realities

Picture tin hut, dirt floor, little fire in the middle of the one room  surrounded by a few dishes - one with tortillas, a bucket of water.  A 97 year old lady huddled on a rock next to the fire in her sweater with her hands over her face.  She was cold, had a light cough and the chills.  I rubbed her back, rubbed her chest with oils, then rubbed her hands to get warmth back in them.  There was nothing more I could do for her.  Hard to walk away again.  We shall visit her again on Monday.
We had just been visiting her grandchildren and great grandchildren next door where the Mother has a new seven day old baby.  I worked some with the mom who was hurting all over from the labor and laying on the hard bed where she stays with the baby, the majority of the day.  The ten year old daughter has asked us to sing and read with them so that has been promised for when we go back on Monday afternoon.
Went to make Lebkuchen and saw a recipe calling for Cardamom seeds.  It is one of the major exports from here, although the price has sunk very low for them.  I went to the market to find some and no one sells it here in the market.  Someone then pointed me over to one of the drying sheds and when I went there they were very kind and gave me a small bag full.  Cookies will be great.
Saw for the first time on the market a Cocoa.  it looks like a squash almost, cut it open and the seeds are covered in this sweet/sour membrane that I liked, Elder Spradlin didn't.  The seeds are now in the drying process if we ever get any sun.
Went on a visit last night to teach a couple, the Dad wasn't home, but we were able to sing a couple of Christmas songs to the lady using our flashlights as she held her candle.
Our little 4 month old will be having her eye surgery on Monday! Praying all goes well and they will be back to Senahu by Friday.
No plans to go back to the capitol probably until May, then Elder Spradlin lost part of a filling so we get to make a fast run down this week, coming back through Coban to work with Elders on their English there, then stopping in Tuccuru to help teach a Brother how to use the Missionary program online.
Learned this week how to layer my clothes better, double shirting is helping keep me a lot warmer, and I have switched to wearing my rubber boots when we are out, not just for the mud but they are much warmer.  A lot of the people kind of laugh when they see it, I'm setting a new fashion trend, where the ladies here wear little sandels and only the men wear boots.  Definitely not complaining, I have blankets and clothes to keep me warm and am very very grateful.