Out the Gate
It’s our first day of building! Our group split into two teams, one at each job site, and started working hard. At the sites, we worked extremely hard mixing cement, carrying blocks, moving buckets full of mortar and laying brick. By lunch we had all worked up a sweat and enjoyed a well-deserved break playing with the kids at the school. Between playing basketball, sitting and talking with the kids, and joking around, it was wonderful.
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<p>Some of our team who had the opportunity to participate in “day in the life” during the morning joined us and shared their experiences in the homes of families who graciously opened their homes to them. After lunch, a few more people went to participate in “day in the life” and the rest of us made the short walk back to our job sites. Once again we worked extremely hard mixing cement, but we still found time to have fun dancing with the family and their friends (yes… there are videos). </p>
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I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend about half an hour speaking with the parents of the family on my site. We asked them questions and got to know more about their family and their life prior to learning they would be receiving a house. For me, it was incredible to witness their strength and resilience, despite the numerous obstacles they overcame and the gratitude towards us for the house. They are truly inspiring people.
Another experience was on the other job site, when Mary-Lei (one of the girls in the community) started to braid some of our hair on the job site. Although we were all surely sweaty, it was lovely to watch her take the time and have fun braiding our hair. It truly showed how open and loving these people are.
Tonight brought tons of excitement with a mixture of barbeque night and karaoke night (which there are also videos of).
-Kelly & Julia, LiveDifferent Builds Volunteers, Gonzaga 2015