bats, pesticide and the body of christ

This morning I woke up early to head over to the Enlace offices on the other side of town. Shane told me he would come with me and show me the ropes of how to get across town using the buses. At 25 cents a ride, it really is the best deal in town.  It is also the kind of thing that at first seems completely overwhelming but once you figure it out, it is brainless. So, thanks to Shane, I can get around San Salvador all by myself.

I had been invited to go with the staff today to a community and a church that Enlace has just started working with.  I wasn't really clear what the meeting was going to be about or why I needed to go but I am so glad I decided to just go.

It turns out it was a meeting at the church with some of the local ladies about starting a project to start large vegetable gardens in their homes.  It was mostly educational and a time for the committee to decide what vegetables they wanted to cultivate, how they were going to get the seedlings and what kind of chemicals they were going to use. Paco talked to them a bit about how many of the pesticides that they sell here are misused and handled improperly.

They use highly toxic pesticides for things that do not need it.

You could tell they were just soaking up the information and the way the information was shared was so loving and relatable that the whole presentation felt more like a conversation.

So, yeah, pretty much stuff like that is what makes Enlace so great and so strong. Figure out what the local church is interested in doing for themselves and help facilitate that. Don't drop a bag of money on them, a lot of times that makes it worse. 

After we got home from the community I came home ( on bus now!) and took a nap on the couch.

I was watching the news and Tina was talking to me and a bat flew over my shoulder and hit her and then flew around the living room.

I HATE BATS.

Lord, if you want me to stay in this country, bats can not be a part of my daily life.  I can't handle that. Big roaches are the norm, but bats CREEP me out. 

I am homesick for everyone, but every day is something new and a new adventure.  And watching the body of christ work just as they should be just makes it worth it all.

Except the bats.