It's time to get to work! Today was our first day on the worksite, and it was a awesome experience! This morring we woke up to an amazing breakfast and hopped onto a shuttle that took us through many different towns with beautiful scenery until we made it to the school. Our host, Franklin has been a blast! He has taught and showed us so much about the Domincan and the culture here. We are so thankful to have him helping us especially as we are all new to this culture and country.
Once we made it to the school, we were quickly put to work. We mixed and loaded cement in buckets and wheelbarrows for the foundations of the new classrooms. It was so much fun to work alongside locals and try to communicate with them! We quickly realized that communication was more difficult then anticipated, hand signals became very beneficial. The local workers mixed the cement using shovels and pickaxes, dry cement was added to gravel to create a wet paste that will later dry and become the foundation of the school.
We stopped for lunch and a water break, and the food was amazing!! After lunch we left the site to tour the community surrounding the school. It was an incredible experience to see the living situation for people there, and to see how happy and carefree they are. We really enjoyed meeting with people, talking with the community, communitcating and playing with the kids. Noticing a man selling ice cream, we each got a popsicle and they were delicious! We were interested by how much garbage we noticed around towns and villages- something you don't see as much in Canada. We watched some kids playing baseball together, and noticed they were quite good, despite the drastic age differences. We went back to the school and continued working. More local kids showed up to watch and were interested in our work and life.
While finished the foundation in the afternoon, we started to grow better relationships with the locals and our amazing host, Franklin. We also were introduced to some local foods on our breaks such as, plantain chips. We were blown away when one of the boys helping us began cutting a pineapple with a huge, sharp looking machette! The pineapple was so fresh, ripe and very delicious! Overall the day was a great success and was super fun for everyone. We got a lot of work done and met so many new people. Again, we are so thankful for this whole opportunity!! We thank God for great people, great food, and amazing memories!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we work in the school and meet new people.
Until next time! -The Girls on a Mission
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