all the workers were off. our kids were out of school.
but don't worry, we did not take the day off!
no laying around the pool. basking in the sun. enjoying one last BBQ for us.
no way.
all the bricks that were made at the beginning of the building project were still laying out on the property. taking up quite a bit of space. so to give more room for the kids to play and for the maisons to have more space to work, ashley and jon decided all the bricks were going in uniform stacks. this all sounded great! i was pumped for a work day. sweating and working hard is good for the kids. and they should put some effort and work into this beautiful home that is being built for them! after lunch on tuesday we geared up for the first (smallest) pile of bricks. we assembled 2 efficient assembly lines and everyone worked so well together! the bricks are heavy. and tend to become heavier the longer you move them. but everyone worked with smiles and we got the job done quickly!
dossou & hubert
seraphin & emmanuel
papa jon, adolphe, dossou
after the first pile was all stacked up!
i love this picture.
i was walking over to wash my hands, arms, entire body off and alice grabbed my hand to hold it. and then looked at my arm (which was filthy) and got very, very concerned. she got a bucket and started scrubbing my hand and arms off. sweetness.
we took about an hour break to refuel and rehydrate before tackling the second (largest) pile of bricks. the kids were not exactly pumped when we told them we were doing the second pile the same day. but we kept things fun and ashley sent bernard to get some soda for dinner for the kids to enjoy because of all their hard work. we were all rocking some pretty intense blisters by this point, so ashley and i decided to tape up our hurt fingers. well, i thought we were only taping the open skin. ashley taped all 10 fingers up! jon caught on to the brilliance of this idea and taped his fingers up too. well, a Mama, a Papa, and a Tata can't have their fingers all taped up for protection without the kids being protected too! so off i went to get the rest of the medical tape and scissors. the kids lined up and i'm pretty positive i cut 428 pieces of tape (maybe only 120) and bandaged their little black fingers all up for more work!
what up G.
part of the second pile before we started stacking them.
getting the job done!
Mama Ashley working away! loved being her assembly line buddy.
we did the second pile during the hottest part of the day. not exactly the most brilliant move, but there was no way around it because the work needed to be done. we took breaks. and Jon bought these little icee treats for all of us. we chugged water. and went back out in the sweltering sun for more sweat and moving. i love stuff like this, so tried to make the most out of it all! ashley and i were next to each other for the entire second pile and we had a pretty good system down. except for when i pounded her shoulder with one brick. (still sorry about that buddy!) i texted her that night when i got home before i fell into my deep Melatonin / Ibuprofen slumber and her text back ended with, "loved this day with you. THIS was the best day." every single day here is entirely different. but i love everything about all of the days.
especially Sweaty Labor Day.
loved my sunburn.
loved my sore muscles.
loved my bruises all over my forearms.
loved the kids laughing at me.
loved laughing with the kids.
loved watching Jon and Ashley lead us all and their teamwork and encouragement.
loved sweating literally from every pore of my body.
loved Katinka sweetly saying, "i am certain i have never worked this hard in my life!".
loved my BondiBand.
loved my Chacos.
loved Mathias putting on Seraphin's t-shirt and soccer shorts so he could work with us.
loved my Beninese Labor Day.
the best day.
one of the finished products!
before heading home to shower.
filthy. seriously.
ashley and i should have filmed a commercial for Chacos on tuesday! i've been a fan of Chacos for quite sometime. right when i first got here, ashley and i were talking about them and the fact that she always wears flat flipflops and her feet hurt. i suggested she try some Chacos because they offer great support. her sweet mom went and bought some Chaco flipflops for her and sent them over with a man from Ohio that was coming over to work with another mission in Cotonou. all day long one of us would be like, "whew! these Chacos are great! they're so sturdy." it was pretty hilarious. but seriously, we're willing to be part of an advertisement. anyone have a hook up?
give yourself fully to the adventure of today.
walk boldly along the path of Life,
relying on your ever-present Companion.
you have every reason to be confident,
because My Presence accompanies you all the days of your life.
do not give into fear or worry.
a blog post isn't complete without an adorable Cosmo picture.
you're welcome.
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