Once at Jerusalem, we had morning prayer with the staff and jumped right into our work. Francesco, Christina, and Fr. Benny moved wheelbarrows full of soil to fill in the yard at Martha's House that we had cleared of concrete yesterday. Kevin, Michael, and I organized boxes of tile until the entire room looked like a warehouse - 683 boxes plus lots of grout. Man am I going to be sore tomorrow! Carla, Smidgen (Jordan), Teri, Suzanne, Nisha, and Julie painted the outside of what will become the offices for the new Martha's House.
At lunch we had an awesome test of strength when Cedric (from Jerusalem) faced off in an arm wrestling match with both Mr. Smith (our work-site supervisor) and Francesco. Cedric won both! After a much needed sweetie (Jamaican for candy) break, we headed back to work for the afternoon. I am always amazed at how much work we can get done each day! We revel in the tasks at hand. It may take a few water and advil breaks in the shade but then we get right back to it.
Later in the afternoon a couple of the ladies went over to Dare to Care to give out sweeties and hugs. I have never made so many balloon animals in my life. Everyone wanted a sword at first and then they wanted the swords transformed into puppies. I also had the rare privilege of carrying the 'Bag o Fun'. If you want to be the most popular person on the mission trip then I highly recommend carrying that bag! Kimone, Clayon, Shashonna, and I had a sword fight while Christina, Tia, Dian, and Samayah blew up balloon animals for the other kids. We watched the sheep wander by and continued to eat sweeties (are you catching the underlying theme here?!)
On the way home we saw another rainbow which made us hope for another rainstorm to shower in; however, when we got back to Sophie's Place there was no rain but there was a little bit of running water! The women took showers but the men did not. They claimed it was to save water because it is so limited but I think they just enjoyed being dirty! So we suggested they get their own table at dinner.
After my quick shower I went down to see the kids here at Sophie's. A terrible cough is making it's way among the kids; particularly with Ty-Ty, Anthony, and Akhiem. Ty-Ty broke my heart today, he barely had the energy to smile while normally all he does is laugh and "steal" people's noses and eat them. His laugh is infectious and when he isn't laughing I feel obligated to do everything in my power to try and make him start again. Akhiem also made me take multiple pictures of him - what a ham! He has the heart of every woman on this trip and I'm betting a few of the men's as well.
Before dinner Fr. Benny said a quick mass, then we hopped in the van for our annual dinner on the town in Kingston. We had some good camaraderie, excellent food, and even a couple Red Stripes or Tsunami Rum Punches (foo-foo drinks). A Red Stripe down here after a full day of hard work in the sun and a lot of playing with the kids tastes better than almost anything in the world! We shared a ton of laughs around the table and then treated the people of Kingston to a rousing version of "Build Me Up Buttercup" on the ride home. That was topped though by Leroy (our trip coordinator from Mustard Seed) belting out the Jamaican national anthem. Who knew he could sing so well?!
I can't believe how quickly yet how slowly this week is going. I feel like I have been here for weeks yet each day goes so fast. As always I am humbled by the children and their caregivers and honored to be part of their family if only for a brief moment.
Tomorrow is going to bring more tile, more wheelbarrows full of dirt, more smiles, more sweeties, and more joy for me, the team, and the kids!
~ Kasey (3rd year mission tripper)
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