Mario is my new friend. The driver for Vision: Nicaragua, he is always around and always behind the wheel of the truck that takes us zooming down the highway to our location of the day. But he is much more than just our "driver". Mario truly has a heart of gold, the heart of a servant. Mario started working for Visions: Nicaragua when it started 10 years ago and has been here since. He is married and has a family, but makes himself available 24/7 for whatever we need, everything from locating medication for a sore throat to stopping for ice cream at the end of a long day of construction.
We have been doing construction several days a week since we have arrived here, and not only has he been driving us everywhere, everyday, but he has always been in the middle of the work needing to be done. He taught us how to mix concrete, (my newest skill) and lay brick. I know that he and Juan Carlos (who is heading up the construction project), could do the work 10 times faster than us gringos, but instead they patiently teach us.
Mixing mortar… Yeah, we are all single.
Mario speaks a little bit of English, and what he does know he has used to quiz me in my Spanish.
"Colors? Bloo?"
"Azule."
"Numbers? One hundrad?"
"Cien."
Banter between us doesn't go very deep considering my lack of conversational Spanish, but somehow I manage to answer questions about how old I am, where I live, do I have a boyfriend, why DON'T I have a boyfriend, etc. I think he find my Spanish very entertaining (not surprising) but yet he still encourages me to practice. As of right now, I'm great at understanding the Spanish words mostly commonly used in construction: "Need more water. I need two more blocks. Need more water. No more. Three and a half buckets of sand. Need more water."
Need more water!
My favorite thing about Mario is his smile, because it truly reflects his heart. Every morning I try and make a special effort to greet him and thank him for his service: "Buenas dias Mario! Gracias!" He always, ALWAYS responds with a big smile and a gracious: "Buenas! De nada." His heart of a servant is as constant as his smile, and he serves as a reminder to me: we are here to serve, wherever we may be.
