Today we woke up at 6, so that we could have breakfast and leave by 7. Our group split in two today, each half going to the two different building sites. Our group piled into a van smaller than mom´s van, but big enough to hold 18 people! The car ride took about 1 1/2 hours, and the final half hour was spent on a ¨road¨ that the van could only drive half way on. We walked the last 1/2 mile by foot because the road was barely cleared away. We were truly in the middle of the jungle.
Our site was in the middle of a corn field, literally. Maria had cut a 450 square foot clearing of corn, but that was just the first step. Our job was to clear the rest of the area, and level out the dirt for a good foundation. The slope wasn´t too big, but it took 8 hours and 25 people to level it out. In the late morning, it began to thunder and a light rain poured for the rest of the afternoon. We only had to stop once to find shelter, and for the rest of the time we worked in the rain. The humidity here is so high that once we were wet, we never dried. We rode home soaked from sweat and rain and tears (mostly Jeremy´s tears).
Caedmon was a fantastic helper today too! She used a small trowel to help us shovel the dirt, stopping only occasionally to master the art of peeing in the bush. When asked what she wanted to contribute to tonight´s blog, she said, ¨Grandpa Jess and Nama, they love me, and I love them. Oh and tell them that I was a ballerina today in the field.¨
One more thing, praise be to Jesus for this one . . . we discovered that we DO have hot water in the evening. So today we greatly appreciated that blessing after a hard day´s work!
jps and jns and jjs and jzs and jds and jfs (hee hee hee)
This blog is the best thing ever! Thanks Jessie and Jeremy for maintaining this despite a long day’s work. It is so wonderful to be able to follow your adventure this way. What a fantastic experience for you all. So, Widget is learning to pee outside in the bushes! This is a good skill for a young girl to acquire early on. She will be well prepared for her first backpacking trip.
If all goes as planned, we should be getting the new air conditioning unit installed today. Hooray! I told Gary Gilbride that unless I can walk in the front door and see my breath, I will consider the whole thing a failure.
Ben has confirmed that he is going to Texas with us in August. He will arrive a day or so after us and return the same day we do on August 9. It should be fun.
Back to work for me. Keep those posts and photos coming!
Love,
Papi