Start of work in the barrio!

Hello to all!

Wow, what an exhausting day. Before the worked started, we were introduced to a group of people that are support for Loys. He has done an amazing job of assembling support staff that live in the barrio. The do everything from reading bible stories to the children, to organizing sports activities, to just being the eyes and ears of the barrio.

I was also whisked away very quickly by Annita this morning. She took me directly to her house to show me the picture that Caroline proudly displays on the wall. It is the picture that she took to school for a craft. Caroline came home from school and she did the same. Grabbed me by the hand to show me the picture. She is such a sweatheart.

Well...to the work........
We moved a lot of dirt and rocks....no pebbles but big river rock from an area near the commuity center. By the way.......the community center(the one we built last year) is amazing! I´ll get a picture tomorrow and post it here! We are working on a medical center near the community center. We poured two of four footings inside the building area for walls. We ended that around 3 p.m. or so.

The rest of the afternoon was spend with a group of 6 or 7 women. Melanie Barta, who is in our group, did such a great job of explaining the process of applying flouride treatements. We will be applying flouride to any child, whose mother will allow the treatment. We will be applying the flouride to kids from 3 years to around 10 years old. Tooth decay is also a real problem in this culture. We are hoping to show them how important the treatments are, so they keep them up after we leave.

We didn´t leave the barrio when we have in the past. We stayed and had some more fun with the teens who are involved in the program with Project New Hope. We had a ball with some games and bingo. Then we had a cookout with hotdogs, chips, cookies and soda. It was exciting to see the teens who were at the camp over the weekend bring friends. It was great exposure for those not involved.

That leads me to the present time. It is time to finally clean up.....hit the sack and get ready for another awesome, rewarding day!

We love you all and appreciate the support that you have given each of us. Please keep us all in your prayers! Most of all keep the people in the barrio in your thoughtst and prayers!

Until tomorrow night......Chau!
Mitch