At some point on Tuesday, everyone has the exact same thought,"We are only here for one more day."
I don't know if anyone else felt the same way, but by the time Tuesday night came, it felt like we had been there forever, and that we had just arrived.
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure and the privilege to ride with our translator and hear the stories of some of the families that we were building houses for.
We started at site 14, where Doña Olga regularly feeds breakfast and lunch to nearly 100 neighborhood children almost every day. She began doing this when she discovered that the teachers were sending students home because they were unable to concentrate as a result of having very little to eat. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, we were unable to witness this in person; however, those working on the site (as well as the occasional visitor) were able to experience her talents in the kitchen.
After site 14, we visited sites 3 and 7. While neither family was engaged in anything at the level of what was happening at site 14, they were both good families trying to make things better for themselves and for their children.
My favorite moment of the day was when we were finishing up our interview with the family at site 7. At each site Mrs. Jahde likes to communicate to the families that it is a great honor and privilege to be building the house for the family. When she says this to the family at site 7, the mother turns to us and says, "I know. I can tell by the way the students are working. They work hard, with smiles on their faces, and seem to genuinely enjoy the work." I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the sentiment was the same. This touched our hearts. It's the sort of statement that we hope and pray can be said of the work we do, but never expect it to be said.
Enjoy these photos from Tuesday - Day Three (and earlier):
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