Day Two - Part 2

Hola! Como estas?! Well today started off at a slower pace… with major manual labor! And let me tell you, you think it’s hot in Michigan right now, you should feel the humidity here! You never stop sweating. We did get a lot accomplished today starting with moving a lot of stones, bigger rocks, wood, and stone bricks. By the end of the week we will have built a new sidewalk within the compound. Some of the others, myself included, worked on the flat roof sweeping and clearing away dirt and debris. After the sun burn set in we called it a day. We then went to exchange our American money for pesos. The exchange made me realize just how much we have as Americans especially when a little boy came up and asked us for money. Next, we took a tour of the coffee plant and had amazing frappacinous which were more sugar than coffee, but that’s ok because we all needed a sugar buzz. And Mr. Neill was happy about that oneJ Then on to my favorite part of the day. We went to a elementary school where Jake H. did his magic show and Kasey and Meredith gave their testimonies. The kids were so excited that we were there. Even as soon as we pulled in, we could hear screams of excitement. The kids were so excited to have some one-on-one fun time with us. It was hard at the same time because there were about fifty kids and they all wanted our attention at once. My favorite part of being there was interacting with the kids and seeing them smiling and knowing that we had made them smile. Today really made me realize that I need to be a lot more thankful for what I have. I know we’ve all heard this a million times that we need to be thankful for what we have, but until you actually live it, we will never understand the complete meaning of this. It’s hard to explain to you how much these kids need. It was really touching for me to see that they have so little, yet they’re so happy. It was like they had no care in the world. If you think of it, say a little prayer, thanking the Lord for what He’s given you. Well, that’s my challenge for you! I’m starving. Time for dinnerJ PEACE!!!!!!
~*~*~Stephanie Stanley

Wow, so much to say and so little time to say it all. Upon arrival at the compound I was so exhausted and unable to fathom how I would be able to get up the next morning and function on four hours of sleep. Thankfully, God provided me with a second wind and I am thoroughly enjoying myself :0) Today was an amazing first day. Like Stephanie said we did some manual labor around the base trying to survive the intense heat and humidity. It’s like you’re breathing water here, no joke! I have been one of the lucky ones to not get bit by a no-see-um yet so I’m extremely thankful for that! My favorite part so far was going to the school today and working with the kids. I thrive on that. To those kids we are the world and it is the most amazing feeling ever. I am one of the few in the group who can speak some Spanish and so I spent a lot of my time translating. It was amazing! Once I got over my nervousness the words just flowed off of my tongue and it was so great to be able to communicate with the kids in their own language. These kids are so precious and I love working with them. I wish that everyone had the opportunity to work with kids such as these because it totally changes you. I can’t even explain to you how I feel because it’s something that has to be experienced for oneself. God is so good and I am so thankful and blessed to be here.
~ Kelly Williams