A Good Day

WARNING:  If reading about bugs and vermin gives you the heeby-jeebies, you might want to skip this one!

A couple of weeks ago I pulled open one of the doors to our big built-in wooden cabinet.  And quickly pushed it shut again.  Huele mal.  (It smells bad!)

Last fall we’d found (okay, Daisy had found!) dead mice up there.  Five of them.  One of the women in the community had come in and cleaned it up for us.  Not long after that, a dead rat meant moving everything out of the Site and cleaning.     

Now, it seemed, more of them had moved in. 

With a busy month, it was easy to ignore the cabinet and the horrors inside.  But, I knew it had to be faced.  And, yesterday was the day.  There was water (El Callejon has water every-other day), and there was sunshine (so stuff could be cleaned and dried outside).  Perfect.

And so, armed (or handed?) with a pair of yellow rubber gloves, I got to work.  I’d half-convinced myself it was just mice… the droppings told a different story.  So, so many droppings!  And urine.  Rat urine is… well, it’s potent.  And disgusting. 

First, taking everything out.  Picture a grown woman standing on a bench, gingerly pulling out boxes, bags and other stuff.  Her shoulders are hunched up around her ears, and she’s emitting a series of yelps and whimpers.  She is trying to hold her breath and not gag.  She’s failing at both.

Keila and Jenifer

Keila, Jenifer, Jhoana... and lots of water!

It wasn’t long before some of the girls stopped by.  I told them what I was doing, and they asked if they could help.  Jhoana (12), Keila (9) and Jenifer (8) got to work.  They were amazing!  They helped me move all the benches, desk, and tables outside.  They scrubbed the floor and walls.  Everyone here cleans with lots and lots (and lots!) of water.  As in, buckets full!    

As the floor dried, we went out back and started sorting stuff.  Anything covered with droppings went into the trash.  The girls went through containers, checking old paints, markers, pens, to see if they still worked. 

I tried to tell them if something smelled bad, they didn’t need me to confirm it.  But, time and time again they would shove something under my nose – Huele Mal! 

While all of this was going on, I had the Treces group (our 13 year olds) make Welcome Back signs for Daisy.  They did a great job, and I’m excited for her to see them next week!

I had to lock out the littler ones who wanted to join in the fun.  They rattled the fence and hollered, but I couldn’t let 2-5 year old kids into the rather chaotic mess.  I have to admit, it was pitiful to see them lined up outside, especially when Jafresi started to cry!

At the end of the day, we had a box and three bags filled with droppings and urine-scented garbage.  We’d found 3 dead cockroaches, 4 live ones.  Thankfully, no mice or rat sightings!

I talked with my three helpers and told them how much I appreciated all that they’d done for me.  They told me they had helped because I’m always nice and help them.  In the midst of the yuckiness, my heart soared. 

I let each of them pick a gift from some of the (clean!) donations we had.  They left with hugs… and carrying away the trash.    

We were sweaty and dirty and had smelled more gross stuff than could possibly be good for us, but we had done it together.  And, that made it a good day. 

I pray that as we continue to work in El Callejon, we will continue to have good days.  Not because it’s easy or even clean, but because together we can minister to each other.  Together we can see more of Jesus, learning how to love and serve each other, and Him.