“They’re shoveling snow in Minnesota and we are shoveling
dirt in Guatemala!”
Today was another amazing day! Team 1 spent the morning
working on the house Common Hope is building for an affiliated family. The
family of four (two boys ages 13 and 10) currently reside in a 32x50 foot open
space with a dirt floor and outdoor kitchen enclosed by roofing steel. Our
team’s mission was to create an addition to the home with a concrete slab. Working
alongside our master mason Abel, and construction guru Mario, the team mixed
concrete for a new floor in the home. Guatemalan’s do not have the luxury of
having a concrete mixer so the team mixed the sand, concrete, rock and water by
hand. It was a labor of love but we could all see how much it will benefit the
family. Working in a small space our team of six laughed as we learned to work
together without running into each other or accidentally knocking our
co-workers in the face with a shovel (or wheelbarrow). By the end, we were
efficiently working beautifully together with the common goal of creating a new
space for this family. This team was made of six women who were the strongest,
most determined women I have ever met! 
After our afternoon lunch and siesta we re-grouped and the
team split up to continue working on panels for the new walls in the Common
Hope house, loaded school supplies and sanded furniture from the nursery that
needs to be re-varnished. From there, we loaded the completed panels on to two
trucks along with ladders and all the other equipment needed to construct the
house tomorrow on the site.
We ended the day with a lovely team dinner at Welten where
we shared more laughter, stories and continued to get to know each other. 
Nice work ladies!!
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