This Post by: Courtney Reckrodt (seen at left) is a senior Animal Science major hailing from Kearney, Missouri. She will start in Veterinary Medicine School at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2012. Courtney is the President of Mizzou´s Lutheran Student Fellowship, a member of the Pre-Vet Club, and enjoys riding horses at Stephens College.

    Normally, I am a picky eater. But one of my goals for this trip was to try the local cuisine. So yesterday, I ate cow tongue in red sauce, which was like BBQ sauce. I cannot say I liked it, but it was worth a try.

    Today, we started our actual mission work. It started with us gathering in the church and being introduced to the children. Then, we walked through the town to the field where we played games. The walk over let us see the typical neighborhood. The road was dirt and had rocks sticking out that made for a rough ride in a vehicle. It was a nice walking path however. Both sides were lined with barbed wire fences. I almost think they used those like we have picket fences. Livestock, especially pigs, roamed the roads. There was a guy walking down the road with a pet squirrel on his shoulder.

    When we arrived at the field, the kids took off and started playing games. We gathered them around and played ´´Pato, pato, ganso´´ or duck, duck, goose. One little girl latched on to me and would not hardly leave my side. She could not make up her mind if she wanted to play soccer or duck, duck, goose so we ended up going back and forth across the field a lot. We played a couple other games that resembled ring around the rosie, but in Spanish. I kind of understood it, but I could only pick up one line and remember when to say it. It was ´´Me gusta lavar la ropa,´´ or I like to wash the clothes.

    We had lunch, used Jesus bracelets as a craft to witness to the kids, and then went back out to play baseball with the older kids. There were more adults there and they monopolized the baseball field. So a few of us (including me) played frisbee and kickball with the kids on the sidelines.

   While this was going on, a guy started herding his cattle right through the middle of our game using a bike! They looked like Brahmans, and walked right through the middle of us like it was no big deal. This tells me they have been well cared for because Brahman are sensitive to handling and turn mean if mishandled. So despite how skinny and small they looked, they are still well cared for and handled with respect.  Then there were these pigs that were walking around and they found a small drainage ditch right next to us and just plopped down in it. The pigs tails were not docked. It just floors me that the livestock roam free around here. I would think it would be an easy way for them to get stolen, lost, or killed. But since the guy was bringing the cattle in, I am thinking they do not roam free all the time, just during the day. 


    On the way home, we saw sugar cane being combined which I thought was really cool. It was really fast, so I did not see a whole lot of detail. I did see combines though. Sugar cane seems to be their main crop around here.

    Before we left the US, I was scared I would not recall much Spanish. I have been surprised at how much I remember. I am not saying I am fluent, but I was able to talk and listen with the children about family, school, and ages. If I had a question, I was typically able to get across what I was confused about and understand the answer.

    All in all, I think today was a good first day in the field. I am looking forward to what the rest of the week brings.