Measure Twice, Cut Once

Today we began construction, splitting into two teams: one for cutting rebar and one for creating the formwork. Together, the pieces we arranged today will assemble into the skeleton of a foundation we hope to lay tomorrow. While plans often change, today was a success. Goals were met, and we're on schedule, so praise God!

A highlight of the day was getting to know more about the people around us, especially Benjamin and Efrain, who helped out our rebar team. The two were more than happy to show us better ways to do the tasks we set out to do, only after chuckling at us first. Benjamin even shared his Coca-Cola with us, which he said is extremely popular with people in his profession.

As we drank, Benjamin told us about the other building projects the two of them helped with at Trigo y Miel, a brief history of the site, and about his three children who attend the school. Hearing his story showed us how much Trigo y Miel cares about their community, and how much their community cares about them.

We also had the chance to eat dinner with members from another American team volunteering currently, a group from Mifflin County Community Church in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Their church has had a partnership with Trigo y Miel and Forward Edge for 12 years, during which they have sent a whopping 7 trips. It was a blessing to connect with another church doing continual service with Forward Edge like the Collaboratory has, and see how God is using his global church to build up one another.

If you are looking for ways to pray for us, here are a few specific requests:

1. Continued clear skies so the pit can clear up as we lay foundations tomorrow.

2. Continued connection with those around us.

3. Continued health and safety for our team members.

Here are some areas of thanksgiving:

1. The flooded pit was able to be cleared out thanks to a pump that was rented for us, leaving only mud for us to work around.

2. Our team is well-rested and adjusting to our new schedules.

We ended the day back at our accommodations playing soccer with our new pal Fabrizio, who was kind enough to attempt deciphering our broken Spanish, but not kind enough to take it easy on us. It was a tough loss, but you can't deny the view.