Last week we welcomed our first team of the summer. The Work Team arrived ready to tackle some of the tough projects we had lined up for them. We were also visited by two teachers who are traveling through Central America this summer. They joined up with our team and used their spanish fluency to help us communicate throughout the week.
On Sunday we headed out to the Platanillo Community to do Sunday School and serve a meal. The team helped setup the area and then it was on to singing, a Biblelesson, and coloring.
Of course, we ended with a snack.
After working with the kids we served dinner in the main pavilion.
On Monday we headed back out to Platanillo to begin building and installing solar lights. Inspired by the Liter of Light project, we used empty soda bottles, purified water, bleach, caulking and tin sheeting to create lights that would capture the sun and direct it into people's homes.The water refracts the sunlight in all directions, causing the bottle to act like a regular light bulb. This allows them to bring light to dark places without the need for electricity. After a quick instructional session, everyone jumped in a started building lights for their own homes.
After a day of assembly, we let the caulking dry overnight and returned on Tuesday to start installing the lights in homes. Word had already spread and a few more folks showed up to make lights that morning.
Each installation took about 30 minutes. Which can feel like a lot longer when you're perched on a hot tin roof!
We also began a project to add a room to one of our kid's family's homes. It started with some demolition of an existing wall to clear out space. Then we moved in block, concrete, sand, and gravel to begin construction. With the team's help, we managed to complete these tasks in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. The whole family pitched in too!
Construction is now well underway supported by the funds the team raised to complete the addition.
At another home, we cleaned, painted, and provided a grill so one of our mothers could start her own tortilla business. This will allow her to start working toward financial independence.
In addition to these big projects, the team also spent a day knocking items off of our todo list at the home. They cleaned off and drained one of our flooded roofs, reorganized and updated all our files in the office, worked on our chicken coop, cleaned our garage and tool area, unloaded bags of donations, helped cycle clothes through the kids' wardrobes, brought hot water back to our showers, stopped our toilets from running, and tightened every loose screw they could find!
And a few of us still found time to get up early one morning to catch the sunrise at La Puerta.
We ended the week with a well-deserved night out at Pizza Hut with all the kids. Thanks, everyone!