What a day! The sun rises at 5, businesses and schools begin at 7, so with all the hustle and bustle and one really noisy obnoxios bird, we were all roing out of bed way earlier than you would ever have thought possible,especially with teens!
Our day was spent at two different worksites. Donny and Tony eventually ended up cutting and welding most of the day working on the administration building, while Alex and Tristan did a lot of digging for sceptic systems. Down the road we are working oa the playground for kids.
Lisa,Christine and Mary Gwen are champion mortar mAkers, Jessie Emilie Paul were cinder block patrol, and Sarah , anna and Ashley are expert at filling the cracks as thru build a wall to enclose the area.Paige, Liz and Taylor worked smoothing the steps, Colin was digging and forming,and everone helped sift sand shovel rocks and make cement. I spent most of the morning forcing sunscreen and water into them, as they working in full sun the whole time unless I forced them to take a break under the tarp we erected. They were all keen to work but I told them it was a marathon not a sprint race.
Nobody burnt,but by lunch time what a tired grimy bedraggled bunch they were! Physical labor in the hot sun on lessghan 6 hours s
leep is even harder than it sounds! So I suggested a short siesta before we headed back for the afternoon-which was met with sighs of relief - and after an hour nap everone was ready to go again
The kids have decided to start their own business back home called "Brickin Amazin" and they are all quite pleased and proud of themselves. I must say it is strangely satisfying to have such a " concrete" example of yor work !
The kids quickly decided the word of the day is "sketchy" (yesterdays word was arachnophobia). Sketchy seems to describe the plumbing, the electricity, and the showers! Everyone is amazed by the stunning panorama, the driving of the traffic, and the abundance of fruit. In or compound alone there is fig, orange, lime, papaya, mango, coconut and I forget the names of the other 3 kinds of trees. We have seen some geckos scurrying about, some honkin big bugs that scurry but so far no spiders or Mosquitos. We have decided if none show up we are going to make the mosquito net that sarah brought into a wedding dress because that's what ig looked like when she got herself all tangled up in it last night!
Our prayer meeting tonight went pretty well. Last night we discussed the 3 parts of Lent- alms giving, sacrifice and doing for others. And we decided that we gave our alms to this mission trip and most oh us have given up the ever popular sweets or chips, we are focusing on doing things. Specifically, we are all trying to do at least two good deeds a day, one that might be noticed, and one anonymously. We shared our stories and ideas at our nightly prayer meeting and they all seem quite pleased with themselves. Tomoorow we are making a point to notice and include the " invisible people" the cooks and trana
slaters and mission workers. We have practiced all sorts of phrases in Spanish so tomorrow let the mangling of a foreign language begin!
Well it's just after 9 and most of the kids are heading to bed,exhausted and slightly overheated
No one is complaining about antything though as I have declared CR as aNo Whine Zone. It is extremely effective, because we are responsible for doing all our own dishes here and anyone who complains gets automatic dish detail! So far there have been no infractions, although I am sometimes reminded of the old joke "...this tastes like S---, ...but it's good!"
anyway that's it for now you will have to excuse the typos and rambling,I am blogging on Colins tiny little phone with one finger and going blind trying to read the tiny little words.that is not a complaint of course we are thankful he had it!
Long day ahead tomorrow off to bed!
Monday, 14 March 2011
Sunday, 13 March 2011
we are here
We made it! It is late we are exhausted and elated and really smelly. I am still the Big Cheese although there are some votes to rename me Boss Hogg. The first time flyers did great although based on opposite day we all had to comfort poor Paul during each flight! It is a balmy 20 degrees And e ate eagerly anticipAting our beds, more tomorrow but sleep well as all is stellar here
At the airport
Well we have made it safely to the Detroit airport and are hanging about playing games and shoving food into our faces.
Several of us were thrlled to realize it was sunday and therefore technicaly not Lent let the gluttony begin.
Actually some of the gluttony began before we even left goderich.
As the men loaded the last of the luggage the girls were passing around licorice and chips!Colin s carload of grade 11-12 had an animated high decibel trip,the boys in the truck were fascinated with cars and buildings, and theyoungest group of girls slept mostlof the way...except for Christine who had taken a long nap and HD the energy to talk the entire way (and I never heard her take abreath!) shecertainly helped keep me eantertained and alert!
We sailed thru the border with no problem and were settled atthe hotel by 11.I did mebest th frighten them with the dangers ofkidnappings and safety in numbers ,it was enjoyable for mr and hopefully have traumatized
them enough that they will stick together!
My mom and sister Peggy joined us for breakfast at the hotel which had the waitressco
commenting what a polite group of teens we had. Our team meeting before we leftfor the airport was joined by my bilingual in Spanish sister Lisa and niece Dyanni. Lisa e
impressed them all by explaining in two lNguages the dangers of travel in central America so I think the lesson in abject terror was successful!
Seriously I think we are good to go with four first time flyers there is some terror but not too bad yet
check in was almost a disaster as the computer was charging us for our extra donated bags but fortunately barb had photocopied our exception to charges and 45 painful minutes lAter we all had a. Boarding pass . Wemanaged to get all our bionic travelers through the securit check points even though we set off all the medal detectors
high point of the day so far was meeting on our shuttle bus the bridge builder who happily played "opposite day" with us and taught us "in up over and down"
well I am going bling trying to type on Colin s handheld thingand we are about to board.all is well all is good especially Lisa s homemade cina
mon buns!
Several of us were thrlled to realize it was sunday and therefore technicaly not Lent let the gluttony begin.
Actually some of the gluttony began before we even left goderich.
As the men loaded the last of the luggage the girls were passing around licorice and chips!Colin s carload of grade 11-12 had an animated high decibel trip,the boys in the truck were fascinated with cars and buildings, and theyoungest group of girls slept mostlof the way...except for Christine who had taken a long nap and HD the energy to talk the entire way (and I never heard her take abreath!) shecertainly helped keep me eantertained and alert!
We sailed thru the border with no problem and were settled atthe hotel by 11.I did mebest th frighten them with the dangers ofkidnappings and safety in numbers ,it was enjoyable for mr and hopefully have traumatized
them enough that they will stick together!
My mom and sister Peggy joined us for breakfast at the hotel which had the waitressco
commenting what a polite group of teens we had. Our team meeting before we leftfor the airport was joined by my bilingual in Spanish sister Lisa and niece Dyanni. Lisa e
impressed them all by explaining in two lNguages the dangers of travel in central America so I think the lesson in abject terror was successful!
Seriously I think we are good to go with four first time flyers there is some terror but not too bad yet
check in was almost a disaster as the computer was charging us for our extra donated bags but fortunately barb had photocopied our exception to charges and 45 painful minutes lAter we all had a. Boarding pass . Wemanaged to get all our bionic travelers through the securit check points even though we set off all the medal detectors
high point of the day so far was meeting on our shuttle bus the bridge builder who happily played "opposite day" with us and taught us "in up over and down"
well I am going bling trying to type on Colin s handheld thingand we are about to board.all is well all is good especially Lisa s homemade cina
mon buns!
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The Clock is Ticking
Well, it's midnight and less than 48 hours until the Adventure begins.
I am surrounded by stacks : stacks of things to be packed, stacks of laundry to be sorted, stacks of bills to be paid, stacks of "to do" lists to be tackled, stacks of papers and permission slips to be organized...stacks.
(I could use a stack of pancakes, dripping with butter and syrup right about now... but Lent has begun, and comfort food is off the list of things to pack!)
So I sip my water, and survey the ruins of what used to be a semi orderly house (no comments from the cheap seats please)
Two things keep crossing my mind:
- How on earth do I end up in these situations?
- Lisa VO this is all your idea/fault, and don't think I don't know it
And just as an added note, I am not actually procrastinating... on one "to do" list was "practice blogging".
FYI apparantly passwords are case sensitive...grrrr, maybe if I remember that next time it won't take me 10 minutes just to log on!
Back to work, I am running out of time!
I am surrounded by stacks : stacks of things to be packed, stacks of laundry to be sorted, stacks of bills to be paid, stacks of "to do" lists to be tackled, stacks of papers and permission slips to be organized...stacks.
(I could use a stack of pancakes, dripping with butter and syrup right about now... but Lent has begun, and comfort food is off the list of things to pack!)
So I sip my water, and survey the ruins of what used to be a semi orderly house (no comments from the cheap seats please)
Two things keep crossing my mind:
- How on earth do I end up in these situations?
- Lisa VO this is all your idea/fault, and don't think I don't know it
And just as an added note, I am not actually procrastinating... on one "to do" list was "practice blogging".
FYI apparantly passwords are case sensitive...grrrr, maybe if I remember that next time it won't take me 10 minutes just to log on!
Back to work, I am running out of time!
Monday, 7 March 2011
Fact of the Day
Hmmm, this is a reluctant user of technology attempting to learn to blog.
I am hesitant to type too much, as chances of this disappearing into cyberspace instead of posting on the website are remarkably high...
Interesting fact - 2011 will mark the 21st consecutive play off appearance for the Detroit Red Wings, the current record of ALL North American professional sports teams.
Word of the Day : Iconic
Well, let's give it a try, shall we?
I am hesitant to type too much, as chances of this disappearing into cyberspace instead of posting on the website are remarkably high...
Interesting fact - 2011 will mark the 21st consecutive play off appearance for the Detroit Red Wings, the current record of ALL North American professional sports teams.
Word of the Day : Iconic
Well, let's give it a try, shall we?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)