Concrete Concrete Everywhere!

Today we were able to help give back to a church that has done so much for Grupo CEO! We woke up at our normal time to leave by 7…hahaha…we ended up leaving around 8, but it wasn’t a big deal!

We walked out of the gate and down to the “bus stop,” I didn’t even know this area had one. PS. The bus is a van…but with limited seats and a bunch of standing room…just like most buses! So we (Bill, Laura, Jordan, James, Renan, Patrick, Douglas, and I) headed down the road. Most of us had seats on the way to our next stop. The bus didn’t go all the way to the church, so James told us where to get off and we had about a mile and a half more to go.

When we got there, things were getting started. The rocks were ready to be shoveled into the wheel barrels, so was the sand, and the cement was ready be mixed in the miniature concrete mixer…oh by the way…today we (and by we, there were a lot of us!!!) put a roof over three future classrooms. It will be the roof for now, but later on the floor to the second story.

Us 3 girls started out shoveling the rocks and wheeling them to the mixer, but there wasn’t much need for us there since there was only one shovel we could use of the sand and the rocks plus the piles were quite a ways apart.

So once the first batch of concrete was mixed, we started carrying the buckets! It was interesting, but now I can say that I have carried at least 50 buckets of concrete. It was easiest carrying them two at a time! They helped keep me balanced, and I would make sure the buckets were as full as possible, because in my mind, every little bit extra, took away from a bucket I would have to carry later on.

One of the men from the church had a BUNCH of ENERGY…it was insane! He was jumping up and down, catching, throwing, and running with buckets. Come to find out he is a cyclist, which explains some of it! He helped keep me going…although the whole time I was wishing I had his energy!

Jo and I would walk by each other and chant each other’s names to encourage us too! (Especially when we were carrying two buckets!)

For a little bit I was in charge of hooking the buckets on the pulley system. That job was a little back breaking, but gave my hands a short rest.

The first actual break we had was lunch! But it was quickly back to work! The ladies of the church were really sweet for feeding us! And it was good, although I couldn’t finish all that was put on my plate!

After lunch things were going pretty smoothly, until the concrete mixer died on us!! We weren't too happy, but right as it died, "Jack" rode in on his bicycle to save the day! We are pretty sure he is Tequila's brother...

He wanted to do EVERYTHING, but it was hard to know if her could handle it our not in his condition. The projects done at this church is done as a community, so it was hard to turn someone away, whether or not you agree with their actions and decisions. But he was allowed to help mix the concrete and he do it every fast and every well in our concrete areas. We were now mixing a bag of concrete at a time, but were just as busy because of how fast "Jack" could get things done!

Definitely an experience that I will never forget! Especially when I have sore arms and legs to remind me!

Sadly we had to go to a funeral tonight (another one). It was suppose to be a party for the 15 year old, but her grandma passed away early this morning. They had all the cakes made and everyone was invited. Honestly I'm thinking this would be the best way to go out...with a party planned to celebrate the life that was lived instead of the loss of someone close! The birthday party is going to be rescheduled!