The last few days have been… [I have yet to think of fitting adjectives] My team and team GPS were assigned to the Tilapia farm. We were sent there to build a dam in order for the pond to be constructed and filled with Tilapia. The woman in charge was doing this in order to create a small business economy for the local people in which they could become self-sufficient.
Each morning one of Tony’s boys and someone else from Zion’s Gate would drive us into the city to Denny’s. There, our contact and Donnie would pick us up in their trucks and drive us to Valle de los Angeles. It was almost an hour drive up, down, and around mountains, but oh so beautiful. I always sat in the truck bed because I like the open air and the view. Several other boys from Tony’s came with us to help as well.
For those three days we basically moved rocks. There were huge boulders in the hill that we had to unearth. Next, depending on the size, we would roll them to the dam site or push them in a wheelbarrow. Then comes the fun part – which I did most of the time – we waded through mud to stack the rocks on each other and form the dam. At some places the mud (mixed with cow poop) was almost up to the knee. Some of us decided to take our shoes off and go barefoot – otherwise we would just ruin our shoes. No matter what you got covered in mud, which never actually came out of our clothes.
The teams did a great job of working together and trying to have fun by being positive. At one point we had to move a huge rock that Donnie estimated was 500 to 1,000 pounds. It took about 7 of us to roll it to the dam through the mud. It was such tough work but we had a feeling of accomplishment afterward knowing that we conquered it.
It was a difficult week physically and spiritually. We were not able to see how this dam would affect people. We were not even able to see the finished product. It was important to remind each other that, although we cannot see the fruits of this labor, it is going to make a big difference in people’s lives. Even if we did not always enjoy what we did, that was what God wanted us to do this week and we worked at it as if working for Him.
photo by Melanie Hairston
