Piensa en Grande!

Within five minutes of our drive from the airport to our hotel in Managua on Saturday, I saw the most uplifting, energizing, and appropriate phrase painted on a wall:

PIENSA EN GRANDE

Think big.


That's exactly how we Crossroaders were thinking today (Monday) as we set out for our first day on the worksite this morning. After a delicious breakfast consisting of eggs, fresh juice, vegetables (as our host for the week told us, "Nicaraguans love vegetables any time of the day!"), plantains, and of course, rice and beans, we all hopped into our transport van and drove to the build site. It was a short albeit eye-opening drive to the site: many houses that we saw were no more than mismatched pieces of wood and metal nailed together, and the uneven roads made me more thankful for random passenger handles in a vehicle than I have ever been in my life. Halfway through our drive I found myself thinking about the pothole-riddled streets in Chicago and how suddenly appreciative I was for them.

Hint: click on pictures for higher resolution!

Once we arrived at the build site, we bounded out of the van and were immediately greeted by Giaconda Ruiz, her husband, Arnoldo, and the elder of their sons, Angel. I must admit, I've never seen a woman so excited to meet a group of perfect strangers! As we took turns introducing ourselves, it became very clear just how much it meant to Giaconda that we came all this way to build a house for her. What you must remember, though, is that this isn't just a house we are building; we are building a home. During our orientation yesterday, Elisa reminded to us that having a home has more benefits to a family than simply providing a roof over one's head and a place to put belongings. Having a house improves education, health, and financial responsibility, among many other things. A house provides a safe place for children to go after school and do homework, it literally provides cleaner and less dangerous living conditions for children and adults alike, and having a house gives owners a sense of pride and a desire to be fiscally responsible. That being said, I am sure that Giaconda is simply excited to have a house at this point, period!

At one point Giaconda randomly plucked a parrot out of a tree, so that pretty was exciting for us...

The rooster felt a little left out.

Axel and the other masons were very helpful in explaining to us what exactly we would be doing today. We made mortar and concrete (we learned the difference between mortar and concrete!), we sifted sand, we made and tied rebar (reinforcing bars), we carried 33+ lb cement blocks to and fro, and, once stacked, we filled those blocks with said mortar, concrete, and rocks. Take all of those jobs and multiply them a few times...that's what we did today! We will repeat the process until the cement blocks are high enough to stop so we can concentrate on the floor and roof!

Our arms will surely be sore tomorrow, but that soreness will have been (and will continue to be) well worthwhile -- we made a LOT of progress today! The day seemed to move quickly once the training wheels came off and we were knowledgeable enough to *start* to do things on our own. It was really, really great seeing the progress that we had made by the end of the day, but even greater to see how happy was about it. I don't think I ever saw her without a smile on her face.

 Although we did not interact with many of the curious children who wandered over to our build site (not for lack of trying, mind you), we did manage a few conversations with Giaconda and some of the masons. I say "manage" because we were trying to talk in Spanish...which was not always easy for us English-speakers! Luckily, though, everyone was very gracious and encouraging when we tried to communicate with them. Whether it was in conversation about ourselves and where we come from, discussing the various and cultural meanings of "home", or admiring (obviously) our killer dance moves to Ashley's construction playlist, we had some meaningful bits of conversation with Giaconda and her family today -- and we plan on continuing them tomorrow! It would be so easy for us to stay in our comfort zones and only speak the language we know, but where's the fun in that? Moreover, where is the opportunity in that? By going outside our comfort zones and relying on our faith to give us confidence in tongue, muscle, and mind, we become stronger representatives of Christ and we can build relationships through Him. This trip is all about helping others with the ever-burning fuel of God's powerful love -- how lucky are we to be using that fuel and strength to make such an enormous difference in a family's life and future? It's been said before and I'll say it again: we are seriously blessed to have the chance to be God's hands and feet and working through Him to help others in need.

...but if we ever do have a serious brainfart, it's reassuring to know we can always rely on the universal language of a smile.

THINK BIG,

Megan

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"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:20-21

DANCE BREAK