Day 7

Our first morning at the Mission began at 8 am with a breakfast of oatmeal, banana, bread, peanut butter, and jelly. We then departed on a tour of the Mission’s projects. We first looked at the school, which teaches children from pre-school to twelve years old. The kids there were excited to see us passing through and made sure to say hello. 

We then visited the women’s center, which offers sewing classes and weaving classes to women in the local community. The women can sell their goods through the center to provide income for their family without a middle-man vendor. The hospital was next on our tour, which was recently constructed and has 10 beds for men, 10 for women, 10 for children, and 3 for births. 25% of all births in San Lucas are in the hospital, with the other 75% being at home with the assistant of midwives. Volunteer surgeons visit the hospital 7 months out of the year to provide inexpensive medical assistance to the people of San Lucas and the surrounding areas.  The final stop on our tour was the coffee project, Café Juan Ana, which processes the coffee grown by local farmers and connects farmers directly to consumers. 500 pounds of coffee fruit is eventually turned into only 62-63 pounds of the coffee we know and love.

After lunch, we split up into groups to head to various work sites in the local area. Our group traveled to a nearby department (similar to an American state) to help begin the construction of a new cinderblock home for a local family. The children in the town were excited to see us, and almost every one of them stopped and waved. A few of them even stopped to touch Emilie’s blonde hair and Brendan’s red beard. We played a pick-up game of soccer with some of the older kids before beginning our work. Most of us were surprised at the size of the current house compared to the size of the family- a small structure made of tin roofing material with one bed for 7-8 children and their parents. We moved rocks from the back of their yard to the area where the new house will be built, and the children who lived in the house were eager to help. Other groups worked on the construction of wood houses. 

We stopped for soft serve on the way back to San Lucas (coconut/chocolate twist or cream/lime twist). On our ride to and from the work site, we rode in the bed of a truck with a roll cage on top. Our ride back to the Mission was rainy, so a tarp was placed on top to keep us dry. A huge thunderstorm started as soon as we got back to our hotel, and the power went out for a few minutes. Dinner was provided by the Mission.

After a long day of exploring the Mission’s projects and helping the local community, we headed back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep. We all enjoyed our first day working at the mission, and are all excited to see what other experiences are in store for us for the rest of the week!

-Emily and Sienna