The work begins. After breakfast we headed down to the fence line and began to dig a trench across the road. Several people from the local community joined in and before we knew it, we had a 3.5 foot deep trench across the road. Next we began to widen it to lay side by side two 16 inch wide pipes we were to bury. One of the locals hit a water line with the pick axe. This slowed us up a bit as they figured out how to fix it before the hole we dug was completely filled with water. We started digging a relief trench to help manage the water. Fortunately they were able to fix the leak and we resumed working. Must admit, the local folks did a lot of digging. The kids quickly learned that physical labor is hard work.
We took a break for lunch and then enjoyed part of a local custom called siesta. When we gather back up, Annie will give us a tour of the local barrio and introduce us around. This will be good for the team as they have not yet been up and close with the poverty of the area. Once the tour ends, it will be back to work. Hopefully the rain will hold off until much later this afternoon.
Before our walk through the barrio, there was still some work to be done. The locals had widened the trench and had the pipes installed and covered. Our job was to help finish digging out the feeder trenches and move remaining dirt to lower spots in the area. Also took most of the rocks we piled up were used to add filler into the trench. A truck rolled through almost got stuck.. So lots of rocks and more dirt were thrown out onto the road. Another truck came by and rolled back and forth over the trench to pack things down. More dirt and rocks and the job was done.
Annie stopped by and walked us through the barrio. We visited a home the church is building for a family of twelve, two bedrooms, a small living room, and an indoor toilet. The kitchen is outside. We were also invited into the existing house of the family the new building was for. When we learned it fit a family of eight the team was surprised. While the homes provided us with an eyeopening experience, what really caught the youth's attention was how quickly a group of local kids formed up around us. Each of us had one or two kids hanging on and did they love having their picture taken. Of course they wanted to see it afterwards and the smiles never stopped.
Back on the camp it was cold showers and a little more relaxation. Visited with Padre Carlos about tomorrow's project. Looks like more digging is in order. We will be digging holes for citrus trees. When we asked how many trees he wanted to plant, he said 200. Fortunately not all while we are here. I suspect will dig as many as he has trees for. What that number will be is still to be determined. I guess we will dig until lunch.
There are some local youth working at the camp and a young man from New York named David. They seem to interact as if they have known each other for years. The language barrier seems to be less of a problem than one might suggest. Between David, Keith, Annie, and the basic understanding of each other's language works. They even found a way to communicate through French.
At the end of the day we gathered in the dining hall to talk about the day's activities. It was a great discussion and what I found most interesting was the answers to a question that rose up out of our bible study, where did we meet Jesus today. The neat thing was everyone had someone they identified as Jesus. We closed our discussion with Compline led by Cody. Very little rain today, hopefully tomorrow will be the same.
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