Let the Work Begin

Good afternoon! We just completed the first part of our day, which featured about 2 hours of shoveling dirt, followed by relaxation and preparation for today's "community event" which is at 3:30.

This important step in the construction involves filling in and leveling the ground around the block foundation. We have the assistance of a backhoe with a front end loader bucket, as well as a dump truck. But once the dump truck drops the dirt, it's our job to start shoveling the old fashioned way.

The job was initially delayed because the loader had a flat tire, which took some time to patch. Then we got in a couple of solid, tiring hours, when it got another flat! We made as much progress as we could, and everyone has the sore muscles and sunburn that say, "welcome to the Dominican Republic mission field".

We were assisted by about 10 local men and boys of various ages, with a similar number of little girls who were watching and milling around.

Here are a few pictures, stay tuned for more as we do this event later in the day. All is well!