On March 12-19, a team of fourteen high-schoolers and two leaders from Gilbert went on a missions trip near the city of Retalhuleu, Guatemala. Specifically, the team went to a small village by the name of La Tercera Calle. The goal of the trip was to build a cement floor in a church that the villagers had long been working on. This project took up almost the entirety of the week, and while the work was immensely strenuous, it was strangely palatable, bordering even on enjoyable. Nonetheless, the process required dozens of hours of laborious man-power, and consisted of several steps. To create the floor of the church, our work consisted of hauling in dirt, pounding and leveling that dirt layer, and covering the surface with cement.
Our first job was to shovel several tons of gravel and rock into the new church. When our team arrived at the village for the very first time, there were two structures that stood out. The first was the fully concrete church that the villagers had spent close to a decade building. With its smooth walls and roof, it stood in stark contrast with their current building, which was nothing more than a few sturdy logs and …show more content…
The cement had dried, and many of the children were playing and walking on it. We all immediately gathered around the entrance and took pictures of what we had been tirelessly working on for a week. While our bodies were sore and we struggled even to lift our arms up to take pictures, we realized that the work was almost delightful, and the thought of leaving the village was quite dispiriting. However, we were proud of the installation that we had done and of the impact that it would soon make. As we flew all the way back to Phoenix, we reminisced of our time there, each of us knowing that while it might have been difficult and demanding, it was the best experience of our
Our first job was to shovel several tons of gravel and rock into the new church. When our team arrived at the village for the very first time, there were two structures that stood out. The first was the fully concrete church that the villagers had spent close to a decade building. With its smooth walls and roof, it stood in stark contrast with their current building, which was nothing more than a few sturdy logs and …show more content…
The cement had dried, and many of the children were playing and walking on it. We all immediately gathered around the entrance and took pictures of what we had been tirelessly working on for a week. While our bodies were sore and we struggled even to lift our arms up to take pictures, we realized that the work was almost delightful, and the thought of leaving the village was quite dispiriting. However, we were proud of the installation that we had done and of the impact that it would soon make. As we flew all the way back to Phoenix, we reminisced of our time there, each of us knowing that while it might have been difficult and demanding, it was the best experience of our