Joanna's Journal: My awesome week... part 3 (Saturday)

This morning (Saturday) started very early… and I didn’t have much sleep because the ping pong went late. I got up at 7, and was at the Campbell’s house at 7:20. I helped serve breakfast of hot chocolate, pineapple juice, fried eggs, and pancakes with syrup. They were really good! It was hard to get out of bed because it was cold. 2 shirts and a sweatshirt, jeans with leggings, and my cozy hat later, I felt a bit better. The mornings are so cold, but by the time we finished baseball at 10 or so, I was down to my long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up. The weather is strange here…

Everyone enjoyed breakfast, and then we headed down to play baseball. Baseball isn’t the biggest sport here, and a lot of people didn’t know the rules. I never realized how many rules baseball has until you try to explain everything! Hein, Marco, and Milka are all really talented, and can pick up things really quickly. Milka did really well! She played 3^rd, and caught at least one, and got a few people out too. Hein hit the only out of the park homerun, and Marco scored multiple times too. For my lack of playing, and generally untalentedness at baseball, I did ok! My first time I struck out, but I think the next time I got a triple. I didn’t do so well in the field. Whenever I tried to run after a ball, I would end up on the ground every time because the dry longish grass is really slippery. Everyone had fun, and we ended playing longer than originally planned. My team won 17-7. One inning we creamed them, and the others, we won by a bit, but not that much though. :-) Mr. Pat pitched for everyone and when I got up to bat, he would do the whole announcer voice “Joanna de Florida!” and everyone would cheer… I don’t know why, lol! It was really fun, and the ping pong the night before also!

I did a few things here, and then for lunch, we were invited to Yucay, a town 20 min ride away. It is more rural than Urumabma, and the ride is beautiful! The meal is called pachamanca (earth pot). That is literally what it is. They dig a whole, and make a igloo of rocks all around it, and fire inside. They started the fire at 9 this morning, and it was ready at 12:30. Then they take out the wood, and move the rocks, and toss in potatoes, rocks, meat, rocks, more potatoes, rocks, and these habas (kinda between a pea pod and lima beans). Then they covered that with what you peel off of a corn cob, then with a paper sheet, then plastic sheet, then covered with dirt. They let that cook for 45 min, and then we were ready for lunch! It was pretty awesome! You can see the huge plate of food the before and after. I had 1 sweet potato, 2 reg potatoes, 6 pea pods, and 1 piece of lamb, 1 piece of chicken, and 1 piece of pork. And I finished it all! :-)

While we were there, Rachel and I got to work on her tracts that she got from Cusco. We stamped and folded about 600! I also got to hold Israel for a while so his mom could help with other stuff! He is a cuddly bundle. After lunch, and after we worked on tracts, we played volleyball in their courtyard. It was 3 on 3, so you got to play a bunch! We lost the first by 2 points, won the second by 10, and I left before the 3^rd was done.

It was a very relaxing and fun day. Tonight, I’m going to finish working on this, go over to the chapel and play piano for a bit because I’m playing tomorrow, and I NEED to practice, and have dinner. (if I can eat anything)

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

(written Saturday afternoon)

Hein on our team.

Lis Beth and some kids of one student. In the background you can see mountains, chapel/where classes are is the big building, and the green building is a meeting room, where Alex and Sonya live, and where Mr. and Mrs. Campbell live. Our house/apartment building is behind that.