Today was the first day of work at the construction site in Mellier. We are working alongside a Haitian construction team to build a new Methodist church because the former church was badly damaged in the January 2010 earthquake. In fact, most buildings in this area were destroyed since Mellier was at the epicenter. Our primary task on the site is moving dirt, which we have all become quite skilled at in a short time.
However, the work is not the reason we are here. We're here to spend time with the children,
with the workers,
and with the community members who choose to show up each day after nearly two years of construction to keep building their church.
In spite of accomplishing so much today, it was a day characterized by nothing but rain. Rain, rain and more rain.
The rain started mid-afternoon during a game of football with the kids, and it continued in the evening and night. The storm drove us all to find cover from the rain which led, of course, to games of uno and dominos.
The flooding began just before dinner. People began to show up out of nowhere in order to help. They moved quickly, hanging tarps, fillings cracks between the walls and floor, sweeping, mopping, and ultimately digging a ditch to drain the excess water building up.
It's a strange sensation, the selflessness of people around us and the instant bonds with total strangers.
Why is it that at home, this is so hard to come by?
[Listening to music in the rain]
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