the bell family: belize day 6

Today was a BIG day (there will be even more pictures than usual)!

First, both church groups worked together to pour a huge concrete slab. We woke up and were on a bus to take us to the work site at 5:30am. Typically Belizeans start concrete work at 4:30am because of the heat, but they gave us a break and we started at 6am. All the supplies were there (mixers, sand, rock, cement bags, hoses, buckets, shovels, wheelbarrows) and we got to work. The male leaders poured the concrete, water, sand, and rock into the mixers. Then it was dumped out into many wheelbarrow loads that were transported by students and dumped onto the rebar foundation. There were a few Belizeans and a few students that floated the concrete. It was all very grueling and the students worked really hard! Around 8am breakfast was brought out to us (egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches on white bread). They looked plain but were absolutely delicious! The worked continued until we ran out of rock and cement bags about 7/8 through the project. The break was wonderful but it made you realize how tired your body really was. In the end we poured a 35x35 area using 106 bags of cement.

Back at the school, there was a fight for the one shower. The girls created a rotation to make it fair and not waste anyone's time. Some girls ate lunch at the church while others showered and then switched. Eventually everyone was cement-free and we headed off to Fe y Amor for the last day of VBS. Many children even met us at our school to walk with us to the church.

VBS was the usual: song, story, skit, craft, and snacks. The major difference was the lingering children and teary-eyed teens that didn't want to leave their new friends behind. After thousands of photographs and hugs, we ate dinner at Fe y Amor (chicken, tamales, tortillas, lettuce, rice, beans), went back to the school to change, and returned for our final church service.

Students sang, danced, and gave testimonies, as we led church that evening. Many of the children came to church that evening so there were more tears, hugs, and heartfelt goodbyes.

After an exhausting day, we returned to the school to pack up everything to be ready for our early morning departure.