it has begun

We have officially begun construction of the new school. Yesterday we bought the materials needed to start construction and this morning we carried concrete and fierras (metal rods) up before school so that work could begin. Also, we are beginning to take the students by fives to a dentist in Lima city. We were supposed to go on Saturday but the dentist rescheduled at the last minute... frustrating but we are getting free dental care so we can´t be too upset. The kids are excited to go which is very comical for Isaac and I. The students have never been to the dentist before and do not know quite yet that, although beneficial, the dentist can be a very painful process :).

Early Sunday morning at 5am Isaac, our contact Julissa and myself headed to Huapachima (another district of Peru) to pick up four thousand bricks. We actually only had to accompany the trucks and tell them where to go. Since the community we are working in does not have signs or addresses we needed to take a three hour trip to lead the trucks haha. The bricks were the only materials that were bought outside of the community. We did this because Julissa knew the owners of the company and we got a good deal on the bricks. Anyway, Sunday turned into a great day. We arrived at around 9am with the bricks but the trucks would not take the bricks up the hill because of steepness. We paid them additional twenty soles per thousand bricks to go higher and they took the deal. The trucks made it up the hill alright but one tipped at the top and an axl broke!!! Tensions rose between the truck drivers and the community and Isaac and I were freaking out. But in the end the axl was fixed at no cost to us or the community. The fun part of the day began with hauling the bricks up the rest of the way to the school. I knew I could carry about three thousand up myself but I feared for Isaacs much weaker frame haha (broma=joke). Actually, about sixty or more community members showed up and helped carry up the bricks. It was awesome!! Old women were carrying bricks with hand bags, little five year olds were carrying up bricks one at a time, men were putting them on their backs, pretty much every trick possible was used to carry a bunch of bricks up this mountain. The moms made breakfast for Isaac and myself and a special tea made from coco leaves that gives you energy. It was really hard work but so much fun.

Well, that´s where we stand. All of the financial help from the states and the hard work and desire from the community is making for some pretty awesome things down here. Isaac and myself are unbelievably blessed to have this opportunity. We are taking lots and lots of pictures and we are trying to get them online now but are having difficulty with the computers. Thus, stand by for visuals.

Peace and love from Peru