Washing walls at Impaputo

Here we are washing walls at the Impaputo Primary School.  Paint should be delivered this week.  We will show you pictures when the painting is done.  This project is our first to get started.  We are grateful to see it progressing.  These kids were fun!  We had to show them how to wash the walls.  Once they got the hang of it, they did OK.  Most of these students were 5th graders with a few 7th graders.

Community Chefe in the center

After washing walls, Titos, the school director (on the far right) took us for a walk in the small community next to the school.  He wanted to introduce us to the community Chefe (Kind of like the mayor of the town but not exactly).
I don't know how old she is but her great grandbaby is strapped to her back.  She was so warm and friendly.  She spoke very little Portuguese.  The language of the community is Changana.  Titos explained that after the painting, one of their goals is to install lights in the classrooms so they can be used in the evenings for adult literacy classes. Most of the parents of the children work in the banana fields and cannot read and write.  We liked his idea of using the school for that.  We may be able to partner with the school again in the near future.

Three varieties of Mangoes

Went shopping in the market with Vanessa, one of our interpreters.  She helped us pick out some fruit.  I (Stan) didn't care for the green ones.  They were hard and not juicy.  But the other ones when they softened up, were really good.  By the way, the green one always stays green hard or soft.  The yellow one is very much like the variety in the Philippines. They call the other one pink mangoes.  
The other fruit we had never tasted before is called Lichi. Amazing!!! This fruit has a skin on it that you can easily peel off.  Sometimes it cracks off and sometimes it comes off all in one wind.  It doesn't taste like anything I have ever tasted before but it is delicious.  Inside the pulp is a large brown smooth seed.  I (Teril)strung them on a thread interspursed with popcorn instead of crancberries for the Christmas Tree.

Peeled lichi fruit showing the seed.

The picture shows the size.  They are about the size of very large acorns and the seed is big but they have quite a mouthful of wonderful, juicy, sweet pulp.  I can't say it taste like ...to give you a comparison, Because I don't know what it tastes like.  It is unique.  It is really good.  They don't sell them in the store that we shop in but they are everywhere on the streets now.  This is why we had Vanessa go shopping with us.  She would know what is good and what is not.  We bought a kilo yesterday.  I believe they need to be eaten today.  The pulp inside is very much like a peeled grape except that a very large smooth brown seed is inside.  The pulp separates from the seed very easily.  You can buy lichi juice in the stores.

Our Christmas Tree

This is a picture of our Christmas Tree with a Capalana Tree Skirt.  We went shopping yesterday for a capalana material that was with Christmas Colors.  We found this one.  It is perfect.  Our little tree is loaded with homemade ornaments with all our kids, their spouses, and their children's names on an ornament.  That makes 51 ornaments on our little tree.

We were without water for about 2 1/2 days.  If you know and plan for it you can manage, but things start getting rough when you run out of clean clothes.  Anyway, we are doing fine.  We are loving our mission. Learning so many good things about ourselves, people, and welfare principles.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is definitely the answer for the salvation of the world in any way you want to define it.  Love to all of you.