Our 1st week in Leticia was a busy one. Lucy took us around so we could learn the way banking is done, the layout of Leticia and the stores in order to buy our necessities. At the end of the week, 3 architects from Place Alliance in Orlando, Florida came. They focus on urban development and came to see the site of the new home and meet with the La Aljaba board, staff members, children and parents of the community. They held an all day meeting with them to learn the needs and their ‘wish list.’ Now they have taken all that information back to do their magic and develop plans for the new La Aljaba.
That same weekend, a team of four, Pastor Chris, Ronald, Marie and Jen, from McKinney Memorial Bible Church of Fort Worth, Texas came. Joining them was Donnis, an Orphanos missionary that serves through the home office and Caleb, a young man interested in doing an internship here in Leticia. The team worked hard in the extreme humidity of the 3rd floor of the rental house to make storage shelves for the children’s bedrooms. They also groomed the garden areas that had become a jungle itself. This definitely increased the curb appeal. We are thankful they were such good sports in working with us as we are just learning the ropes here. They blogged while they were here on their mission and you can read about it Team Aljaba
After they left, Ira and I have now started weaning ourselves into the daily life at La Aljaba. In addition to repairing things, Ira is learning to be a gardener. The foliage here is absolutely incredible and the most beautiful plants grow wild. If they are not maintained, they can quickly overtake the whole property. I am involved with administration on the La Aljaba sponsorship program for Orphanos. I also work with Lexie, one of the tutors, in her English classes and every other Sunday, I make lunch and care for the children so that Carmen, one of the staff team members, can have a day off. As soon as the construction of the new site starts, we will both be working with the short term teams that come.
We are both struggling with the humidity and have resolved to the fact that during the day we will just have to let the sweat roll. However, at night, we do get some relief. There is no such thing as a hot water valve, so after a refreshing shower, we sit near a fan and are usually in bed by 8 or 8:30. The sun rises here at 5:00am bringing a flock of parakeets to a tree outside our bedroom window. We call them God’s alarm clock. Surprisingly, the mosquitoes are not bad for which we are thankful. However, rainy season has not arrived full swing. Many people asked us about snakes. I have not seen one, yet. Another volunteer said she didn’t see one the whole 6 months she was here. I’m fine with keeping it that way.
As always, stay tuned and please remember us in prayer. We know God is going to do some exciting things.
As always, stay tuned and please remember us in prayer. We know God is going to do some exciting things.
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