Venezuela - Day 2

Day 2: We wake up to the sound of gentle rain outside our windows and a great appreciation for the beauty of the farmhouse and grounds. It is a grand place, but shows a lot of wear and tear that has not yet been repaired. (Two mission teams will visit them later this summer to help with the repairs they desperately need). The boys make us the most amazing café we have ever had and treat us like treasured guests, serving us our breakfast. They are so very sweet but we still have so many communication barriers that conversation is very awkward. We so want to bond with these wonderful boys.
We head to Buenas Nuevas del Este (the Good News Church) that sponsors the home. It is a mini- North Point Church, even down to the 10 Before!! It was such an amazing experience to hear “When Life Hurts” from a different speaker and sing “Mighty to Save” in English alongside our Spanish singers. The church seats 4000 each Sunday in 4 services. We were very impressed with our surroundings.
Next we head off to lunch and the vote is again for arepas (did I mention how good they were?) and experience papelon con limon, a drink that tastes like an Arnold Palmer. It is made with solid sugar from sugar cane and lemons. We love this and decide to make it at the farmhouse after we do the grocery shopping with the boys. The grocery store is in a mall (centro commercial) with an Auntie Anne´s and a movie theatre. The pharmacy is there too, and filled with American brand names like Nestle, Enfamil, Huggies, Dove, etc.
The grocery store is the breakthrough point with the boys. As we are choosing foods to bring to share with the boys, they begin to teach us the names of produce as we teach the English. An employee who speaks a little English comes and joins in when he hears us. It was a wonderful bonding moment and the awkwardness of stilted conversation is smoothed over. The boys are thrown by Laurel´s promise ring because wedding rings are right-handed here. After a long two hour shopping trip at the grocery store, we returned to Jonas to recover!

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Venezuela 2010 - Day 2