Day 3

Monday, September 5

Here we go! Pictured above is our team in the hotel lobby before we hopped in the vans for our first day of building. We gathered in the hotel lobby to apply lots of bug spray and sunscreen, then loaded into 2 vans and drove about 20 minutes to the build site. We were all excited and full of energy, ready to get started!

We made it to the build site where the ground had been cleared and leveled, all prepared for us to lay the foundation. We soon found out that the family's former home, which was built mainly out of smaller pieces of wood, was taken down just days before in order to prepare for the new home. The old home had a dirt floor, no bathroom inside, 1 room for the family of 6, and frequently leaked when it rained.

We were introduced to the beautiful family... The grandparents, the pregnant mother, and the children. The grandfather spoke about their appreciation for us to be there to build their new home. He spoke about his motivation to work, which was simply to be able to feed the family, and told us that the father of the children had recently been killed by thunder (lightning). Despite these conditions, which were very eye opening to us, the whole family was kind, joyful, appreciative, and full of love. The children played throughout the day, often giving us smiles, hugs, and high fives. They colored on whatever they could find and made games from anything laying around. Neighbors stopped by throughout the day and we could all feel the sense of community and support.

 

Our workday was filled with tough physical labor. We laid rebar, stacked rocks to hold the cement in,  shoveled gravel and sand into the cement mixer, wheelbarrowed the mixed cement into the foundation area, and smoothed the cement over. It was in the direct sunlight and we had to take many, many water breaks, however every single minute was worth it as we all worked together to serve this beautiful family.

 

 

 

Our cultural activity for tonight was a tour of the town of San Juan de la Maguana. We had a great tour guide who took us around to see the sites and told us the history of the town. Following the tour, we returned back to our hotel for dinner. It was a wonderful first day.