Wednesday - Abraham Project

Here's a run down of today's activities:

We enjoyed another wonderful breakfast in our private dining room at the Country Inn and Suites. It was a beautiful morning with warm air and blue skies. We met at the bus at 8am and headed out to the Abraham Project which is located just outside San Jose. We had to drive through government housing projects, and we ended up in a neighborhood that wasn't too rough, but was certainly different from any one the students have seen in the U.S.

We met our co-workers - a group of students from Trinity Christian School near Fort Worth Texas. They are also seniors on their senior mission trip, and the two groups connected and worked together well. We also met Candace, the leader of the Abraham Project. We dropped off the 20 suitcases of donated items and they were very grateful. They said they have great needs for such items.

We started working around 9:30, and worked straight until about 12:30. The job was to pour the footings for what will eventually be a 1,200 stadium-seating sanctuary/multi-purpose building. The projected cost is $650,000 (remember we are in Costa Rica, and think how far a dollar goes down here). They hope to finish in about four years. We also worked with about a dozen native Costa Ricans. They were the concrete experts, putting the proper amounts into the automatic mixers (a real luxury when working in a developing country!) Then the concrete would be poured out into a holding trough, and we would scoop it into buckets and wheelbarrows, and haul it down the hill to be dumped off.

The sun was hot and was cooking everyone fast. We kept the sunscreen on and everyone drinking water. Before lunch, we were barely half-way finished. This type of job has to be finished all at one time because if you stop, there is the likelihood that the footing will crack and be unstable. So as we ate our lunch of rice, beans and ham (very good), the foreman addressed us and told us he really needed us to stay and continue to work "about an hour." So we did.

We got back out, and we worked hard for an hour. And then the group from Trinity left. And our group stayed and kept working. And then it started to sprinkle. And our group shifted job responsibilities (since our numbers were cut in half), and they worked harder. Natalie took over shoveling the concrete. Tabby started hauling a wheelbarrow, along with Michael, James, Cameron, Madison, Ashley and Craig.

And then the rain came down harder. And we got more and more wet. But we were so close to finishing! So we kept working. And no one complained. No one gave up. No one asked, "Why are we doing this?" They just kept smiling, working, and staying positive. Finally, after being covered in concrete, soaked with rain, and very very sore - we were finished.

As soon as we started to pack up, rinse off, change clothes, the rains REALLY came. It's hard to describe a central American afternoon rain - it is fast, big, loud and very wet. Everything was soaked. Luckily (sarcasm) our bus was only parked about 200 yards up the hill because it was too big to pass under some electrical lines. So we hoofed it up, and climbed into the brand new bus (literally 3 weeks old). Our driver, Pablo, had some of us sit on towels, and he was careful to be sure we didn't get it too dirty. But we were very glad to be on our way home. It took about an hour to drive through rush hour traffic and make it back to the hotel.

As we were finishing up the project, I spoke with Candace. And she said, "I could not have asked for anything more. This is fantastic." I'm glad our seniors were able to help out in a meaningful way. And perhaps in three years, when the students who are freshmen now, come down to the Abraham project, they'll see how the foundation that we laid today is being used every day.