Re:

Hey Mom,

I hope you're feeling a lot better today; headaches stink!  I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but the internet's been down here for a few days.  Sounds like you've had a lot of fun recently.  I'm so glad Barry seems to be fitting right in!  I didn't do much of note this weekend, but it was still fairly relaxing, and that's always wonderful.

But let me tell you about Cleo, the wonderful lady from church that cleans our house.  She is so amazing.  She's a maid here at the church and the school and she works very hard for very little pay.  Actually, the average pay for a maid here is around 100 Lmp. per day, which translates to around $5.  Not much at all.  But she's so wonderful.  She come to clean our house after she gets done here at the church on Mondays and Wednesdays, and she also comes by on Saturday mornings.  In all, she only works at our house for about 8 hours a week, but yet she does so much!

Yesterday I told the guys that I've decided on Mondays and Wednesdays I need to come straight home from school.  Teaching can really take a lot out of you, both emotionally and physically, but it's nothing compared to what a maid does on a daily basis.  And yet, I've never seen Cleo without a smile.  She's so jubulent and joyful all the time!  And whats better about it is that when I come home after a hard, draining day at school, she is there smiling and greeting us, "Hola Meestehr!"  She's so kind and funny!  She's always ready to laugh (in an encouraging way) as well, whether it be at one of us or at our broken, messed up Spanish.  She is such a blessing; more than I could express or know.  She keeps saying that we are a blessing to her; but it truly is her that's a blessing to us.  I personally think that she's a thousand times better at cleaning my mind of worries and being an encouragement to me than she is at cleaning the house.  And based on her stellar abilities and endurance that's second to none when it comes to cleaning... that's saying a lot!  She's truly one of the best women I know.

Now if only she were a generation younger and spoke English better (or at all) ...

;-)

Much Love!

Jason Scott Vawter