Our team leader Anila has finally arrived.  Her presence has really given us more joy and strength.  Also our host family the Hawks have returned. Last night after working they took us to get tacos.  Under a gazebo in the warm night air we ate tacos, sipped coke, and were able to talk about our work thus far.

Early mornings begin with construction work.  At one site we are working on building a house. This involves a great deal of digging. But as we work and sweat in the heat, the family we’re helping is always offering us refreshments and food.  Yesterday we ate sweet mangos and fresh baked french bread. During our water breaks they appear in the doorway with a plate of sliced mangos. Today they prepared aroz con leche, a rice and milk combination spiced with cinnamon and sugar.

During one of our breaks, Mr. Hawk took the whole team to a coffee roasting co-op.  We were greeted by the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans. They spun around and around in a huge machine.  We learned that about 80% of the coffee grown in El Salvador goes to StarBucks! At the second construction site we are working on building cement walls for the house.

Afternoons consist of VBS.  At the church, arou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nd 2:00, children come racing through the open doors.  We begin with singing, where our members Jasmine, Celeste and Bre lead in singing with hand motions. Next the kids break up into three groups. One group stays for a skit of the bible lesson where Julia, David Lew, Djamina, and Crystal act out a familiar bible story.  Another group goes to the crafts team organized by Glenn, Abi, Casey, and Kelsey.  Our final team is the games, led by David Neel and Elizabeth.  The kids always come back from here sweaty and full of energy.

We all agree that the work is hard and exhausting so we came up with a saying.  More Sweat. More Jesus. This is a constant reminder that our work is for the Lord.  Though we feel gross being sweaty and dirty, the more we sweat, the more of Christ we give.