During one of our previous trips here we befriended a student from Earth University named Kenny. This week he approached us and asked if we would participate in one of his school projects. We agreed, and so this morning began with a 6:30am tour of an urban gardening installation at the University. The tour was conducted by Kenny's project partner, a young man from Ecuador called Washington- just Washington. It was great to see more of the campus and learn a little about gardening an urban environment.
Then we set out for Estrada where we worked and played a whole long day. This was probably the hottest day of the trip so far. The heat, and the understanding that this fabulous work week is almost over, weighed on most of us. But as usual, we were provided with plenty of refreshments by our local hosts, and we stuck it out until the end of the day.
On the work front, we painted, plastered, dug, cleaned and generally tried to make ourselves useful. It was satisfying to see some of our work projects near completion.
But the most significant progress made today was on the community front. The children of Estrada arrived right as we pulled up to the job site. We began inside with more bracelets and puzzles (much harder puzzles than we intended) and coloring. As the morning advanced, the kids split up, some helping with our work and some playing soccer in our makeshift field. A favorite activity in the afternoon was swinging Tarzan style on a vine at the back of the church property. This provided hours of fun - for safety's sake, more than a few prayers were required from the sideline. The number of children visiting us grows everyday - to our amazement. We have all been touched to see new faces each day - new kids and, more recently, some of the local mothers.
One of the families invited us to their home - this is a first for us in Estrada. Michelle, Jonathan, and Geoff went with the family into their house for a tour of a typical Estrada home, and into their yard to pick a load of water apples. These were enjoyed on the bus ride home.
After dinner at Earth we met as is our custom to wrap up the day. Clarence led us in a discussion of the presence of God in our project. Michelle officiated as we closed our day with Evening Prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book (these were sent compliments of Meaghan, whose presence is felt here every day).
We have all enjoyed our work week. Tomorrow is our last day of work and we will be sad to say goodbye to our friends in Estrada. But we are also looking forward to our trip to the Pacific Ocean on Saturday!
Michelle and one of the children.
Kenny's project.
The metal framing.
Hard at work!
This week's progress!
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