Trip 2 Day 2

Dia numero dos! (day number 2) Today we returned to our now familiar incline on the beautiful hill in San Antonio. It was wonderful to get to see our families again, and all the workers that we are working with. We began working on hammering holes into the "bloques" and sooner than we knew, the cement was poured and it was lunch time. It was really amazing to see all the work that is put into the houses and how it brings people together. Its fun to see the kids and their smiles, it really makes the day go by easier. We were able to get to know our families more, the mother was conversing more, and alhtough some of the kids are shy, they are warming up to us. I think it is only fair to mention that although we had a rough start on one of the houses, God was good to us today and we made much progress on the house. We started making the layers of blocks which first had to be carried to the area we were working. We were all doing our part to bring the blocks up to house, the mother was very impressive wheelbarelling blocks, she is strong. We had a chance to talk to the neighbors a little as well. One can feel the sense of community that there is among the people in the village. Its great because that just means there are a whole lot more kids to come out! After getting off of work, a trip to the "super mercado" to purchase groceries was necessary. We walked in there looking dirty and tired. We then had to carry the groceries all the way home which is a good walk away (at least 15 min). Here was another opportunity to see teamwork. It was nice to see people offering to help one another despite the fact that they were already carrying bags. We are learning so many things! We learn about each other, about a culture, about people, and about ourselves. We may wake up sore in the mornings, but there are always smiling faces at the breakfast table, when they guys pick us up to go to the work site, when we arrive at our houses, and at the end of the day when we are covered in dirt and concrete. These smiles are sincere and they reflect the internal joy that we all feel at being able to have the blessing to work on these houses. "Gracias a Dios" thanks be to God!
-Ruby Contreras