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Published: October 23rd 2008
We had another amazing day in Balernos, the village where we are building. Today we had extra help from the volunteers from Cristo Rey Lutheran. Blanca, Amelia and Maricella joined us to help prep trenches and rebar and haul concrete blocks to the job site from the road. Part of the team spent the entire day moving the concrete blocks while others tied more rebar and tamped sand into the trenches.
It was another day of hard labor, but well worth the effort.
Today was a special day for our team because we had a cultural exchange with the families and the neighborhood children. First the children took us on a tour of their village. We saw the creek that runs through and visited two churches. The children were so excited to show us around. They insisted we climb to the top of one of the churches to see the bonita vista...beautiful view...and was it ever. We always attract attention as we walk through town, but today Keith had a fun enounter with some children who called him a "Gringo Grande!"
When we came back it was time for the pinata in honor of Diane's birthday! She had
the first honors of hitting the pinata and then the children had at it. Tara got a crack at the second pinata followed by more children. When the candy comes raining down, look out because the kids swarm in quickly to grab the little treats. We soon learned our amazing lunch of chicken soup and Mayan Indian chicken is served as a very special meal for birthdays. We were honored to receive such a special meal for our lunch. At the cultural exchange the families also served us many Salvadoran specialities such as paposas, tamales and yucca root. It was delicious! Diane was so grateful for the birthday wishes and extraordinary efforts from the families, she along with several of our team were moved to tears. To top off the birthday celebration, we each received a egg cracked over our head. It's not as bad as it sounds...trust us. The families prepared special decorated eggs, blown out and filled with confetti. When they are cracked over your head, the confetti flies out and is a wish for good health.
For our part of the exchange, we each brought pictures or items that represent the four seasons we experience in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. We shared our pictures and explained what we do in each season. Keith and Diane even acted out playing baseball. The children were most amazed by our winter photos of snow men and snow angels. It was a great way to share a little more of ourselves with these wonderful families.
After our day in Balernos, we visited the site where the Thrivent Village will be built and the Charlotte model village is already located. It was great to see how much progress Habitat El Salvador is making to help families in need. As soon as our van was spotted by children playing soccer, the game was quickly forgotten as they ran to see who was visiting. They are clearly excited to see more visiters in their community. (There's a lot more work to do down here for any of you interested!)
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Mary Bogenschutz
non-member comment
Hello to Carrie (and all)
Hi Carrie - It sounds like things are going well for everyone down there. I'm sure you'll have a lot of stories for all of us back here. Can't wait to hear them! When you get home on Sunday, the weather is supposed to be quite chilly here! There's even a slight chance of snow flurries for Sunday. I'm sure for all of you, it will feel like you were dropped in a freezer! Anyway, I can't wait to see you! Talk to you soon..... Love, Mom!