Another Day in Paradise

Things have been going well, considering. The rainy season started about a week ago, and we saw more rain in 24 hours than fell all of last season, according to some of the guys who have been here the longest. This left huge puddles and lakes in the housing areas, the parking lots, everywhere. And very few places except the main roads are paved, so the ever-present dust has turned into very nice mud. I'm sure the local farmers are thrilled. We just received the last of our gear that we shipped from the states, so I finally have my raincoat and cold weather jacket.

Work has been relatively slow. I did get to work on the radios of a couple of HEMTT trucks (pronounced Hemmit), which I've never worked on before. Beyond that, there's really not much going on.

Church and RCIA have been going well. I asked if there was anything I could do to help during the mass. I was thinking I could be a lector, one who reads the scripture, but instead they pointed me toward a different function. What they really need is altar servers, someone to assist the priest directly in the order of mass and the preparation of communion. They wear a cassock and surplice, and sit next to the priest on the stage (for lack of a better word) near the altar. It was very intimidating to think about, but Fr. Hotel was very supportive. He told me that as the Master of Ceremonies for a bishop for a couple of years, the secret he learned was, "Just act like you know what you're doing, and you'll be just fine." I've served at two Sunday masses now, and I'm learning a lot about the order of mass and what happens during the preparation of the gifts. It's interesting, and it's just one more way to learn about my new faith.

Our quest for internet in the housing area is still in progress. The satellite dish has been set up and pointed, and Mr. Wizard was able to use the internet for about 5 minutes, but it hasn't worked since. There's some sort of routing problem, and we can't figure out if it's our problem or our service provider's. The other critical component, the wireless network system we purchased, has finally arrived. We should be setting that up shortly, but it won't do people much good if the internet connection is not ready. We'll be able to share files and play games amongst ourselves, but that's it. As soon as all of that is ready, I'm going to try uploading pictures. Until then, just e-mail me if you'd like them e-mailed directly to you. (If you post a reply to this message, then I'll get the word. Just make sure to include your name, and e-mail address if I don't have it. Beep.)