Cosecha Alegre

Another itchy skin day. Usually by late morning, every day, my arms start to break out in itchy spots from all the sweating I do. Today is particularly itchy. Why do I have to have such sensitive skin if I am going to be working outdoors in a hot, tropical climate. My usual remedy is to jump in the lake to cool off. Where are my prednisone pills when I need them? Nothing like self-medicating yourself when there are no limits to what you can get at the pharmacy. Don´t freak out. I take them very rarely. Just to get through days when I´ve had enough of the heat rash that really never goes away. Today I just stopped working earlier than usual and hung out in the kitchen. I taught Danilo and Felix how to make a carrot cake for their friend Maria´s birthday. It turned out good. I explained we had to trim the edges because our hot oven without a thermostat burns the edges of everything we bake. A good excuse to have cake scraps for my coffee at night. I told them it was my service fee. We are also experiencing a bumper crop of tomatoes so I helped Dalila make about a gallon and a half of ketchup. They love the stuff. It´s what they use in place of tomato sauce. I wanted her to make part of it without sugar, but I got too tired, itchy and hot to care. Oh, yesterday I made some nice, hot salsa with roasted tomatoes and jalapeños. It came out good and hot. Looks like I will be eating most of it by myself. Most think it´s way too hot. I ate it last night with roasted pelibuey (half goat, half sheep). This morning I ate it with stuffed squash flowers. While I´m in town I´ll have to remember to buy some tortilla chips to eat with the guacamole I´m going to make.

I am excited to see how God is making a place for me to talk to kids young and old about God and get them to make Him a part of their lives. I just began teaching Christian education at the elementary school located on the orphanage property. I spend half an our with three classes twice a week. Pray for me. I need serious help in how to teach preschoolers about God. I´ve also started meeting with the young men at CICRIN to study the Bible, pray, and to talk about issues of concern to them as young men. I´m excited that I am getting to do exactly what was in my heart to do. So my plate is full, but I have a lot of time to prepare for lessons and discussions. I´m expecting God to do great things in all our lives here in Ometepe Island. I´ll keep you posted.