In my last (and first) Blog entry I admitted my blatant failure as a communicator. So now where does one begin?
Let me say first of all that Theresa and I are doing well. We have enjoyed the fellowship of a number of other missionary volunteers over the past months (more on this later), and
on a little personal note – God has been very gracious to us so far this year. By now, usually we should be melting in humidity and heat here in Cd. Valles. May is generally the hottest month of the year, and temperatures of 50°C (122° F) are usually very common, with the mercury even hitting 60°C (140°F) not unheard of. Of course, the killer on top of the heat is the humidity that goes with it. This year has been unusual for us so far. The winter months (December and January) were unusually severe, with cold snaps being much more frequent and longer than usual. Coupled with this is the fact that we have had a much longer rainy season than usual. Of course, the severity of one’s winter is a relative term at best. We had at least one spell of a couple of days where the bulb dipped to 5°C (41°F) at night, and a number where it bottomed out at 8°C. For those of you who I can hear sniggering into your shirttails at my wimpiness, let me remind you that many houses (ours included) have almost no actual windows, but rather only window openings, and certainly no way to heat the rooms. When a cold wind blows into the house you hang up some sort of curtain, and simply add more layers of clothing and blankets.
Of course, for most of the year you want, and indeed pray for any amount of breeze that may penetrate the concrete rooms in which one is stifling – enclosed by block walls which are radiating heat like an oven. Mercifully, so far this year has been much cooler than normal. Once again, everything is relative, but as I glance at my little weather unit I see that it is a mere 32.8°C (91.0°F) at the moment, and only 53% humidity. This is a long way from what it usually is. Thank you Lord. I will enjoy it as long as you see fit to give it to us. Probably the most pleasant thing is that it drops down at night, becoming very beautifully “cool” by morning making it possible to sleep at night with only the bedroom windows open.
This does bring up another praise item – we have been very blessed over the course of this past year to be able to put air conditioning units into the bedrooms in the VitW staff housing apartment. Last fall I grabbed hammer and chisel and began to chop holes into the cement block walls. We then bought “window” units which we hung through the walls. If one can sleep at nigh – even if you are sweating and miserable throughout the day – survival is possible.
There will be more (and weightier issues of more import) following. However, I do want you to know that we are actually people as well – people with likes and dislikes, preferences, and wishes just like you. For example, I definitely prefer a cool climate with lots of rain (so what am I doing in Cd. Valles?).
I must run now. Over the past year Theresa and I have been involved in a mission outreach in a place called Las Pitas, a small village about forty-five minutes to the north of Cd. Valles. Tonight we will be showing the first movie in a new film ministry outreach program. We have chosen to begin the outreach at Las Pitas. The ministry team will arrive any minute, so I must prepare the equipment.
