Breakfast was great. We had oatmeal along with cereal, eggs,
sausage, and fruit. Add in the all importante café, it was a great way to start
out the day. After breakfast, everyone loaded up with tools and headed to the
worksites. Our goal today was to get as much as we could done so that tomorrow
we could finish up and take a long walk to the waterfall. The playset team got
to work adding a safety railing, a roof frame, and the last of the slats they
needed to install while another part of the team began painting the murals we
will hang to act as safety rails and to add color to the structure. Things went
great until power went out. This is a regular occurrence. Thankfully the camp
has a generator that can be started if needed, but with Padre away we had to
wait until Charlie came back from the house site and he was there with that
team most of the morning.
The team that arrived at the house was met with a pile of
sand and concrete just being mixed. So it was right to work. Euclitis (our
Dominican contractor) was already checking level lines and the first few
buckets of mix went to set the levels. We worked our way down 1/3 of the
combination kitchen and living room, then down the opposite 1/3 passing buckets
as if we were part of a bucket brigade. Of course we had to mix more sand and
concrete for each 1/3, but we did pretty good. Only once did we have to go back
and add some more concrete mix to the pile as the locals who were helping
started us off with too much sand. As we began to work our way down the middle
third we had to stop for a while. The family wanted a half-wall partition added
so we had to measure and lay the first row of block. Once that was done, we
were at it again and by 11:00 am, Kelly got to hand off the last bucket to
complete the project.
Our team has been blessed with a growing sense of
accomplishment. Long hours, a hot sun, and mosquitoes have not damped our
spirits. We are able to see the faces of those whose lives we impact with our
works. Jacquelyn has been working alongside Fr. Tom and the house team and
after the last bucket was poured, she gave each of us a chocolate bar. The
smile on her face was so big and she was so thankful for what we knew that God
has to be part of what was happening. Seeing the faces of the kids watching us
build the playset confirms that feeling equally. One of the most blessed
moments was when Angela (Padre’s wife) came down and saw the large mural
installed that had cutouts for kids to place their faces in, she was so
overwhelmed with thanks she too was grinning from ear to ear. You could tell by
the sound of her voice just how happy she was to see what the community would
soon enjoy.
With most of the structure finished and painted, it was time
for a break and the team (led by Charlie) headed for the river. The beach was
crowded as it was another hot day. Kids were jumping off rocks, playing in the
sand, and just having fun. However, the water level was a little lower than
normal so Charlie recommended our team not jump in from the rocks. The kids of
course were disappointed, the adults were relieved. Anyway, the water felt
great. Our youth intermixed with the youth that were there as if language
didn’t matter. Of course we were joined by some of the young men who had been
helping us. We do have several young ladies with us that were noticed. But
everything was on the up and up and all had fun. The ladies wanted to get back
a little early to spruce up for tonight’s fiesta so after about an hour in the
river we headed back to the camp. The ladies spent time braiding their hair and
they got out their dresses and by 6:00 pm they no longer looked as if they had
been working as hard as they had been. Members of the church began pouring in
and the dining hall filled up and every table that was out was surrounded by
laughing and smiling people all looking forward to the feast we were about to
share. Padre Alvaro opened by giving thanks for the work we were doing and a
prayer. The food was fantastic and there was more than enough for everyone.
There was even some for a few families to take home when all was said and done.
After dinner, Padre got up to thanks us again. It was such a
blessing to receive. Part of that blessing included Padre and Angela singing a
song, than everyone joined in. There was more singing after this; by some local
girls, by our youth, by Fr. Tom and Sharon (who by the way chickened out and
had the whole team join them), it was just a great time. Then the musica
(music) started playing and everyone started dancing. Jacquelyn, the lady whose
house we were building, came over and got Fr. Tom up to dance. He doesn’t dance
very well, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was about the shared sense of
community. Boys who had come quickly got the young ladies on the team up and
dancing and I don’t think they sat down very long for the next hour and
one-half. Every member of the team, that wanted to, danced with someone, either
another member of the team or with one of the locals. It was a great fiesta.
When the music ended, several of the local ladies had
brought crafts they make for sale. Our team had no need to go to town to shop,
it was like the town came to us. Everyone bought something, some even tried to
buy a little something from each of the ladies. The scarves, jewelry, and odds
and ends were wonderful and the little we spent will go a long way; maybe not
as far as we would hope, but we knew that what seemed like little to us was
much to these ladies.
As the sale ended, Don asked the youth if they still wanted to do Compline. One young lady said right away yes! She added if we were not going to do it every night, we shouldn’t have done it the first. With that, we headed up to the balcony. Kelly led reflection tonight and she asked us the question “Where do we think we made the most difference today?” It was amazing to listen to the answers shared and then Charlie added his own observation reminding us the difference was in everything we did from the projects we worked on to the smile on our faces. He was so grateful for what God had done in and through us. With that, we moved onto Compline and turned off the lights to sit and listen. Rowan and Lauren offered a short song of praise and we sat. I wonder if others sat and listened differently tonight too.
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