DAY 4

Wow. Has it only been 4 days? We feel like we've been here for a month! Each day feels 3-days long. We are on the go from pre-sunrise till post-sunset! I'm sure all our brother/sister teams are doing the same, but man, is it kicking our butts. We sleep like rocks each night, and we work, love, and laugh like crazy each day, all day long.

By the way, this is Kat Richards "signing in" on behalf of Ms. Melin

This is going to be a mighty quick update (or at least that's the aim). Kristin and I are currently cutting into our shower time... wow! We are such troopers :-)

Today, we broke off into 2 teams. I, unknowingly, volunteered for a pretty hefty 6AM chore. Yep. By 6AM the 6 of us (Jose, Alys, Melissa, Brodie, Cristina, and myself) were hauled an hour away to pick potatoes & onions- barehanded. The catch was this- a very generous woman of the Cochabamba community had opened her field to us and said that whatever we could pick we could have for free! Love definitely abounds here. The potatoes & onions will be used in the meals of our upcoming camp where 700+ children will be arriving shortly and our hard, hard work will contribute to their ever-delicious meals. But trust me, it was no easy task! Although we were encompassed by beautiful mountains and a breathtaking view of Cochabama below, we made some time to have fun near the end of our fiasco.

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While away, the other 1/2 of our team held down the fort back at camp while doing more manual labor like fixing a massive fence, leveling the soccer field, cleaning up the cafeteria, and much more. The workload just never ends.

It's awesome, though, because our trip is very different from what I had anticipated. Yes, we have spent a great deal of time in orphanages & doing some killer VBS, but for the most part we have been doing the scrub work around here. Faithfulness in the small things. The annual 700+ kids camp is fast approaching and we are here to serve the missionaries who will be pouring themselves out. We are here to clean up the grounds. We are here to prepare meals. We are here to cut vegetables. We are doing all the non-glamorous work... and that is OK! It has been a change of pace, and a perspective broadener for sure.

But more on this later.

Okay, well I've got to go.

Will write more soon!

To all who are back home in the states, we love you!

To our brothers & sisters on missions also, we think of you often!
Can't wait to swap stories.

~Kat