Work day 3 (June 9, 2010)

Shocking but it was yet another amazing day here in Jamaica. Betty and I have been sharing a room and have gotten into a habit of talking and talking and talking until bed or until we realize breakfast is in 5 minutes! Today was no different except that she offered to do my laundry which changed our talking to yelling from the bathroom where she was washing clothes in the tub to the bedroom where I was getting ready/reading before work started. We went back to Seville and dang did this team work hard. It got to the point where they didn't want to get out of the trench so my job title changed to water girl and I spent some of the morning filling and delivering waters to them in the trench that is now up above most of their heads! They brought music and spent the morning picking, digging and dumping. Richard wanted to wait until Friday to start cementing because there will be another team here so we'll have more hands on deck for the mixing.

Lunch today was quite possibly the best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had in my life along with fresh fruit and wata. The plan for the afternoon was to head back to Grace so everybody would have a chance to play with the kids. They don't get out of school until 3 so we decided not to head back there until 2:30.... which left me about an hour and 15 minutes for a nap :] I sat down to read and woke up at 2:23. It was beeautiful. Today was another one of those days that I rediscover my love for kids and know that I'm in the right field. Cynthia brought 3 of the little girls from her school so I had a chance to blow bubbles and sing songs with them before the other 2392 kids showed up. I was able to see a lot of kids I've known from previous years and somewhere in the range of a million new ones. Aaron's little brother is my new little 4'8" giggily shadow and I met a new little man who likes to be called "batman"... I obeyed. There were a whole lot more kids than yesterday and a whole lot more fighting for sweeties, trinkets, bubbles & markers. I saw Drew from our team being attacked by a mob of children and took it upon myself to get them to all go outside so he could throw them the football. I have to admit, 95% of my motivation came from the question of whether or not this white girl could get dozens of kids to listen to her but all went well and I felt pretty good about it after. ;) After 2 hours of rioting for goodies from the kids, we took off to walk back to the villa. I absolutely love walking through the towns and having the opportunity to see people in their real environment. Whether it's food baskets, walk-abouts or just walking home instead of taking the bus, it's a real blessing for us to be able to see that little part of their lives.

When I was talking to Cynthia, she was telling me that 6 of the kids on her roster for next year can't start school because they can't afford the books and uniform. We talked about the idea of a sponsorship type program and I have the names of each child. It costs around $50 to send a kid to school for the year so if anybody has any ideas or wants to sponsor, please let me know!! I also forgot to mention yesterday that she asked if I'd speak at their graduation on the 29th! What an honor.

When we got home, we ate dinner and did dishes. Betty and I headed to the room where we talked for another 3 hours before realizing what time it was! I spent a little time with the team and the guys, drank some tea made from the leaves Aaron picked today and called it a day.

I'm not sure if this seems like words or a wordy explanation of what I'm doing down here but I don't know how to explain a constant joy. No matter where I'm serving, who I'm serving, what challenges come up, there's literally not a second in the day that I am not full of happiness. Sure there are incredibly sad moments, moments where you question why people are in the situation and why you're so blessed but there's nothing more comfortable than being surrounded by constant love and knowing God's backing you in everything you do. Try to imagine anything sweeter than seeing a kid across the room smiling ear-to-ear because they remember you and you ACTUALLY came back like you said you would. I sure can't...

Matthew 19:21

Good night!