my toil under the sun

Cell phone beeping wakes me up. Snooze. Fry an egg and fail miserably at it - it is burnt in areas and raw in others. Briskly walk to school and worship with 230 passionate kids. Teach grades 8-10 how to pronounce the silent "b" (as in crumb and lamb) and some conversation. During recess, I visit with Heber about brass instruments. He is a notable trumpet player now and feels he's ready to take on a second brass instrument. I think about bringing my trombone down here. Grade ten learns to name the music notes on the staff after reviewing rhythms.

It's noon now. Rush home and snack, sort through some sponsorship papers with Mercedez. Erick takes my car to Coban to get the windows tinted - they will rip me off if I go, so Erick spends 5 hours getting it done for me - we go for really dark. Mercedez and I drive the Toyota van to Chicoy and chat about Old Testament lore. We meet Hector and Carlos in the village and begin our afternoon of visiting families. With a clear sky and hot sun casting strong shadows about, we collect information about the students that attend our school and afternoon program. I photograph them, their family and their favorite activity. We visit 10 homes - completing 35 forms. By the end of the afternoon, all the children in the village are with us visiting the last home. Mary Consuelo (pictured above) was in the second home.

I drive back to Tactic, drop Hector and Mercedez off. Put Q100 of diesel into the van. Do some finances over the phone as I walk to the bicycle repair shop. Daniel, one of Erick's sons, is there and helps me get my bike looked after. I now have a working pedal and a higher seatpost. For 5 minutes of work while I waited, they didn't charge me - I gave them something anyway.

Blaise is gnawing on a piece of banana, then cantaloupe, then an aba (cross between a pea and a bean). It's gross and he's really sticky, as are my pants after holding him for 20 minutes. Amber feeds me delicious haystacks. I bathe the splash monster and remain wet the rest of the evening. I text chat with April in Montreal about learning disabilities and the UN's rating of best countries to live in (Canada is 5th). Then we skype with Carl and Michelle in Alberta about work in Africa about our lives.

I put the car behind the gate and lock it. Amber calls me onto the roof and we mention the stars and smile at the crescent moon.

The inscription on my ring is "ECCL. 9:9"

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have laboured under the sun.