Cold Pancakes & Popcorn

Sunday:
I slept in and was awakened by a knock on my door... ¨Eli! Aren´t you going to make pancakes this morning?¨ I thought I was going to cook them for lunch... just another one of the few (or many!) miscommunications I´ve had with my Spanish. :) I was groggy and my stomach was upset, but I agreed. Shirley was so excited about pancakes that she I rolled out of bed and zipped up my fleece.

I`d received many requests for pancakes (pronounced ¨pancake-ies¨ in Spanish), especially from Felix who claimed he could eat a ¨mountain of pancakes.¨

Shirley helped me in the kitchen and we made pancakes from scratch (no Bisquick, here) with some makeshift chocolate chips. By the time we gathered all 7 girls in my family to sit down for breakfast, the pancakes were cold. Nobody cared, though... we rolled them up with our hands and ate them with ¨dulce de leche¨ (sort of like caramel) and blackberry jam. It was delightful!(Felix was in La Paz for the day so I made sure to set aside a mountain of pancakes for him to enjoy later.) We dined in our pajamas and laughed around the table, passing my camera around to document the ¨special¨ meal.

Unfortunately, Judi found out I´m ticklish. Of course I flailed, though I managed not to kick anyone.

Monday:
Today at Missionaries of Charity, Erica and I helped change the sheets on the beds. Even though some of the beds were made, we were instructed to shake out the sheets. We soon discovered why...some of the women hide bread in their sheets. Or, they´ve wet their bed. Today, we even found popcorn in some sheets...a lot of popcorn. I´ve also found combs, dentures, and various food wrappers.
The room reeked of urine...

I spent some time sitting outside with some of the women to get some fresh air. Teresa kept stroking my hand and pinching me every now and then. She likes to be pushed around the groudns in her wheelchair, even though she´s fully capable of moving herself around. This morning, she came scooting up to us on her knees.
Another woman wrapped her arms around my waist and wanted to dance.

It´s hard work... 4 hours can drag on....
These women are teaching me humility and love.