We can't wait to tell you about our adventures on our day off (Sunday, July 4) but that'll have to wait for now. First, we want to tell you about some of our work.
We have been working at the Bao Nhai Secondary School. We helped to build a 6 foot retaining wall and drainage ditch to help the school with flooding problems. This was in conjunction with bathroom project that was completed before we arrived and a water purification project that we were able to finish as well while we were here.
However, the wall was where we spent the majority of our time.
We arrived each day to the school at 7:30 AM and met our new best friends (Bien, Dien, Tang, Thay and Duc) They directed us through the work. Mixing concrete by hand (we didn't get a mixer like the NorthWood team did...sissies!), hauling hundreds of rocks from 4 big piles to the wall, delivering buckets of cement to them, and doing it over and over and over again.
Each day we took a break for lunch for a couple of hours, ate and took naps or played cards. Then we went back to work for another 2 of 3 hours....2 or three HOT and SWEATY hours. It was definietly some of the hardest physical work any of us have done.
Today, though...was our last day. And we are thankful! Thankful the work is done and we can rest. Thankful that we won't have to drink 20 bottles of water to keep from dehydrating. Thankful that we don't have to carry another rock or another bucket or mix another batch. Thankful for an experience like no other working alongside some incredible people, laughing, singing, & joking. Thankful for the life we live. Thankful for our families. Thankful for our friends. Thankful for the jobs we have. Thankful for the place we live. Thankful for the food on our tables. Thankful for clean water to drink. And thankful for the all the lessons that we learned here about this country, about these people and about ourselves.
We thought we were coming to just build a wall. But, we hope you can tell.....it was much more than JUST a wall. That wall, that will stand for many more years that many of us will live, represents so much more. It represents relationship, friendship, good will, future, development, progress, restortation. It's helping to build bridges, build trust, build hope and build community. And it's helping to remind us that we are blessed beyond measure.
More stories and more pics coming soon! Stay tuned!
We have been working at the Bao Nhai Secondary School. We helped to build a 6 foot retaining wall and drainage ditch to help the school with flooding problems. This was in conjunction with bathroom project that was completed before we arrived and a water purification project that we were able to finish as well while we were here.
However, the wall was where we spent the majority of our time.
We arrived each day to the school at 7:30 AM and met our new best friends (Bien, Dien, Tang, Thay and Duc) They directed us through the work. Mixing concrete by hand (we didn't get a mixer like the NorthWood team did...sissies!), hauling hundreds of rocks from 4 big piles to the wall, delivering buckets of cement to them, and doing it over and over and over again.
Each day we took a break for lunch for a couple of hours, ate and took naps or played cards. Then we went back to work for another 2 of 3 hours....2 or three HOT and SWEATY hours. It was definietly some of the hardest physical work any of us have done.
Today, though...was our last day. And we are thankful! Thankful the work is done and we can rest. Thankful that we won't have to drink 20 bottles of water to keep from dehydrating. Thankful that we don't have to carry another rock or another bucket or mix another batch. Thankful for an experience like no other working alongside some incredible people, laughing, singing, & joking. Thankful for the life we live. Thankful for our families. Thankful for our friends. Thankful for the jobs we have. Thankful for the place we live. Thankful for the food on our tables. Thankful for clean water to drink. And thankful for the all the lessons that we learned here about this country, about these people and about ourselves.
We thought we were coming to just build a wall. But, we hope you can tell.....it was much more than JUST a wall. That wall, that will stand for many more years that many of us will live, represents so much more. It represents relationship, friendship, good will, future, development, progress, restortation. It's helping to build bridges, build trust, build hope and build community. And it's helping to remind us that we are blessed beyond measure.
More stories and more pics coming soon! Stay tuned!
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