Don't look under the bed!

Hello everyone! Camille here. Day three is wrapping up as we relish a moment to shower away the grime of a long day’s work. This morning was another beautiful one; Jenna apparently woke us up at 7 AM but somehow I slept until 7:40 (I say “somehow” like it’s not typical for me to oversleep) and woke up to Deja, standing on her tippy-toes, tapping ever-so-sweetly on my shoulder, alarming me that we had 5 minutes until our devotional meeting. Blurry eyed, I hobbled down the wooden ladder of my bunk bed before we made our way outside, walking along the concrete sidewalk to the rhythmic sounds of drizzling rain and bird-chatter.

After our devotional/agenda layout, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of French toast, ham, juice, and of course, coffee. Then it was time to work! Today’s project was mainly one of demolition: the beginning stages of renovating dormitory A. We joined with the Grace Bible College group in first hauling twin mattresses out of the dorm rooms and stacking them into a different building. After that, we proceeded to take apart iron bunk bed frames. This is when the sweat kicked in. With probably only a total of eight right-sized wrenches, we labored side by side to take apart the rusty pieces and salvage the screws. Apparently someone counted; there were 96 beds altogether. Since the actual demolition of the window panes and electrical wiring couldn’t start until the beds were down, the pressure was on.

We worked until about noon, when lunch was served. An always delicious serving of tacos fueled us for the second “shift.” The pouring rain was a blessing as the air got cooler and we headed back to work. The missionary’s nine year old son, Logan, even taught me a few tae-kwon-doe “lessons” in the rain (very Karate-kid like, only I’m much less impressive and much more uncoordinated).  Our second shift, while we worked hard, was especially full of laughter and singing. If you saw the video of us harmonizing the doxology, I promise it sounded WAY better the first try (and in person, the acoustics in that room are TOP NOTCH). Sarah started us off and everyone joined in, totally improvised. Moments like that, no matter how much we want to capture them, are truly moments that “you had to be there”-and that’s exactly why they’re so special.

We kept cranking away until about 3, when we were delighted to get another break and go to a nearby “Frappe” stand for smoothies. From pina colada to strawberry passion fruit to peanut-butter-nutella, everyone loved their refreshing drink. I got a coconut mango one; it even had real chunks of raw coconut on top- it was BOMB (parents, that’s “teen-talk” for really good). Returning in the van, we asked Emily some questions about the history of Camp Caribe and its people and learned just how far this ministry has come.

We continued working until 6:30 when we enjoyed a brief moment to search the beach for sea glass before dinner at 7. Our meal consisted of pork chops and rice and beans- which were a hit. After dinner, we met again for another devotion and recap. Which brings us to now, 9 PM, while I’m perched on my top bunk, sampling coconut candy (thanks Leah) and Lifesavers gummies (thanks Anni). Half of our girls are currently dying small strips of their hair red with box-dye that they purchased on the last Wamart run. So we’ll update you on how that turns out.

Today has been long and physically taxing, but it has also been encouraging, enlightening, and inspiring. We are so blessed by all of this, and are continuing to grow in our friendships with each other and in our understanding of God’s love. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week holds! I never Juana leave ;)

Hasta Manana,

Camille