Trip 2 Day 1

HOLA HOLA HOLA!!!
The first official work day of Trip 2 got underway today and what a great way to start the trip! The day was filled from start to finish with lots of hard work, good efforts, and teamwork. After a delicious breakfast spread, the group was ready to take on the day’s challenges…we just weren’t quite sure what those challenges would actually entail. Nonetheless, we excitedly loaded into the trucks around 9:00am and headed out to the sites.
Because we have such a large group, our team will be building two houses during our time spent in Guatemala. The two houses to be built are side by side and are located just outside of San Antonio. One family has four children and the other has six children. Both families are very hardworking, nice, and friendly people. It was such a pleasure to get to know the families and interact with the children. Although there may be language barriers, smiles are a universal language; and therefore, we manage just fine. Just keep smiling!
The construction for the house of the family of six children went pretty smoothly. The trench was dug. Wire was laid. Cement was mixed and poured. It sounds simple when it is summed up in three short sentences, but the work that went into the building was far from easy. Heaving shovel after shovel of dirt and passing bucket after bucket of cement turned out to be a bit more tiring than expected.
The second house presented a few more “little” challenges. The main problem was that dirt continued to slide down the side of the mountain the house was being built alongside. After tearing down the family’s current kitchen and removing a tree in hopes of solving the problem, the landslide still did not let up. Before lunch, progress was not looking good as dirt continued to fall down into the area that had already been excavated. During lunch, a plan was created to try and fix the issue. With an idea in mind, the group went forth and worked hard throughout the afternoon. Buckets and wheelbarrows of dirt had to be carted from the worksite because so much dirt was sliding into the area. Numerous trips were made to move the never-ending dirt. The trips carrying the dirt (aka the “buckets of fun”) lasted for a good two hours before the group was able to begin digging the trench for the foundation of the house. The cement was not able to be laid to harden overnight, but the day turned out to be quite successful considering the challenges we were presented. We pray tonight that the avalanche does not fall.
Lower back pain…sore shoulders…blistered hands...tired, tired bodies. Although physically we may be exhausted, the day was so rewarding. These experiences really give us an outlook as to how our efforts will be making a difference. We send a huge thanks to all those that supported us. We look forward to see what is in store for tomorrow!
Adios Amigos!
-Brittany Banik