As soon as we arrived in the community Saturday afternoon many of the people were waiting for us in one of their buildings and excitedly greeted us as we entered and were taken to the front for our mini greeting service. For church on Sunday we were also asked to sit in the front as their guests. It was an honor but it made it hard to observe the others to make sure we were doing things the right way. A number of times I would glance behind me and realize that our group was still standing and everyone else was sitting down. Oops.
On Monday morning we started our real work. At 8 am we gathered with the other people in the community and started walking towards the area that needed a trench to be dug. The trench that you have to dig has to be just wide enough for a person to walk through and about 4 feet deep. (Everything is dug with picks, hoes, and shovels.) I thought it was a little ridiculous to dig a trench that deep for about a pipe 1 inch in diameter, but it has to be that deep in case of land slides and if/when the people want to plow that area. Some have not dug their trenches that deep and it has been a big problem!
One morning a group of us went up the mountain a few miles to see the springs. It was different than I expected. Instead of seeing a spring that looked like a river or a creek there were four different concrete "boxes". (for lack of a better word) These "boxes" were underground and collected the water and then that water traveled down the pipe they buried and went into their community. Here is a picture of one of the springs.
On the last work day our group helped start put concrete in the reservoir. There were a few hiccups that made the morning seem like it wasn't quite as productive as it could have been. One was that the power went out and the concrete mixer was electrically powered causing a delay.
The other issue was that the pile of rocks that was going to be used had weeds growing through it. In order to have the concrete set, there cannot be any organic material mixed in with the rocks. So a group of us had to slowly sift through the rocks and take out any of the weeds and grass.
During the three work days we were there about 1 mile of trench was dug as well as the reservoir. We did not finish the project, but they are getting close. I think they only have three or four more miles of trench to dig and the reservoir to finish. They had run out of funds to continue working so they had not worked on this project since a couple months before we got there. I though we were going to be the only ones working on the project, but it was such a blessing to work on the project with the rest of the community. The community has been working on this project off and on since last February! It was so rewarding to see the excitement, determination, and gratitude on the people's faces.
In the afternoons we would spend some time with the kids. We would play games like soccer, duck duck goose, cat and mouse, and as many other games we could think of. When playing soccer I would typically play goalie so that I wouldn't have to run so much and feel like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. :)
After we tired the kids out a little, or maybe the other way around, we would sing songs, have a bible story, and do a craft. Because the adults of the community work most of the day, the kids loved all of the attention. They were even patient enough with me to listen to, and usually understand, my Spanglish. They were all so cute and always excited to see us.
It was typically windy and cloudy most of the days, but the community gave us a building, kitchen, and bathroom to use. The kitchen had a gas stove with two burners and when you had to use to the bathroom, you flushed the toilet by pouring water down the toilet. We put a tent in the building in attempts to stay warmer at night. That helped, but so did having seven girls in a five person tent. :) Not the kind of living we are used to, but quite luxurious for the area we were in...and the views around the community made up for a lot of it. Here is a picture of the building we stayed in.
Not only were the people generous with the living arrangements they were also generous with their food. We were given a hug pile of fava beans, cheese, and a hot milk/tea with barley when we arrived. Tripe soup Tuesday and lamb, potatoes, and corn on Wednesday. As a goodbye gift they gave us all a huge block of cheese. All were pretty good except for the soup. This tripe soup consisted of potatoes and sheep intestines. I learned that intestines are quite chewy and swallowing it is about the only way to get it down. One little piece was enough for me!! There's a summary of my last week. Thanks for all the prayers!
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