The singing and the guitars could be heard as we approached the low church building made of mud bricks and with corrugated iron for the roof. People of all ages were coming and going so this was definitely the centre of activity in this Toba hamlet.
It was late morning and fortunately the heat of the previous days had abated as we had travelled thirty miles from our base in Ingeniero Juarez to join the Tobas for their Christmas celebrations. We went into the building - which was full of people - and found a seat on one of the logs provided. People took turns to play the guitars and the service continued for a couple of hours after which we then joined them in consuming a large communal pot of stewed food consisting of meat with pasta, rice, potatoes and vegetables that had been cooking for most of the morning.
SAMS (South American Missionary Society) missionaries had not only introduced the Christian faith, but also many playful activities for festival occasions. These fun and games continued in the afternoon with much laughter and excitement. There were flat races for all ages; our children joined in the flat race but did not stand a chance against the very tough Toba children, but they all got a sweet for taking part.
