This was the team’s last day on the work-site. At the end of the day, we left the site with the drainage in place, the roof near completion and a fresh coat of paint on the front of the building. The pastor and his wife have been working side by side with us all week. Tomorrow, they will complete the roof and host a community lunch. The project manager tells us much more work has been accomplished than what seemed possible when we started. Each night at dinner, we have been introduced to a couple new foods, mostly fruit. Nearly all of them have been things we have never seen or heard of before. Tonight, we learned about annona (see pictures). We spent the evening celebrating the birthday of our host, Steve Ford and putting together gift bags for the people who will be attending the dedication service Thursday night.

Thoughts for the day: Watch your head! Are all the boys in this neighborhood eight? It’s been fun discovering the unique contribution of each team member!

Today, the guys finished the trusses and trench for the drainage system and began putting the drainage pipe in place and placing sheets of tin on the roof. The ladies finished painting the rest of the beams and tin. The neighborhood around the church building is full of children. The school year is March to December so they are nearing the end of their summer vacation. Because of the number of child abductions, the children are a bit leery of strangers. But by today, they were starting to warm up to us and we were able to connect with them through playing tag and gato, gato, perro (adapted from duck, duck, goose). Our team hopes to help the children see the church as a fun, happy place where they matter.

Thoughts for the day: These kids are soooo cute! What’s the temp at home?! Can we stay until summer?