Holaaaaa! Today was a long but amazing day!
We started off the day by planning a little birthday surprise for Mauricio, one of the Just One staff. He turned 23 today! Once we had everything ready, we headed to breakfast. We normally get a “Plato típico” which is a typical plate of the country. It comes with casamiento (beans and rice together), eggs, cheese, plantains, and crema. So yummy! We then headed back to our hotel room to get the signs and surprise him before he picked us up. We got to Just One’s building to decorate for both Pastor Mizael’s and Mauricio’s birthday. Rebekah and Danielle worked in the library while the rest of us headed off to building pilas. Today’s pila home was a hike! We had to walk through 2 steep hills to and from the house. We went thru lots of grass, trees, and even crossed a creek to get to the home. Since we all know the process of making pilas by now, we were able to help more. Putting the molds together, greasing them, and mixing concrete. The view we had was awesome. We finished our first pila and headed to our second and final one of the day. It’s so fun working together with the team and the Just One scholars + staff. Being here feels like I’m home. Everyone is so welcoming and loving. It feels like we have known each other forever! We then headed back to the Just One building and had lunch. Today Ms. Linda, Ms. Sonia, and Matias made “enchiladas” they are pretty much tostadas as we know them in Mexico/California; they were so yummy. We then headed to the Just One library and helped where we could. Today, Danielle gave a lesson on portraits. We all drew our partner or in my case, I drew a random person. It was so fun to see the scholars have fun and express their drawing talents while others laughed hard at their own art. We then had game time/free time with the scholars. I played volleyball with some scholars, Ellie, and Bella. We then headed back to the hotel and Erin and I attempted to go swimming but the water was TOO COLD! We just chatted for a bit before having dinner and hanging out as a team. So excited for what tomorrow holds and the new experience we get to have. I am in love with this place and I do not want to go home anytime soon. I’m so blessed to be here and serve alongside these amazing people.
-Con amor, Ely Q
