Clearing the land, looking for brakes, and sight-reading

This past week has been filled with both adventure and regularity. Mauro, Edwin, David, Manuel, and I spent all of this past week clearing out the hectar of land that will eventually have fruit trees planted on it. After the first day of working in the noonday sun we decided to get up earlier and work until about 11 am and then return to work again at 3 pm. This schedule proved to work well and by the end of the week we had cleared most of the brush and trees. Some of the highlights of working this week included the purchase of my very own machete as well as chasing a bull away from the pineapple field.
Although I worked most of the week, on Tuesday Dr. Matthews had me come with him and Domingo to try and get the projects Jeep fixed. I found out on the way to the mechanic that we were going to tie the Jeep up to the truck with a rope and tow it into Pulcallpa from Campo Verde to get it completely fixed. Also, I found out that I was going to be the one steering the Jeep while Dr. Matthews drove the truck through downtown Pulcallpa traffic. Unfortunately, when we got to the mechanic we found out that the brakes didn’t work on the Jeep so we couldn’t tow it in. Thus began the saga of finding an American brake line in a primarily foreign car country. Domingo and I spent most of the afternoon searching high and low through Pulcallpa for the part. We eventually got a mechanic to fabricate one for us. I then took the part back to the mechanic in Campo Verde so that he could install it. When I got to the shop the mechanic told me that it would not work because it was not strong enough to withstand the pressure of brake fluid. Even though the quest for the part ended up not working I improved my Spanish and learned were all of the Mechanics in Pulcallpa. The trip ended up being extremely useful because next time we have to find a part I will have some basic knowledge of how to find it.
Another highlight of this week was playing the piano for Sabbath School and Church. Although it was fun, at times it is very difficult because I have usually never heard the hymn before and the congregation usually doesn’t have music for it, which means they sing the tune from memory. This causes problems because I play directly from the music but many times the congregation sings the hymn at a completely different rhythm and speed. It usually takes me a few verses before I catch onto the hymn but with God’s help I somehow struggle through. Even though I make a lot of mistakes the congregation really seem to appreciate having a pianist. Another aspect of playing the piano for church is being flexible enough to play special music on the spot. This Sabbath the choir director informed me that I was playing with the choir for special music. Thankfully we got to church early and I was able to play the song through once with them. In addition to playing for the choir I also accompanied a trio for Sabbath school without ever playing the song through with them. God is definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone but I give Him all the praise for helping me through even though I sometimes feel that I can’t do it.
In a week we go on our next clinic to a village about a days journey away. It will be a hard week but I am looking forward to pulling teeth and hopefully assisting with some surgeries. Please pray that God will work on the people’s hearts in the village we are going to. Thank you to everyone for keeping our project in your prayers. God is definitely working!