Today we started work on painting the second church. All of the walls had to be painted, as well as the office space. Part of our group started the day by finishing painting the house we’d worked on the past 2 days. Then they joined us at the church to work there. Gillian brought her speaker so we got to play music from Austin’s phone while working. Later, we went back to have a bonfire where we each picked a song that is meaningful to us and got s’mores. The USA vs. Turkey game was on so some people watched it in the community hall. Tomorrow will be the first day since we got here that we will all work in the same building at the same time, so we will be able to talk and get our work done in much better time than before. –Eamon
Bienviendidos, We are doing great on day 2! Today we woke up bright and early around 7:15 to get ready for the day. We headed to breakfast and packed our lunches while eating some eggs and ham. We headed out after breakfast to do morning prayer and read from Genesis. After morning prayer we left to work on a church about 30 minutes away. We scraped paint off of the walls and then took a lunch break and painted the walls. We split into two groups and one group worked on scraping and painting a small house. Overall, it was a fun day of work, scraping, painting, and talking to the priest and some parishioners. We drove to Walgreens and grabbed some snacks before we went home. We left Walgreens and headed home for some yummy dinner which was meatballs, Spanish rice, and plantains. Dessert was Twinkies! We’ll finish the day with Compline. We are so grateful for the opportunity to work today and we are excited for the next day! ¡Hasta Luego! –Gillian
We arrived here safely, although a bit tired from our 6:00 a.m. gathering at DCA. Cesar, our guide from last year greeted us at the airport. We’re so glad he’s with us again this year. After picking up the rental vans we drove to a local popular BBQ spot for lunch, before heading for the mountains to the retreat center where we’re staying. On the way we stopped by one of the homes our group worked on last summer. It was nice to see the family again and check in with them. After another stop to pick up supplies for this week’s work we arrived at the retreat center—a beautiful location nestled in the mountains. We had dinner and chance to unwind, play games, and take a dip in the pool before closing out the evening with Compline. There was even time to break open the coconuts growing at the center. We’re ready for a good night’s rest before heading off for our work tomorrow, after breakfast and morning prayer. We’re falling to sleep to the sound of the coquis—tiny frogs, about the size of a quarter, that chirp incredibly loud for their size. Attaching a recording so you can hear them too. Thanks again for yesterday’s commissioning and all your support of our mission trip! –Jana