Our work begins

On Monday we started our work at la Guarderia Samuelito (Samuelito Daycare). The daycare is currently at Iglesia Evangelica Menonita Esmirna (Esmirna Mennonite Church). This building is very cramped with only 3 small rooms and a kitchen. The daycare currently has 52 children but there are many more families in the neighborhood that would like to send their children there. In a response to this need, the Bolivian Mennonite Church bought a plot of land just a few blocks (about a 5 minute walk) from the current daycare location. It is on this property that a new daycare will be built that can serve twice the number of children that currently attend.

Our job that day was to begin clearing the area so digging can begin in order to build walls. We started by burning the grass, which made it easier to clear. The girls were getting a little nervous as the fire burned farther out, getting closer and closer to the fence and road. Several of them began getting anxious and worried about putting the fire out. It appeared as if the fire might get out of control. The man who was in charge of the work didn´t seem a bit worried. He was calm and collected, just waiting for the fire to burn the entire area. It all turned out fine. The fire stopped when it reached the dirt road, and the girls put it out at the edges where it might have spread to more grass.

After the fire finished burning, we began digging up and cutting down anything that was left. We went back to the daycare for lunch and had a delicious meal of noodles with chicken and salad (carrots, tomatoes and peppers). Soon after lunch the sky opened up and the rain poured down. After about an hour of waiting, the rain seemed to be gone so we headed back to work. About 30 minutes after returning to our work site, the sky opened up once again and and dumped rain on us for about 15 minutes. We survuved it okayand made it back to the daycare for a snack of bread and tea before the next round of rain hit.

I´ve taken lots of pictures but haven´t had time to look at them much yet. I hope to look at them soon and get a few ready to post here so you can see a little bit of our experience. Seeing pictures always seems to make it more real.