had not been there before had a hard time identifying the property. Next door is a crumbling stone structure and two properties down the street is a thatched-roofed home with a yard full of chickens. The walls of this home and many others like it in this are are made of vertical sticks that can be seen through, there was no door, and the floor was dirt. We later noticed that even in a bustling town like Oxkutzcab, there might be houses like this in the middle of a block full of row homes and stores. Back at the church, we opened the car doors and were blasted with the southern heat.

We all met Ismael, the pastor of the church in which this water system is going. He may not be tall, but he is full of charisma and quiet authority. We toured the grounds, which were very well prepared for us. These guys had clearly been hard at work. The education team set up in the church while the installation team began gathering supplies and familiarizing themselves with all the details of the site.

We all noticed something today. It was hot.

Really hot.

The education team was told that their students (a.k.a. future teachers of the community) would be a little later than originally planned, so Cheryl, Amy and Shawn got things ready and prepared to be flexible.

The local installation support team was ready to go though, so the guys began immediately.

Soon, very small girls started showing up outside the church door and the education team invited them in. They discovered that these ladies were all between 18-21, though they looked to us to be 14 at most. Soon, after a few more young women, one of high school age and one middle schooler, showed up, we had enough to begin teaching. These women informed us that they could not bring children or other students in the afternoon as had been planned, so we rolled with the punches and taught them what we consider to be the most important parts of our lessons. In the process, we all learned about each other and had lots of laughs.

1:30 PM

It was time for lunch! (This is always worthy of an exclamation point.) The mothers and adult women of the church, including Ismeal’s wife Mary (pronounced like Mah-ree with the accent on the second syllable), cooked us some tasty soup with all sorts of things in it, only some of which we could readily identify. Added to that, we had a pile of corn tortillas onto which we poured fresh, hand-chopped guacamole and homemade pico de gallo. Tod, Jim, Brent and Shawn all ate a chunk of habenero to bond with the local men, and sweated even more profusely than before as a result. We ate at a long table in the open air on the church grounds. We were under a roof to provide some shade, but there were no walls. There was no A/C anywhere to be found in Pencuyut, at least not that we were able to access.

The guys felt very satisfied with their progress today. They are optimistically considering the possibility that they might be able to run water through the system tomorrow (knock on wood -- Brent offers his skull). All their planning and knowledge, combined with the hard labor and stone-working skills of the local crew produced terrific dividends.

While the men were finishing up, the education crew and Donna formed a spontaneous women’s circle with the older women from the church who had cooked us lunch and cleaned up after us. I (Shawn) ended up as the only man in this group, which has its plusses and minuses. We all passed around pictures of our kids, the ladies asked if the McPherson boys were single, and my Vibram 5-Finger shoes became quite the topic of conversation. It got to the point where I had to walk around the circle letting the ladies squeeze my toes (Some might consider this a plus. I’m still trying to decide.)

Ismeal joined us (hooray, another man!) and showed us pictures of his two beautiful daughters, for whose looks he credits his wife (I told you he had charisma) and claimed proudly that they were “Hecho en Mexico” -- Made in Mexico.

The men wrapped up their work for the day, we said our goodbyes to everyone, and headed to our hotel in Oxkutzcab which we had not yet seen.

We found it easily, checked in, and made arrangements to meet for dinner.

Delaney and I had each brought a hammock and were given special hooks for hanging these from the walls in our respective rooms. I have to say that this is a feature sorely lacking in any American hotels in which I have ever stayed.

6:30 PM

For dinner, we ate as a group at a tiny restaurant with outdoor seating. We had nachos, burritos as big as our heads, and quesadillas. We were served by a teenaged woman, while an even younger girl of maybe 10 years waved a towel over our heads the entire time, ostensibly to provide a breeze or perhaps to keep flies away. Whatever the intent, she earned a handsome tip for her efforts (which was also most likely the intent). Several of us imagined our daughters in this situation. One skinny cur ambled past as we ate, but he didn’t stop to beg nor concern himself with us at all.

After dinner, some of the group went to a hardware store to pick up some things for tomorrow while others headed back to the hotel, stopping at all the interesting local venders along the way.

Though it was only 9 o’clock by the time we all made it back, sleep was looking pretty appealing so many of us turned in for the night. Another long and successful day completed! Praise be to God.

We have arrived!

2010-08-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

10:49 AM - Wednesday 8/11

We arrived at the Philadelphia airport without incident. Traffic was light all the way and our generous drivers, Ken, Diana and Kim successfully delivered us. The ladies were going to make a day of it in Philly with some young’uns, hitting Ikea and other important historical landmarks, while the rest of us make the flight to Houston.

Jim got an enthusiastic pat-down in security and Shawn lost a 10 dollar bill in the security conveyor, but it eventually showed up again after a surprisingly concerned crew wouldn’t let him leave until every leaf was turned over.

A two-hour wait ensued in which all who tried failed to acquire wireless service and many small conversations rose and fell as people scurried around the gate seating area. Food and drink was hunted, subdued, and consumed as we watched news of the plane crash in Alaska in which Sen. Stevens and four others were killed. Lots of speculation about what caused that crash, though there is absolutely no data backing up any of the hypotheses. Do we have to see this before we board a plane?

5:35 PM - Wednesday 8/11

We made it to Houston. We had lots of time here due to a slight delay on the outgoing plane, so we wandered around, found some tasty restaurants (World Famous BBQ, Panda Express, Pappadeaux), and the education team took some time to go through their first day’s lessons. Jerry took some video footage. Shawn and Brent shot some photos (coming soon). Among our conversations, Tod explained that telling people that he teaches chemistry is not a good conversation starter. Donna passed out some Spanish explanations about what we are doing here to hopefully ease our way through customs. We’ll see how that works soon enough. Donna bought a deck of cards and now Jerry and Tod are playing cribbage on the back of a suitcase. No money is changing hands, so we don't have to alert the gambling police.

Our trip through customs upon arrival was nearly painless, though Jim again got special treatment, with the agents opening his bag and asking questions. Thanks to the help of a friendly English-speaking agent, they were convinced that they didn't need to do any body cavity searches, and we quickly moved on to find out if the car rental agency was still open. Many prayers were sent in an effort to increase the possibility of that being the case.

12:30 AM Thursday 8/12

After a lengthy conversation with Roger at the car rental company concerning how many cars we rented, we were able to secure three, and...We have arrived at the Technotel!

Everyone is tired but grateful for a successful and smooth journey. We have to get up early to meet our interpreters, Freddie and Delaney, and head to Oxkutzcab and Pencuyut tomorrow.

Time for bed!

Preparation

2010-08-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

This blog is designed to document the mission trip of the State College Presbyterian Church to Pencuyut, Mexico to install a clean water system. Updates will follow as we proceed.