For previous posts click the following: Day 1 Day 2
My alarm went off this morning and I was tired, sore, and ready to wake up back in Napa. It was only day 3, but yesterday wore me out. Nevertheless, we rolled out of bed to go grab a bite to eat and head back up to the village. If I'm honest, for most of the 45 minute drive up to the Village I was fighting feelings of wishing for the comforts of home. However, as we turned the final corner before arriving at the village we were welcomed by 60+ kids waiting on the road, excited to have us back. Immediately, I was lifted out of my poor attitude and the excitement of the kids energized me. We went through our normal programming led by the people from Ebenzer church. Then split back into the groups we did yesterday. I went with the older kids and as we were grabbing seats, one of the boys, Derék, pulled up two chairs and got my attention, he told me (at least I think, it was in spanish) one was for him and one was for me. We sat together for the remainder of the lesson. It was nice to know that I (the "Grande Gringo" they have so elegantly nicknamed me) was accepted in!
One of the primary goals of Grower's First is to work within these coffee farming communities and raise the overall vitality of the entire community. This mission goes beyond just the business world, their hope is that through developing connections within the community they can slowly lift the entire village out of poverty by improving all aspects of that community. It is a very holistic approach missions work. As a group working with Grower's First this was our mission as well. On day 1 in the village we began to assess the most pressing needs. It became clear that hygiene and nutrition were severly lacking. Many of the kids were running around with no shoes, or worn down shoes. Physically you could tell they were not receiving the nutrition they needed to live healthy vibrant lives. And overall hygiene was an issue. They received one small meal during their school day, which some had to eat out of their hands (using them as plates) because they did not have a plate to bring to eat from. Clean water is another issue, their main source of water is a stream that runs down part of the moutain and flows into a small dirt "pool." They have some filters but not sure how frequently they are used. Probably the most glaring issue were the bathrooms. Currently there are pieces of what used to be a frame for a bathroom. It had no doors of walls, just a frame that held up a small roof to protect from the rain. The stalls themselves have a cement floor with two cement circular posts coming up from the hole in the ground where the waste falls. Unless someone explained what you were looking at, you may not even recognize that it was a bathroom. This quickly became priority one.
So after the assesment on day 1 we scrambled to purchase supplies to fix up the bathrooms, as well as paint parts of the building to give the facilities a face-lift. It was great to see the community come together to help with this project. Many of the adults came to help us in the construction of the building. We even had a local contractor join us to lead the project. We all jumped into action and followed their lead. They began measuring off boards to be cut with a hand-saw (full-disclosure, this was probably the third time I have ever used a hand-saw in my life! Sad I know!) So needless to say, I allowed others to take the lead and then stepped in after watching a few people go. In an effort to not screw things up too much, Scott and I decided to steer clear of connecting boards and actually building, and focused on cutting the boards the proper lengths we were told. The kids started to gather around as they watched us work and my amigo Derék came and began helping Scott and I. He watched us a few times and then quickly jumped into action, he would help us measure and secure the boards while we cut them. It was something I won't forget. He followed us around and pretty sure he out-worked us both. All at the age of around 8.
It took us about 3 hours to cut all the boards and assemble the walls for the bathrooms. Tomorrow we will finish the doors and install toilet seats. Providing them with much needed bathroom facilities which will alone increase the hygiene of the entire community!
And then the rain came! It started slowly and most of us welcomed the cool rain, but then it started to absolutely POUR! For about 30 minutes it rained as hard as I have ever seen it. The drainage system was a clear problem, so we grabbed some shovels and started digging some trenches to help with the water flow. It didn't take long before we looked like we had just jumped in a pool with all our clothes on. However, no matter the circumstances there was a synergy and momentum that developed as projects came together. The thought of accomplishing these tasks together created a unity. People tend to come together under a common goal. It is part of the human spirit, working together to accomplish something that wouldn't normally be accomplished does something to a group of people. At one point I paused from digging and looked up to find our team working incredibly hard to continue to paint and dig, and many local kids and parents working alongside us hurrying to finish the task. It was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ working together. It made me wonder, if that if the church was able to solely focus on its mission, how much deeper could our unity be? When the mission is removed from the central focus, people begin to drift and unity is compromised. May we as the church have eyes to focus on Jesus alone, so we can draw closer together in unity of mission.
There are so many stories I would love to tell, stories of eating an incredible dinner at Mussé house under the street lights of this beautiful town, or stories of being stared down while we watched USA take on Honduras in a World Cup Qualifier match. But I am officially out of energy and it is already mid-night here and we have another early rise tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and for reading my meanderings about our trip.
Buenos noches y hasta manana.