Rachel Chapman a servant of the Living God 7:00 am – I woke up, got out of bed & got myself ready for the day. I slept in this morning. It was so nice to have the extra hour of sleep. I feel refreshed and ready for the day.
7:15 – As I was putting in my contacts at the bathroom sink, I remember a plumbing problem we’ve been having with the bathroom drains. So, I grab some tools and fix it.
7:40 – I had dishes from the night before. So, while I washed dishes, Katie made breakfast. We decide to head out the door to visit some Nahuatl friends about 9am.
8:00 – We sit down for breakfast – an egg, toast with sugar-free guava jam that Katie made, and chai tea. Yum!
8:15 – Jasmine arrives and asks for diapers for her neighbor’s newborn. We are surprised at the birth of the new baby. We knew the mother was pregnant, but suspected her due date around April because of her size. We sell our visitor a few cloth diapers for her neighbor and offer her coffee because it’s cold.
9:15 – Francine arrives, a 13 year old who has a few days off school because the teacher is at a teachers’ workshop. She’s bored and wants me to make bread for her. I tell her I really don’t have time to make bread.
9:23 – Jasmine leaves. The solar panels have charged the batteries enough for us to turn on the inverter to use the internet. Katie checks her email.
9:40 – Katie comes outside to visit with Francine so I can check email quick and get ready to go visiting. Francine wants to buy clothes, but she doesn’t have any money on her. But, she wants to see all that we have to sell so if she wants anything she can come back with the money later and buy it. We have some second-hand clothing and blankets that we make available to the people for very cheap.
Heading out to visit the family in these houses and their neighbors
9:58 – We’re finally on our way out the door to visit. We stop off at Katie’s language helpers’ house on an errand. Then, we head next door to see the mom with the new baby, taking a present of crunchy tostada shells for the mother and a baby bundle, a gift we give to all newborn babies. (a fleece blanket, cloth diapers, a change of clothes, socks and a hat) Many times, women have NOTHING for the baby when it is born.
A mom and her 2 day old baby
11:30 – We finish visiting and start to head home, stopping by the store to buy a few things we need – powder milk for coffee and some ramen noodles.
Our town store - if you want a Coke or chips, they always have it. If you want tortilla flour, wheat flour, or beans, you might be out of luck.
11:35 – The store is closed. Owners aren’t home. They’re probably working in their fields as it’s nearing harvest time. I’ll have to go back later in the afternoon.
11:45 – We get home. I check email again and load new recordings on my MP3 player to listen to while I make lunch.
12:00 – I start getting lunch ready, listening to Nahuatl recordings at the same time to continue studying language while I work in the kitchen. Sweet Potato & Carrot Curry with Canned Chicken!
12:35 – My Tuesday afternoon language helper arrives early. Lunch is not ready. I ask Katie if she’s okay eating whatever she can find. I’ll finish the lunch later for supper.
12:40-1:30 – Leyo helps me with language questions that I’ve accumulated in the last few days, and we talk about culture – personal property and community property
1:30-2:00 – Leyo hangs around for some visiting. We talk about what’s happening in the village and when I’m traveling to town next….
Leyo and her youngest sons and her granddaughter. The boys can be super goofy when they're all together!
2:00 – Leyo leaves, so I finish making lunch which will be supper. I made extra so we can eat it several times this week, storing it in our solar powered refrigerator. I cleaned up the kitchen, washed dishes & listened to some praise music instead of Nahuatl recordings because I was TIRED.
3:30 – I’m re-energized and ready to study. I sit at my desk and transcribe two texts that I recorded a little bit ago about what is a good person and what is a bad person in the Nahuatl’s perspective.
4:15 – I finished transcribing, so I check my time sheet that I fill out every day. What do I need to focus on with my time that’s left for today? I have 6 hours on my time sheet already with 2 hours left to my goal. I need to work on analyzing grammar and writing up what we’ve found in grammar. And, I need to process more recordings so that I can listen to the speech patterns & write down the cultural information to pass to my teammates. I’ll see what I can get done yet…
4:17 – I went to Katie’s office to ask her a question and ended up listening to the Nahuatl story she’s working on…. A bear grabs a girl while she’s out pasturing the cows and drags her to the edge of the cliff. But, then he grabs her little pocket mirror to admire himself. As he’s looking at himself, she kicks him in the back and he rolls over the cliff. Nice story! We end up exchanging language info, talking about new words we’re learning.
4:40 – I grab a blanket to wrap up with on the couch as it’s getting chilly now. I’ll work on grammar for a little bit.
Trying to figure out the complexities of the Nahuatl grammar
5:00 – Katie´s laundry lady returns from washing her clothes. Katie invites her in to warm up with a coffee. I greet her and add to the conversation here and there in Nahuatl as I type out Nahuatl grammar rules in English on my computer.
5:15 – Other visitors arrive; I quickly save my work and put away my computer so I can help Katie host people in our house. Since it is chilly, I offer the new arrivals coffee. I heat water for them, make coffee, and visit with them until the coffee is drunk.
5:50 – All the visitors leave. I sit down again to get a little more grammar work done.
6:30 – Our co-workers, Pete & Liesl, arrive for some prayer time together. I heat up supper for Katie and I and we eat while we catch up. How is Milo understanding the Bible teaching? Have you heard anything new about when the well drillers are coming? Did you know there’s a new baby in town? Then, we pray.
8:00 – Prayer time over; Pete & Liesl head back to their house.
8:15 – Katie and I watch a show on our little 9in portable DVD player.
9:00 – I’m reading through the Bible, and right now I’m in Jeremiah, reading his prophecies to Judah after the first Babylonian invasion.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, and have made the their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17.7-8
9:40 I turn the lights out and hope to sleep soundly, because there’s no sleeping in tomorrow! I’ll be up before 6 to go running with Liesl. And, I’ll do a day like this all over again!
