Day 21 and 22 – One Long Day and One Short

Tuesday started out early with Zumba at 7. One of the people from the team hadn't been yet and I needed to work out anyways so we went nice and early to get our groove on. Once it was over and I was thoroughly sweat out, I headed to work. Starting right around 8 o’clock with shoveling 20lb rocks and wheel barrowing them through mud, I began to realize that Zumba in the morning was a horrible idea. What we were wheel barrowing for was cool though because we were landscaping a tilapia pond by creating a path around it. Parts of the path however were in a huge mud hole so trying to push a couple hundred pound wheel barrow full of rocks through the path proved to be rather difficult.

I was the youngest and least skilled worker on the pond that day so all the heavy lifting and wheel barrowing fell to me. I didn’t mind but I sure did get a good work out. And I got to hang out with new people from the team and talk a little bit which was also fun. They guy heading up the landscaping is awesome and super nice. He has been here multiple times and I heard him talking about coming back in the Winter to do more. I wish I could show you a picture of how far this plot of land has come since he got here and started working but I don’t have any so you will have to just imagine. It is really cool though and has come a really long way. What was once a random hole with water in it surrounded by mud hole was now a rather fancy looking tilapia pond with walking trails around it. It is really fun working on something and seeing it develop overtime.

For dinner on Tuesday after my long day, I decided to go with pizza from Homeros (like Homer from the Simpsons). I got a pizza, salad, bbq wings, and a smoothie. I ate mostly everything that night while I stayed in and watched a movie on my laptop and the rest I saved on purpose for lunch the next day. I was proud of myself for not eating it all because I definitely wanted too. In the evening, I just got to relax after a long day, skype with Hannah, watch a movie, and hit the sack. It was a pretty long day but a good one at that.

The next day, or this morning, I woke up for a different kind of work. Once I got to La Casa, We grabbed all the kids from pre-K up, paired them off with each team member and then loaded the vans for a field trip. I got Martin and Wilson. It was mostly girls that went on the trip because the guys stayed back to work but there had to be a couple guys go so they could watch the handicapped kids. I was a lucky one and got to play with Martin all day. After we loaded up the van and the truck with almost 30 people probably in the back, we headed to the Aquarium and Pool.

The Aquarium wasn’t all that special, although Martin seemed to love it. He really enjoys observing and learning. He is always fascinated with things and that didn’t change with fish. He loved stopping, staring, and showing me what he discovered. It was fun watching him. After the aquarium which was just one hallway that lasted about 15 minutes, we headed to the Pool. I helped Martin change himself and then we were ready to go. Upon arriving to the pool and noticing that it was a hot day outside with zero cloud cover, I decided to wear sunscreen. This was the first time I had worn it all trip. Unfortunately for me, I do not have long enough arms to get my back and I didn’t ask anybody for help. I also didn’t put any on my face for some reason. I guess I though since I am a little tan now that it would protect me, haha. The result of these poor decisions is to come.  

So once the sunscreen was applied and I lathered up Martin, we hit the pool. Martin LOVED swimming but he can’t do it on his own so really he just loves being pulled through the water and thrown in the air. For about 4 hours then, that’s what we did. Back and forth in the kitty pool pulling him, pushing him, holding him and throwing him. I was worn out by the end of it but it was a ton of fun just seeing him enjoying it so much. 4 hours is a stretch too because he did take one or two breaks to lay out and get warm (the water was pretty cold). I also got some breaks from him as he graciously allowed me to split my time between him and Grace who can also not swim on her own. She loved it too and I loved watching her face light up as I dragged her body through the chili water.

So off and on, off and on we went swimming and playing, going from the big kid pool to the kitty pool back and forth until lunch time. It was a blast for me and them. After lunch though, it ceased to be blast for Martin. There was a slight miscommunication on when we would be leaving so I changed Martin’s closed. This was an error because I changed him about 30 minutes before some of the other kids. I wasn’t the only one by any means but that wasn’t the point. The point was, there were other kids swimming and he wasn’t. Martin did not like this and thus put on a frownie face for a while. It ended up okay though because we played on the hammock and danced around to the music and I sat with him and tried to keep him from smiling (which always made him smile). So all in all, the day was a success and even though he didn’t leave the happiest camper, I know he had a great time. It is kinda a bummer though to have a ton of fun with a kid all day and then mess up the last thing and him be mad at you when you leave. No worries though, I have 5 siblings so I’m used to it.

Once we got back and I walked home in the blistering sun which was only hitting my right arm I now realize, I quickly took my shirt off to see the damage. I first noticed the front of my body which looked like a Picasso painting of pink and white from the lazy non thorough job I did with my sunscreen. The front burns weren’t too bad though. Next, I noticed my face, neck and arms. They were definitely burnt but it was a combination of tan and burnt because they have been exposed the most over the past few weeks. In other words, they don’t look too bad. Except for my right arm which baked in the sun for an extra 20 minutes during my walk home, it is a lot more burned than it is tan. That is not the worst of it though. The last thing I noticed was my back! Think horrible Dracula music right now. It is completely red! I look like a strawberry without all the little white things around it and a head instead of little green leaves. It is awful and it hurts a lot. I have some stuff with aloe in it but no straight aloe. Hopefully I can get some before the week ends but IDK.

Once I showered, which made the burns show up more, I grabbed a ride with Dwight and Tandy to the Teams house for their last dinner here before they leave in the morning. The food was good but the fellowship we had after was even better. We all sat around in a circle and had a debrief where we each shared a little bit about the trip. It was so awesome hearing what everyone had learned or been through. I respect this team a ton and really have enjoyed knowing them. I was blessed every day being with them and even more blessed in our last night hearing some of their stories. As the night drew to an end, we sang Amazing Grace and I’ll Fly Away Acapella then began to say our goodbyes. I cannot say enough how awesome of a team they were. I seriously hope to stay in touch with as many of them as I can and I hope to see them all in the future. I might even have to visit Mississippi some time just to visit their church.

May God bless them on their trips home and I pray that the lessons and experiences they learned here will not be forgotten in a few short weeks but will always be a reminder of the wonderful service they provided to Casa de Fe and the great blessing they were to my life. Amen 

P.S. I'm heading into the Amazon in the morning and I kinda forgot to take my Malaria medicine. . . whupps. No worries mom, I'll just wear pants and the bugs wont get me . . . Hahaha