Trip 1 Day 2

Patrick wanted me to start off by saying after we got home from a long days work yesterday. We sat down and had our discussion time, where we got to see how God worked throughout our day. We all had some great insight on how the day affected each one of us, and how important our work is. We then went out to eat at an irish pub in Antigua, where we had a very nice waitress who showed us the ropes. Now we know every spot to hit in Antigua.

The second day began with another early start. We got up at 8am to make lunches, eat breakfast, and get ready for the day. Oscar (our driver) picked us up at around 9:15 and we hopped in the back of the truck to enjoy the nice ride down to San Antonio. We started off our work by carrying at least another 150 cylinder blocks up a very steep mountain probably around a 100 meters. This is definently the most strenious part of our work. We formed an assembly line up the path and just passed blocks from person to person for at least an hour or two. We have at least another 100 blocks to bring up the hill tomorrow, ahh!! But you can't complain because the blocks are already at least half way up the path from the road. And the Mother and her children must walk all the way up this steep path at least a few times a day. Its crazy how the mother carries her new born baby (Justin) everywhere she goes, including up the path. Not only does she carry her new born up the path, she carries gallons of water and any other supplies she needs. It really just makes you realize, young able bodies like us carrying a few blocks up a hill once a year is nothing. Watching the children and mother move up the path so easily makes you truly appreciate hard work.

So after we did get the main hard part done, we began actually building the house!! We laid five layers of cynder blocks, while of course making morter to apply between all blocks. It was hard work but more tedious than anything. So the rest of the days work just consisted of creating the base of the house. It is exciting though to see a flat area on a mountain side turn from dirt to something resembling a house. The kids, Carlos, Michelle, Christian, and Engra (may be wrong on the last name) were around a lot more today which was much more exciting. We actually got to spend some time with the kids today, and enjoy a little futbol and monkey in the middle. It is just amazing how happy these kids are, it truly gives you shivers. Also they were more than willing to help, they never got in the way, and knew exactly what to do at the right times. It was nothing short of amazing to see God working in these kids.

With all that being said, our discussion after our long hard day, really reflected God's work for these kids and this family. Our discussion was basically based on how we are trying to Love like Jesus loved. The discussion did take many different branches but one of the main topics was based on the idea of Jesus' love and miracles. We talked about how although it doesn't feel like we are creating a miracle here, it may seem that way to this family. This is a displaced family with nothing to look forward to and all of a sudden a group of strangers come in and work extremely hard to build them a real home. A house that has some sort of insulation and isn't made of dirt floors and bamboo walls. Putting yourself in their shoes really does make it seem like it could be a miracle in the making. So far this has been an extremely humbling experience that really makes you appreciate what you have. We are also so blessed to have such a good group of workers and a welcoming, appreciative family.

I just can not wait to see the final product, hand over the keys, and see those everlasting smiles on the faces of the kids and the Mother.

Other then the long hard days of work, we just got some dinner at a local cafe and took it easy tonight. We are all pretty exhausted.

God Bless,

PJ Walerko