Las Gamas

Yesterday we attended church with our MCC colleague, Juana Masavi, and her sister Maritza. For about three years now they've been leading a small Mennonite congregation in the small town of Las Gamas, about 40 kms northeast of Santa Cruz. This church was begun somewhat informally back in the 1970s (by MCC workers of all things); first home Bible studies, then a women's group, and then officially the church "Corazón de Cristo" in 1977. Today there are about 5-10 adults (but 15-20 kids) that attend weekly.

The building, freshly roofed a few weeks ago by Mennonite young adults from the U.S., is in the photo above.

Juana teaches/preaches the Bible lesson, while Maritza leads singing and one of the children's Sunday School classes during the service. In the photo below, some of the kids recite the verse they (and we) learned for memory this morning.

In order to get to Las Gamas on time each Sunday morning, the two women leave on the bus the evening before - a journey of two hours one-way (when the dirt road is passable). It's no small commitment and service they are engaged in!

Our kids have been rather amazing church-attenders recently. For the last two months or so, we have never had to leave our bench during the 1.5-2 hour services. Granted, we're exhausted by the end of the wrestling session, but still, it gives us hope!
(our secret: graham crackers. Notice both kids are working on them).

After the service, the church folks took us on a walking tour of the small, tranquil-seeming town - the plaza, the school, the thatch-roofed market stalls that never got much use. Then everyone had lunch at the home of folks that also serve meals-for-purchase on Sunday, at a table underneath a shade tree. Jonathan points the way.

In these pots are the "restaurant" meals (peanut soup, picante chicken, and chops of some kind), as well as the chicken-rice-potato stew that we all ate. Food cooked over a wood fire tastes much better (and is quicker to prepare), they say.

The cooking and our eating took place under this thatched roof. Just outside of it was this guy pounding steamed rice into a flour. This was going to be mixed with yucca, lard, and cheese to make a dense kind of bread (also to sell).

One of the highlights of the day for us was hearing Jonathan speak so freely and naturally in Spanish - first with the Masavis in the vehicle, and here with Octavio and his little red car. And, course, we nearly burst with pride at our little charlador.