Trip 1 Day 3

Day 3 of working is completed, and I am in such awe at how much has been accomplished thus far. To be able to see how much we can get done in one day just by working as a team! My favorite Martin Luther King Jr, quote is: “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase” and I find that it is extremely applicable to this experience. I chose to come on this trip, looking to leap outside of my comfort zone. I have been on multiple service trips throughout life, and all were trips mainly about ministry of presence rather than building projects. I have always been skeptical of building service projects because I felt I was taking away the job of someone in that place who could use the money to help themselves and their families. This experience thus far has been the complete opposite of how I have thought in the past, and I couldn’t be more happy to be wrong. This trip is most definitely out of my comfort zone, but working alongside the Guatemalan crew members has shown me that I was wrong about the other part of building projects. We are taking nothing from them, but rather giving to them. We are helping them the best we can and interacting with them as if we have known them forever, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything! - Rae Hillery

The third day of work is already finished! I can’t believe how quickly the week is passing. Today, we finished building the walls. It’s incredible to see what started as a few rows of bricks turn into a stable structure. Before lunch, in the group that I was in today, Fernando and Edgar stacked the bricks and

the rest of us mortared them. After lunch, we finished the last row, which was made of u-blocks filled with cement. Once again, the Olympic games were held during our lunch break. Today, the game consisted of people tying cinderblocks to their feet and attempting to cross the finish line as quickly as they could. The event is called Blonkerton.  Steven was the winner! Unfortunately, the children weren’t as present today, but we did get to play with them a little over lunch. The two sisters, Jaime Melena and Fernanda Luise, loved watching Kishan dance to the music! We were all getting along really well with the Guatemalan workers. Instead of simply giving and following directions, we had more interesting conversations today, and everyone was joking around and having a great time. I love that we all have gotten to know each other as well, especially between the different universities. We definitely have a great team. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it’s been a wonderful week so far. I’m so excited for tomorrow! I only wish it wasn’t halfway over already! –Alyssa Jack