Day 3 - Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Esta mañana (This morning) is another glorious dia (day) Another glorious morning! The neighborhood gallo (roosters) were up and at it again, welcoming the new days. Once they started, so too did the other animals of the barrio. I’m not sure how anyone sleeps through it all, but it didn’t seem to faze very many on our team. Maybe that is because we were all very tired when we finally went to bed. Today is going to be another hard and hot day. There is a lot to get done and we are hoping to get our projects completed by Friday so that we can spend much of Saturday interacting with the youth of the barrio. To get ahead, we will eat breakfast a little earlier today. This will also give us a chance to do some of the roof work we will be doing in the cooler part of the day.

The team was a little slow getting up this morning and we had one team member wake up with an upset stomach. We sent this person back to bed to rest (by late afternoon they felt great) we suspect they were a little dehydrated from yesterday’s work. Anyway, it was another tasty breakfast, scrambled eggs, sausage, oatmeal, and fruit. Not as many wanted eggs this morning so Sharon suggested we offer cereal for those who would prefer it, but a box had already been put out. With a tired team, breakfast was much less energetic today. Light chit chat was all we really heard. Still, once breakfast was done, the team rose to the occasion and grabbed the tools and headed to the job site. We learned there was little we could do with the roof today. It would be locals working to make sure the rafters we sealed yesterday were installed. For our part, we cut off the ends at the desired angle and helped carry the lumber back over to the house. When we took it over, we saw where cutouts in the cinder block had been made to rest the beam in. So we stood each beam up against the building at a notch and headed back to the playground.

Our main focus today was on the playground. There was lots of painting and railings to install. Steve also fashioned a solid wall that will have climbing rocks installed so that the youth can climb up onto one of the towers (about 4-feet high). The morning turned cloudy and we were happy because that meant the temperature would be more moderate. At one point we thought we might get rain, but it passed by us to the northeast. Lunch seemed to come up on us quickly today. We had pasta with meat sauce, fried plantain, fruit, and chocolate cupcakes. After lunch, the sun came out and it was hot. Some on the team began to tire and it seemed like breaks came more often. With each break, we reminded team members to drink more water. Besides painting, we began clearing some of the ground around the structure of rocks and weeds using hoes, rakes, and our hands. In the hot sun this was the least favorite task before us. We didn’t get far, but we made a dent in it. This part of the project would be better accomplished in the early morning.

To help energize the team, we thought about going to the river. However, the work went a little longer than planned and Padre Alvaro was worried we might not go and come back in time for dinner. Some were disappointed but most took it in stride and showered instead. As power was out most of the afternoon there was no hot water, but the water was still warmer than the river would have been so I don’t think I heard anyone complain. With time until dinner, the playing cards came out and we had several groups having fun playing this card game or that. I think a few team members even took a short siesta or at least enjoyed laying in bed out of the sun.

When it was time for dinner we had no bell as we had no power. So Lauren whistled and got everyone’s attention. Dinner tonight was rice and chickpeas, BBQ chicken, plantains, potato and beet salad and bread. For dessert we had tres leche. It was a quiet meal as everyone was rather hungry (a hard day’s work does that to a person). Once dinner was over the cards came out again as if on cue. Folks kicked back until it was time to head down to the church. The activity planned for tonight was watching the movie Frozen (in Spanish with English sub-titles) with local children. Padre had sent out word to the barrio we would offer this; and we had many children (of all ages) stop in to watch it with us. Sitting together side by side the fact we came from 1000 miles apart, and different cultures, didn’t matter. We laughed and moaned at all the same points in the movie. When the movie finished it was time for treats. Our youth shared treats with the youth of the barrio and there was even more laughter and excitement as they shared food and drink. We quickly realized Cheetos were the snack of choice.

We went up to the balcony again tonight for reflection. The breeze felt nice and tonight we were joined by Padre Alvaro and his wife Angela. We shared our thoughts on the day and where we saw God in our midst. Padre and Angela shared some thoughts with us too and it was a perfect end to a wonderful day and, dare I say it, a glorious one at that. Tomorrow we work more on the playground and maybe on the house. Fr. Tom is looking forward to Friday when we help mix and pour the floor in the house we have been working on. Some of that concrete will go to set some supports we have added to the play-gym. Buenos Noches.