So, today we really reached a turning point and moved from bleakly looking at random pieces of wood strewn across the ground to being actually able to see the playground! Franklin, the leader of our team, started the day with a pessimistic point of view but ended the day pumped but tired like the rest of us. Casador is flying high! The day started with me draining the ground after the very heavy rains last night...with a sponge. I innovated and found a soda bottle with the top cut off and wheedled a bowl from the kitchen staff. I used the bottle to scoop up water in the deepest puddles and then resorted to the sponge to finish the job! Honestly, I don't mop my floor at home and here I am on hands and knees mopping up the ground in Honduras! It is truly a land of miracles.
The children can also begin to see the playground emerge and are getting more and more excited. We have lots of helpers and moral supporters throughout the day. By far, the star is Samuel, the handsome 12 yr old who is always there to lend a hand with us or with the children. He is a terrific child and may be adoptable. There is a family working on this now. Pray that it works out for him. He is bright and sweet and deserves all the advantages our children receive. I would take him (or Julio) in a heartbeat. Evelyn (now there 4 days!) has a special place in my heart. She is still sleeping at Suzy's house because there are no beds at SBV for her right now. That typifies Suzy. If a child needs to be rescued, Suzy sees no obstacles. She will do whatever it takes to bring a child to safety. There are 12 at Suzy's house right now! Speaking of adoption, Suzy heard from INFA (social services) that they will help her adopt Mari and Noe! For some reason a window opened so she has jumped on it. Pray that those adoptions go through too. Her other children are not adoptable - they still have living parents who won't agree to let them be adopted. Suzy has legal custody of them.
One funny moment today. I came upon Valerie and several of the children playing with two little billy goats! Abel and Toyita's goats. They were huddled around the back end of one of the goats (emphasis on BILLY for this particular goat) intently inspecting the very obvious anatomy. They looked up at Valerie and asked if those are where the milk comes from! Um, no. Valerie answered succintly.
So, today we sunk the final posts, built all the platforms, and put two of the four roofs on. We had a couple of rain delays which reminds me... Remember the mopping up I did in the morning? Somehow in the afternoon the puddles (small lagoons actually) and deep lodo (mud) didn't seem to be as troublesome! Hmmm... tomorrow morning I think I will skip the sponge duty!
Weather permitting, we expect to have most of the playground finished - at least all the pieces connected and the ramp to the first platform completed. They work Sat. AM so that should take care of all but the finishing touches. They want to paint water seal on it, put anti-corrosive paint on the exposed bolts, etc. That will surely take several days next week to accomplish. One urgent need we realized is a fence on the back edge of the playground next to the cottage. There is a pretty long drop onto concrete. I asked David to make that a very high priority.
We are tired but really feeling great. Can't wait till tomorrow. The kids are so great and really deserve a good place to play. I expect to have pictures of children crawling all over the playground before we leave! Demos gracias a Dios!
Goat inspection:
Little Jocelyn trying to jump rope:
Courtyard view:
Studying in the chapel window:
This is where we started this morning:
Sponge duty:
Putting on the first roof:
Samuel and Cazador:
End of day 4 - can you see the playground now?
