Today we made our final trek up the mountain to the construction site and quickly jumped into the concrete brigade. All of the water to mix the concrete comes from the river below and is carried up by the women of the community. Three women in particular, Rosanne, Juanita and Sol Vin, transported 40 lb. buckets balanced steadily on each of their heads up a steep terrain. Rosanne invited Kelly and Donna to join her on one journey down to the river, and they were amazed at how quickly she navigated the brush, rocks and branches to amble down the hill. She repeatedly reached her hand up to guide her two less seasoned visitors along the path. Rosanne’s smile never faded even after multiple treks up and down, and her infectious laugh often got her friends giggling along with her. This was a truly special opportunity for members of our team to share this water gathering experience with these beautiful women.
The Ravine Seche project truly reflects a partnership between Resurrection and the community. Each day of the visit, many local people joined us at the site to work on the church. Returning team members, Donna, John, Rudy and Ryan mentioned that this service experience differed from past ones in that the men, women and children all gathered with us to focus on this common goal. These new friends seemed thrilled to work side by side with us, and an easy ambiance developed over the course of the week. As our last day drew to a close, we were pleased to realize that we had completed all the concrete around the base. We ended the day with a photo of the entire combined team. As you can see from the smiling faces in the photo, all seemed thrilled with the progress made. The Ravine Seche community will continue to work on the church and looks forward to help from future Resurrection teams.