Dominica, Day 6, June 30, 2010

Day 6 ~

We had storms last night, and when I looked out of my window, I could see the palm trees bending over. The wind was howling, about 2:30 in the morning. The cool breezes felt soooo good after working so hard in the daytime. I was lulled back to sleep pretty quickly, loving the feeling of the wind blowing in on my face. Here in Dominica, we sleep with sheets only, since it's so hot here. I am getting used to the sounds of the fan while trying to sleep. Actually, I believe that we are working so hard that none of us are having problems going to sleep and staying asleep! The cool breeze just feels so good.

In the evenings, it's lovely sitting on the back deck watching the moonrise, especially since it's been a full moon. The moon along with the clouds casts a cool shadow across the Atlantic Ocean. It's just so beautiful here on this island.

Today, the men worked on finishing the roof on the snack shack. It is nearly unbearable for those men, working up on top of that roof in the blazing sun. Don & Mike worked on the concrete steps going from the top level of the playground down to the lower level, where the rock climbing wall will be. I believe that they hauled up 6 or 7 wheelbarrows full of concrete, UP a very steep hill to where the form was for the steps. One of the Dominican workers, Daniel, is a professional concrete mixer. He smooths out the sand, makes a hole in it, adds the other stuff and water and mixes it all up, this whole bit done on the ground. The men on our team were impressed!

The ladies went to continue working on Pastor Ray's house, which was built by another work & witness team. We finished painting the outside of the house a buttercream yellow, and I started painting the trim work white. The other ladies started painting the white on the inside walls, with Beula & Sandra worked in Pastor Ray's bedroom and Frances & Janet worked in the other bedroom. I worked outside, on the trim work, sometimes painting while standing on an old wooden bench, and nearly dumping over into the mud! LOL We women are working very well together. Laura & Jo Ann stayed at the mission house to work on cooking, while Judy & Nancy went to town with Pastor Dan, the missionary.

Sometimes today, while painting, it would start raining, just for 5 or 10 minutes, and then it would go away and the sun would come out and boy, oh boy, would it ever get humid! I don't remember EVER sweating so much in my entire life! THe sweat would drip off of my face, or into my mouth... Yummy salt! Perhaps I'll sweat off the pounds this week, ya think???

Lunch was at the dining hall at the campground. Egg salad sandwiches, or PBJs, chips, cookies & tea. We are really enjoying spending time getting to know the local workers. Let's see, there is Daniel, who is married to Gail, the Sunday School Superintendant at the Bataca Church, and Richie, who is helping us ladies paint, Kervin, our driver, Armstrong, the plaster guy, who is also called "Stretch," Stretch's little brother, Danny, who does the mowing & weeding, and I think there's one more guy, but his name is slipping my mind right now. We are enjoying getting to know them.

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Last night, while at the church service at Gaullette River church, when the music started, a bat flew from the top rafters and kept dive bombing us. Frances & I got to giggling, and we had to keep ducking to keep from having a bat fly into our heads while singing praises to Jesus! And the two pastors on the front row kept jumping and trying bat the bat down with their hands! It was quite hilarious!

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Did I already write about the bats??? Probably... I'm just so tired.

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Tomorrow, there is supposedly a storm coming in from the eastern Caribbean, so we'll see how much work we can get finished.

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Goodnight Blog...