A great deal, actually.
First of all, it was exhausting; but it was the kind of exhaustion that leaves one craving the next day's work, a pride in accomplishment, and a fulfillment that allows one to enjoy the rest of one's work. In the United States, we call the kind of work we are doing "unskilled labor." While it is true that one may not need a high school diploma to dig in the dirt, I learned today that there are methods and techniques to properly clear the trenches. These methods are tedious and require a great deal of skill, so much so that the Dominican workers did most of the precision work and we hauled out the dirt they carved out for us.
Just three days into this trip and it already has been an experience riddled with realizations. One of these is that the terrible roads and road construction in Milwaukee are such a blessing. Here we are driving on dirt roads with pot holes reminiscent of a small crater. Our narrow and closed lanes are such a luxury compared to the one lane roads built for two-way traffic that we are driving through here.
Yesterday I posted about how language is not an inhibitor in regards to worship across cultures. Today I experienced first-hand that playing sports does not require a unified language either. We were able to play basketball with some young adults from the church. They played with a lot more skill than my seventh graders. We had a lot of fun and they must have as well because they asked when we would be back from work tomorrow so they could come and get us again for some more games.
Finally, in our devotion tonight we were talking about love. During this discussion I started thinking about CS Lewis's book The Four Loves. In this book, Lewis makes a point that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, prior to Creation, lived together in perfect unity and in perfect love for one another. And I realized, as I remembered this, that love predates Creation. And I thought that is pretty cool.
Proud.
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