Old and New

We’ve been coming down to the island for six years, and really have a great system on the job site. Lots of these jobs have become old-hat, like painting and garden building. In year 3, we built six gardens in 3 days and we were stoked. This year, we banged out 12 in one day. Our house painting teams have been super efficient this week, finishing the two houses in less than 3 days.

But each year we try some new projects. The first was erecting a nursery where the homeowners can germinate and grow new plants. We were able to finish the first one completely this morning, and begin work on the second.

The second was to help set and harvest the fishing traps off the shore line. Unfortunately, the ocean has been very rough, so we were not able to set the traps earlier in the week like we had hoped. But this afternoon, 12 of the team members set off on Raoul’s boat, Karazim One, and his brother’s boat to see what we caught. Things started off great with the first trap catching a snapper and a yellow fish, both good eating. But each of the remaining 7 shallow traps were empty.

Raoul and his brother were hesitant about going into the deeper waters where they thought we’d have a great harvest due to the choppy waters, so the team did some snorkeling for fun where we got to pick up some starfish and sand dollars. Also, Raoul’s brother speared an angelfish, lion fish, and a lobster. Overall, not the experience we had hoped for, but the potential for success is there.

Finally, after the remaining 14 team members at the site finished up for the day, they took a walk back to last year’s site to visit with the kids. There were lots of hugs, smiles, and tears, as everyone reconnected after a long year.

With only one day left, and an impending storm, we are all praying that we will be able to get back to the village to wrap up our unfinished projects and to say goodbye to all of our new friends.