The Pigsty and the Chicken Coop

Short Version: Rita and I got to clean animal cages, fix some stairs, and herd ducks. Hamburgers are served with a fried egg on top.
Pray for: That Casa de Fe can continue to become more self-sufficient by  having animals and fruit trees, etc. Pray for funds to build a separate house for the critically ill kids (and for healing for them!), and for the right plans to be put in place for the girls who will be aging out of Casa de Fe soon.

Monday:

We started each weekday with breakfast at the hotel (scrambled eggs with ham, croissants, fruit, juice, and my favorite that I wish would catch on in the U.S.: drinkable yogurt). At 8:00, we began our 30-minute walk to the Casa. Some took taxis for $1.50, but I enjoyed every minute of every walk, even the major uphill part on the way home. We passed oodles of small businesses on the way: several fruit and vegetable places, several pharmacies, a CD/DVD (probably all pirated) store, and places for ice cream, haircuts, and exercise classes. The sidewalks were made of pavers and were narrow, so we often walked in the street. Traffic was light, so it wasn’t an issue, unless a taxi came roaring past. 

We began our work time with devotions at the bodega (maintenance building), followed by Gernan praying for our day. I’m guessing his prayers seemed really long for those who don’t speak Spanish. We then divided into groups for our jobs for the day; some going for “baby time”, and others for manual labor.

These were new gloves...

The first day, I worked with Rita and one of the maestros (maintenance men) named Jaime. Our first task was to clean the pig’s pen. I learned the word for hose (manguera), and we attemped to get the pen and feeding trough (which smelled like fermented yuck) cleaner than it had ever been. This was followed by cleaning out the chicken coop. There were a lot of young chickens crammed into a small space, so my legs got pecked above me boots a few times as I stood in the midst of the chickens and shoveled into the bag that Rita held. She almost lost it with the smell a few times. We then gave the chickens food and water and moved on to the ducks.

So sad not all these cuties made it...

The Casa had just hatched their first family of ducklings 3 days before and they wanted to move the mother and babies to a different enclosure. Rita and I had to go in the duck cage on our hands and knees and pick up handfuls of mud from a pile in the middle and press it against the bottom of the chain link fence to hopefully keep the ducklings in. We quickly became covered with mud, and my legs got covered with biting ants. Once complete, we put the ducklings in a bin for transfer. Jaime was then not sure which was their mom (the other mom still had a nest of eggs). He chose (hopefully) the right mom and we put the ducklings in their new home. Somehow, the mom got loose on the outside. The duckling saw her, went right through the chain link, and followed her to the pond for their first swim.

We all quickly developed a new skill of duck herding. Jaime got into the pond, and Rita and I followed behind to keep them going in the right direction. They made it safely to the enclosure, where we added a nest-like box, and food for them.  Obviously the babies could get out, but the idea was that they would stay in with the mom, who obviously couldn’t squeeze through the chain link. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out.  A couple days later, 2 dogs followed us on our walk to the casa, and stole four of the duckling. Hopefully by now, Jaime has added some chicken wire to the bottom of the fence to remedy the situation.

Our next job was to “fix” a set of steps made out of pavers. At first it looked as if it would take all week, but we did finish by the end of the day. We leveled, added fill, and adjusted pavers. Hopefully they will stay in place for a few heavy rains, but I’m sure someone will be doing the same job next year. Jaime hung around with us during most of the job, and I enjoyed getting to know him, and adding a few words to my Spanish vocabulary.

Jaime and Rita on the Steps

Just before lunch each day, we had mission building time. On Monday, this included Chris Zuniga, a missionary from Oklahoma giving us a tour of the Casa de Fe property, and telling us about their current needs and future plans, particularly to build a separate facility for their kids with the most severe special needs. Currently, these kids are getting sick a lot due to being in close proximity to the other kids. Having their own space will help keep them well and save on doctor bills. The other current need is to develop a plan for the girls who are nearing their 18^th birthdays, and will age out of the orphanage. Transitional housing/care needs to be arranged for them so that they have the support they need and don’t end up on the streets as a prostitute (which has happened with a few girls who chose to leave when they turned 18, even when given other options.)

We got to eat lunch with the kids each day. Our role was to stay at the tables for the whole hour and to interact with different kids as they arrived home from school and rotated through the lunch process. The older girls were a little harder to get to know, but the elementary kids loved interacting with our team. I sat with the same group of boys each day, and they enjoyed having Josiah’s stuffed cat eat with us, and having me sing the songs I taught at worship to them over, and over, and over…

We had supper at a different restaurant or home each evening, and then were free. The trip was paced really well—we worked hard, but had enough down time at the end of the day to regroup and to be ready for the next day.

Try it!

Supper this night was at a burger place, the best in Shell, I’m told. They server burgers with a fried egg on top. It was pretty good! With the yucca fries it was likely served with, and ahi, it made for a great meal.

Getting away from "normal" life and serving in tangible ways, like cleaning a chicken coop is so fun...I was thankful every day of this trip that God has given me the opportunity to serve. Hmmm...Maybe I can tithe my time to Casa de Fe, which would give 36.5 days there each year...