Beautiful sunshine permeated much of today. The day was structured like yesterday, and once again we did a lot of different things. Darlene joined Brenda in picking coffee this morning while Martin, Jan, and Cheryl started painting the outside of Casa Paciencia and Tom finished power washing the house. The morning was capped off with a lesson and demonstration on harvesting and roasting coffee.
We were scheduled to do some baking and book reading at Casa Bondad again today. Darlene led the baking effort again and the kids that came really enjoyed decorating the cookies. (Tom and Martin were not allowed to attend for reasons that were explained in yesterday's blog post.) The kids must have been wound up a little bit too much because the reading of Tikitikitembo by Brenda and Over In the Meadow by Jan proved to be a challenge.
Since he was banished from the cookie-making, Martin made his way to the school to share some flash cards and read some books to the kids after lunch. Similarly, Tom went back to Casa Paciencia to finish the power washing, clean the grime off the gutters and downspouts, and make a comprehensive list of all the things that need to be done to put Casa Paciencia back into working condition. After a bit, Cheryl came back to Paciencia to finish painting the front wall at the screened-in front porch. By the time we were done, it had started raining and it was quitting time.
Miguel, the person in charge of Rancho Ebenezer stopped by to see our progress. He explained that the house will be used by some of the students who will be graduating from the Ranch in the next year. The students will begin to learn how to be on their own by cooking their own meals, making a budget and doing their own shopping and laundry. This pre-transition training will help them to have realistic expectations about what life will be like after they leave the Ranch. After they graduate, some students will take part in a transition program, some will be on their own and some may go to be with members of their extended family. A number of recent graduates have been coming back to the Ranch to see siblings and friends, and to offer input on what life is like after graduating from the Ranch.
It seems that we are all moving a little slower in the morning. Generally, we are all healthy although a couple of us have had some brief intestinal issues. So please keep us in your prayers so that we can finish the week strong. Thanks!
Painting
Picking
Roasting
Playing
Power-Washing
