August 7

After a second day of working, I'm feeling a bit sore, but eager to keep at it. The day started with a great breakfast and some fun stretches with Deb, an aerobics instructor from our church in London. However, as I was collecting snacks for the group, David told me that I may be switching groups... or at least someone from our team would have to switch, but we could decide who would go to the house that needed more help. I was so disappointed because I had a lot of fun yesterday with Al, Jenny, Dennis, and David. Anyhow, as I was walking towards the trucks, David said that he would be coming with me and I felt a lot better about agreeing to be the one to leave the group. David is a very genuine person, with a positive attitude. I was also relieved because that meant that I wouldn't be the only english-speaker at that particular house (it had happened to 2 women yesterday... but it was an accident and it was all fixed today). So, we left for the "site at the top of the hill"... and boy, was it ever a hill! The first climb up, I was in disbelief... the house was actually half a kilometer up!!!! The first task was to carry sand up the hill... a seemingly impossible task. David pulled the truck half way up the hill and we all thanked God! We worked on carrying dirt up the hill until lunch time. The morning passed quickly and lunch was great. Rachel and I sat in the truck after we ate and we relaxed for 15 minutes; it felt great! The rest of the afternoon was pretty light on work; we mixed cement (not so light work), cut rebarb, and sat for a bit. Actually, that rest was definately needed! We got back and had papusas for dinner. It is such a popular food that you can compare it to a hamburger here... not that they look or taste alike at all, but they are everywhere!! They are made of the basic corn tortilla (which we have been consuming by the dozen, along with fried bananas, fried beans, and fried egg) filled with beans and cheese- sometimes they have pork as well. After dinner, we had a group meeting and the 6 of us shared our highs and lows. I love our meetings; we just lye on the beds and we laugh, and laugh, and laugh.