This morning as the team met for breakfast at the hotel/casino, we all were somewhat fearful or dreading the hard day of slinging mud. The whole team minus me (Andy, who was teaching) spent a few hours Tuesday doing this and came back completely wiped out and dirty, from the heavy mud/dirt and from the humid heat. But, everyone on the team was ready and willing to serve, PRAISE GOD.
We then spent the morning with most of the CHO staff moving dirt from various places to build up around the Safe Haven houses so that they had walk areas when it was rainy. It was a needed job, but very difficult because the dirt was extremely sludgy and sticky. Shovels hardly did anything, and they used small plastic potato bags to haul the dirt around. Darin blessed CHO and our team with a lot of shovels, which helped, but they have no wheel barrels in the city!
By lunch, the team was dragging and wiped out. The team worked so hard and smiled the whole time. Our team continues to bond tighter and tighter, a real blessing for each of us. We had a really long lunch break at the CHO Restaurant as Chomno, Ray, and Jacinta talked through some future planning issues related to the architects. We all enjoyed the rest, but wished we had a couch to crash on.
The afternoon work started hard as the heat increased. Darin and Tamara continued to work at 120%, in the hardest spot. Beth would not stop to rest and was like the Energizer Bunny. Ray kept trying to proceed ahead with welding on the fence, but was delayed by his Cambodian helpers getting so distracted. All the rest of us did our best to work hard, and then everyone crashed at 3:30pm when Keirstin said everyone was done (the CHO staff was loading up on the motorcycles). AS we approached the truck, Chomno told the CHO staff to keep working another hour, so we all turned around with smiles on our faces but unsure if we could do much more.
Overall, it was a tough day but REALLY GREAT. Jacinta and the young ladies all stood around at the early evening, with the girls explaining how difficult their love lives were (poor selection of guys…), and I sat chuckling inside on a bench. I was able to talk for a while with Darin and connect. By the time dinner was over, people had hit the point of no return…extremely giggly and laughing over the strangest things. We are now all in our rooms and prepping for bed (it is 6:30pm).
Tomorrow we will sling mud some more and then see some of the border trafficking issues going on. In the evening we will gather for a celebration party and singing. I think we are all looking forward to heading home, but this trip will leave a strong impression on our lives.
Some other amusing points:
- All four girls are having a hard time finding a good man…anyone have any suggestions or possibilities?
- Ray has given us all some good pointers on the Asian Soup Spoon.
- When the ants are crawling up your arms from the mud ball you are carrying, don't drop it, just run faster to the destination.
- It is easier to get a brick through the Casino security by hiding it in your bag than carrying it…although the X-ray machine will pick it up.
- The Cashew Pork or Beef is one of the restaurants best dishes.
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