The day has finally come where we are able to fulfill the goal that we set out to achieve upon joining Global Glimpse and meeting the Suarez community. All of our planning, preparation, and community engagement will come into fruition. We started the day off by taking the bus to Suarez expecting only to paint the backstop and merely plan out the structure of our shade and our seating, but as we looked out the window, we saw that the Suarez community was already hard at work setting the foundation of our Community Action Project. This was the moment that we realized that our project was already off to a good start. Upon joining them in their work, we realized that even with their help, it would take all of our combined efforts in order to make a successful project.

Our first struggle came when we first arrived because we had to organize and find out what tasks each committee could fulfill. Once the tasks were assigned, each committee began working in their respective areas. The painting committee took the paint brushes and rollers and painted the entire backstop a very bright and luscious green. The shade committee helped the Suarez community set up the foundation of the bench and shade structure. The seating committee helped mix the cement and carried it to the Suarez community members working on the benches. The child management committee preoccupied the Suarez children and kept them safe away from the heavy construction. The management team oversaw the committees by allocating each management member to each committee. All the committees were driven to not let their dreams be dreams.

As it was time to say “¡Hasta mañana!” to the Suarez community, we took a glimpse at our work and realized that we did so much more than we expected. We were able to coat most of the backstop in green and were able to help the Suarez workers establish the foundation of their bleachers and shade structure. After working in Suarez, we took the bus back to the hostel and took a small break. We were exhausted, but we had to gather up our remaining energy for our fifth English tutoring session. Tutoring was fun, but it was also exhausting; it was also depressing to tell our students that it was going to be our second-to-last tutoring session with them. We had dinner shortly after our tutoring session. To our fortunate surprise, Rosaura’s served us muy delicioso tacos for our dinner tonight.

Working on the CAP with the Suarez community was a life-changing experience. From today, each and every single one of us were able to realize the amount of impact we could have as individuals and as a group. We realized that every single one of us had the ability to create a legacy for the future of developing communities like the one in Suarez. Although renovating their baseball field may not seem like a very impactful change in the eyes of most, this project will be able to benefit their lives of the Suarez community for the better. The renovations to the baseball field will help bring more spectators to the baseball games hosted by the Suarez community which will ultimately bring revenue to them. As a group, we realized that even though we may be underestimated as teenagers, we have the undeniable ability to build a positive legacy to any area of the world.

During the day, our group ran through some hurdles that turned out to be blessings. One of these hurdles was the fact that the Suarez workers did not completely trust us to do the work that they were doing. It was discouraging at first, but our group were able to find small tasks such as picking up trash, digging out dirt, or mixing cement to help make the construction of the benches and shade run as smoothly as possible. Even though we may not have been able to help as much as we wanted, this hurdle challenged us to build trust and relations with the Suarez workers. Ultimately, this challenge conveyed to us the importance of listening to a community’s needs and building a stronger relationship with them.