Again a country with rainy and dry seasons, I had almost forgotten what it was like. The smell of fresh, soured clothes, wet off the line; mud as a permanent fixture on your feet, and worse your clothes. You wash the mud off the clothes and hang them on the line to sour…I mean dry, and again wear them to get mud all over them…vicious cycle. But it is the end of the rainy season. We will soon enter the dry season when all the beautiful green all around us will change to golden brown, and they tell me the mud is great compared to not having any water to take showers with. Do I ever know that’s true! In India I resorted to taking a bath with water that was green with algae at times because there was none else to be had. We are blessed in America with so many things. My home has a well of its very own …a luxury this campus cannot afford, not even for the lifestyle center. They are dependant on the mountain spring to give them water. When the mountain is brown you can imagine what happens to their tiny little spring.
The other night one of the girls had a birthday. Birthdays are great fun. Desserts come on rare occasions here, namely birthdays and Christmas. Since I was lucky enough to be invited, I received a very large piece of cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My Spanish is coming right along. My room mate had a very lengthy chat with me the other night, reprimanding me for spending too much time with the English speakers and speaking too much English in general. The fact that I caught approximately 47.5% of what she was saying all in itself is a great improvement over the ten of so word I knew when I arrived. I carry my Spanish/English dictionary with me to work every day now. Working at the lifestyle center can be very interesting at times. There isn’t a single person down there who speaks English. You would be shocked at exactly how much communicating goes on between two people that don’t speak the same language though.
Despite the obstacles, I truly love Venezuela. Please pray for me that I will learn the language quickly, and that I will leave a lasting influence for good on these young people.
melissa
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Dear Melissa,
Bravo on your Spanish! Now you'll have 3 languages, won't you--do you still know some of the language spoken where you were in India?
You are constantly in our prayers. We love & miss you. How many hours does it take to get from Atlanta to where you are? It takes us 15+ hours to drive to UPI from here, about 7 hours total, house to airport, if we fly. (That means about 2 hours in the air!) Does Venezuela feel as far away as India?
I love you, sweetheart! Keep dry & warm!
Under the Mercy,
Auntie Ann
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