The latter half of this week

We got to tour a bit more of Santiago. There is a cigar factory here that is world renown. They have a replica of the original factory that tourists can walk through and view people making the cigars under the original conditions. It was interesting - not because I smoke, or even appreciate cigars, but because the process takes about 7 1/2 years to complete. First, the tobacco ages for 7 years, then it is rolled into a cigar, next it is pressed for 2 hours, after this it is finished, but aged 6 more months, FINALLY, it is packaged and sold. (Above is a pic of them hand-rolling the cigars.)

We ended up working Thursday and Friday in the Central Church with the construction crew. When we got there, several Haitian women saw us join in the work, so they too joined us to help. Let me tell you, I have gained a new understanding of why people discontinued the work of the Tower of Babel after God changed their languages. The foreman, Luis is Hispanic, but speaks some Creole and a little bit of English. (I'm not actually sure how much Creole he speaks.) The workers are Haitian and Hispanic. The volunteers are American and Haitian. Receiving directives becomes a very interesting and intricate process. However, it is manageable. The Haitian women that worked with us were so much fun. The first half of Thursday, they didn't try to talk to us, but were very positive people who had a lot of fun working with one another. The second half of Thursday, they revealed to us that they could speak some English. Through a lot of sign and some translation from Creole to Spanish to English, we communicated. Between Thursday and Friday our tasks included, taking unused materials back out of the building (bricks and wood), carrying mixed concrete, cleaning up the building (picking up all kinds of trash and concrete debri), sanding the concrete walls with concrete block pieces, and chiseling the concrete floors smooth. The Haitian women were doing this work in cheap flip-flops. Lisa, one of the GO missionaries was able to give them shoes from donations. They were SOOO happy! very awesome to see.

Here are pictures of the church. It is HUGE! There are 7 class rooms, a main middle area (shown in the second of these two pics), a kitchen, dorms/bathrooms, and an upstairs sanctuary. It will be beautiful when it is finished! This church will hold worship for a Dominican/Haitian service for Hoya del Caimito. The current church location will be destroyed and rebuilt as a medical center.

Side note: the process of chiseling the concrete floors was frustrating to me. I just could not understand why we were doing it. I mean, I understood that the floor was uneven, but I could not understand why they go through the process this way. I asked Willby (Haitian pastor who is fluent in English and Spanish) about it. He told me that they pour the concrete floor for the foundation, however, when they build the walls and ceilings, concrete from these drips on the floor. The drips dry, then we have to chisel them off. After everything is chiseled smooth, another layer of concrete is poured onto it to make it a flat surface, THEN tile is added. At least this is my understanding.

Anyways, I want to share a story with you from Letta, one of the Haitian girl I visited with while we worked. She said that she was in her school in Haiti when the earthquake hit. The school collapsed. I think that a wall fell on her foot. Her friends pushed the wall off and took her to the hospital. She said that she was just screaming "Oh my God, Oh my God, Help me! Help me!" She said she looked around and her friends and teacher were dead. Only 6 other students survived. She moved to the Dominican to live with her cousin soon after the quake. She's been here 3 months. She is planning to go back to college here in June to study Chemistry. Her family is fine.

This is me with Nataly (Left) and Letta (Right).