5 Years and Counting...

Five years! That's how long there has been a church here at Enlaces. So, last Sunday we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the church. The church was decorated for the occasion, and a lot of people showed up for the service! We had water baptism, and 7 or 8 people got baptized. After the service, we had doughnuts and refrescos (soda) for everyone. It was a good day.

On Monday, I rode my bike around the city. I went to the internet café since our internet was down. (It's fixed now. Thanks, Greg!) I was there for about an hour and 45 minutes and paid less than $2US. Then I just rode around for a while before heading to the grocery store. I'm finding that I go to the grocery store less and the mercado more. Although, now I like to go to the Colonial grocery store since it's near the mercado and is cheaper than the Jumbo. (By 'cheaper', we're talking a difference of pennies, but I love it!)

When I got back to Enlaces, Freddie and his friend, David, were just getting ready to leave. They had come over to help me get my bike fixed. Thankfully, they had only been waiting a few minutes. I threw my groceries into the house and ran back to the gate. Freddie led the way and we went to a bike mechanic on the boulevard, very near Enlaces. The mechanic was able to fix my front brake in a matter of two minutes. I knew it was a simple fix, but didn't know exactly what to do. But I was having another problem with the bike and I thought that would be more involved. It was.

I needed to have my bottom bracket repacked. Well, the mechanic just went after it and got it done in a short time. I watched what he was doing. He had obviously done this before. When he was all done, I asked, "¿Cuánto cuesta?" (How much?) I knew it would be cheap, but I wish I would have been able to contain my surprise a little more. When he told me it was 15 Lemps, I said, "¿Sólo quince?" (Only 15?) Then I paid him. I offered to go buy Freddie and David a Coke at the little pulpería down the block, but they said I could do that another time. They went their way and I went mine.

I rode back to Enlaces still in awe of what I had just paid to have my brakes fixed AND my bottom bracket repacked. 15 Lemps. SEVENTY FIVE CENTS!!! Unbelievable!

Thank you, Lord!