Alfarero

                We woke up at 7 for breakfast this morning. By now, we’ve all gotten used to the sounds and smells of Nicaragua, but we were surprised to find pancakes and Fruit Loops on the breakfast table. We ate breakfast quickly and got prepped for a long day of working.

 After eating, we got into the van and headed to Alfrero School for our work day with the Centro de Fe students.  Once we got there, we split into different groups, each one assigned to a different task. There was a lot of work to be done, but we had plenty of people to do it as there was our team, the CdF students and other people from Alfrero.

                Some people were sent to clean up the area around the school by picking up garbage and raking leaves, or by painting the bottoms of trees to protect them from bugs. Other people were given tasks such as digging an irrigation trench, scraping rust off the caged windows or making a little sidewalk between classrooms. Our main task was cleaning and painting metal beams that will support the new roof being put in by the team from Alberta that will come after us. We worked hard for a few hours, but we took a break for lunch and to let the paint dry.

                At lunch we hung out with our Nicaraguan friends. Everyone separated into different groups, but a large group of students from CdF and our team were together in a circle. One of the Nicaraguans took out a bottle and spun it, which made us wonder what we were doing. It turned out to be a game in which one person could ask the other person whatever question they wanted, and it was really cool because it allowed us to learn a lot about each other. We continued doing this for a little while, but eventually the CdF students had to leave. After they left, we ate lunch and got ready to start working again.

                Painting the beams was a long process because we had to wait for it to dry in between coats, but there was still a lot of other things for us to do while we waited. We continued working for a few more hours after lunch, but by 3 we were done painting the beams so we packed up and went back to the Nehemiah Center.

                We worked hard and were very tired, but we had plenty of time to rest after we got back. It is awesome to be able to serve God in such a practical way, and I believe it made today a really good day for all of us, even as the end of our trip nears.