We had a sluggish start to the morning when we realised we were late for mass and only had five minutes to be out the door. After a hearty breakfast we split into our groups, dropped the painters off at the apostolate and travelled to the work sites. At the building site we unloaded the cement bags from the truck and carried them into the house. The interior of the house was starting to look more complete with the cementing of the walls in full swing. The entrance to the house was in need of some attention with rubbish and rocks littering the pathway. The rocks were removed with help from the local children making the tedious task somewhat more manageable. They all had smiles on their faces as they dug in the soil searching for stones. While this was happening some others were busily excavating a mound of stick clay located in the side room of the house. A assemblly line of buckets ensued. Bucket after bucket of clay was repositioned until the floor could be cemented. The entrance was then flatten and a fresh layer of gravel was layered on top. The gravel was then stamped into place by a makeshift 'ground-pounder' made from two pieces of bambo and part of a trunk of a tree. During lulls in the building the children in the areas around the building site visited curios to see the progress we had made. We greeted them with gifts of balloons and played tiggy with them. On the way back to the monastery the children from the building site raced us all the way.
At the Apostolate the other group finished the painting of the inner and outside walls of the women's section, painted the sewing room and the office as well demolishing a toilet wall. Father Damian gave money to the brothers to go out and buy soft drinks. One of the Brothers whom was the birthday boy had first treat.
In the evening we were treated to watching a stage play at the Universidad de Sta Isabel. Even though it was not in English, the actors facial expressions made it enjoyable. The play included breathtaking singing and dancing which was the highlight of Father Damian's day. We sung and dance all the way home.
By Tom and Celina
P.S. We require a live commentary of the Cowboys vs Sharks game, thanks Mrs Dev.
