A visit to Springfield

This morning, we woke up to cold and rain.  Nice for staying home.  I got up and did two loads of laundry (and yes, I used my dryer...I knew it would not even be worth attempting to hang them.  Good decision.)  It was nice to get that done, pancakes made and a little bit of yesterday cleaned up before heading out for our Family Day.

Lee had discovered this little Mennonite Community that was very primitive.  They had a market and we had a friend, who has been here as a missionary for years, who was willing to join us.

We were not sure if it was a good idea to still go since it had been raining all day, but just left a little later than we originally planned.  It is on the Hummingbird Hwy, South, on the way to the Blue Hole.  As we turned off, there was a lot of mud.  We were still wondering if we should go ahead, but our friend assured us that we would be okay.

Not too far up the road, a van had slid off the road because of the rain and mud.  This worried me some.  We are actually heading into the dry season, so I am wondering if this is our last bout of rain like this.

But the drive was beautiful, even in the rain.  The girls and I had all put on modest dresses, and the guys wore slacks, as a respect to the people there.  We did take pictures, but tried to be respectful when we were around the people.  And I must say, every single person we interacted with was so friendly.  I would have loved to have taken a picture of some children, barefoot...because their children are all barefoot, playing outside and looking at our van like we were from another universe.  I would have loved to have taken a picture of the young men that we talked to when we went back to the market, which by 11 am, was totally sold out.  That was a little disappointing.  I have been told that we can get strawberries and blueberries back there, so hope to go back sometime.  Even though pictures of the people would have made this post more interesting, it is more important that we respected those people and honored their wishes for no photos.

This was truly one of those days that it was about the JOURNEY moreso than the DESTINATION.  The market was sold out when we got there.  The general store was closed.  So we got back in the van and headed out.  But it was still nice and nice to just enjoy a drive in the rain.  And I am thankful God kept us safe and we didn't slide in the mud or get stuck.

sawmill run on HORSE-power...see the place where the horses would go if not raining...

Erika really enjoyed the homemade donut..

the women were packing up all sorts of vegetables: carrots, potatoes, etc.