Today we woke up and had garlic bread for breakfast. I thought this was very odd. Actually, we all did. But we ate it anyway and fresh fruit of course. We headed to the work site and were ready for another full day. We got there and found a pile of 420 cement blocks waiting for us. Surprisingly, we all formed the line rather quickly. Blocks are definitely harder than buckets. Anyway, the day started off rough. It seemed as though everyone has been promoted overnight to 'boss'. Everyone was shouting directions at each other and none of them were consistent. I finally kind of shouted that we needed a prayer break. Everyone kind of brushed me off. After a few more minutes, Serenity came over and said "You're right. Do you want to pray?" So we did. It definitely helped our moods. I'm not sure if it really did anything for the rest of the group or if we just didn't notice them anymore. But, God definitely changed frustration to joy.
Right before lunch Rafael came and found me and asked me to mix another batch of blue cement for the top coat of the floor. Sandy was going to be my partner this time. We went in to the classroom to get started, but DeLise was setting up for lunch in there. So, we decided to wait until after lunch.
Rafael and I
We helped DeLise set up as many chairs in a huge circle around the room. She said that we were all taking lunch at the same time today because she had some announcements. This made me curious.
Maddy and I at lunch.
Once we all gathered, got our chips and sandwiches - DeLise gave Jeff the floor. He announced that not only were we way ahead of schedule - but if we just stayed one extra hour today - we would be finished! Everyone was so excited. We could not believe that we were able to complete four full days of projects, plus an additional huge project in just THREE DAYS! It was amazing! Then they announced that instead of going to the construction site on Friday, we would all go to Kid's Club to work, then to the market in Santo Domingo and Old Town. Also, we would end, back at that vacation home that we started at on Monday.
We were all so pumped! This gave us so much motivation to work so hard the rest of the afternoon. It really was unbelievable how hard we all worked. That was definitely a God thing. How we were all not sore, lame or injured was definitely a miracle! We continued with the bucket line for hours. Many of the local kids joined in. I was next to the funniest little 'drill sargent' ever! His name is Miguel and he just barked orders, in spanish of course, to everyone around him. He was so adorable and I could just tell that he was loving the fact that he was able to help. So I would give him a hard time right back and we had a really good time working together.
That's my lil 'drill sargent' - on the right.
Along with the bucket line we had four wheel barrels rolling. They were cleaning piles of rock, crumbled cement and mud from around the school. we also removed a huge clay mound that was behind the kitchen. With that huge pile back there - every time it rained - the kitchen flooded. So, I'm really hoping that they won't have to worry about that anymore.
Chipping away at the mound behind the kitchen.
Once the wheel barrels were full, they brought them to the front of the school where AJ, Aaron and Pastor Matt had to lift and flip them into the back of a truck. It was incredible. I don't know how they did that over and over and over. I think we loaded that truck 5-6 times.
At first they could use the ramp.
But once the truck was half full, they had to lift!
I can not explain how amazing it was to see every project that we started - come to a complete close. and then some!
The beautiful completed floors!
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