Hello everyone! My name is Katie C and I was one of the Lider del Dia’s today. I am part of the roof construction group. Today we had two professionals come in to help us with the roof. They decided to use the beams from the old classroom to fix the base structure. The roof crew dismantled the panels and reinforcements that we put up yesterday. Then we help transport the large metal beams to the classroom. After that it was not safe to put up the beams so we found another activity. We gathered the materials from the old room, and especially the roof tiles so that the next delegation can use them to finish a different construction project on the farm. Despite being tired from the direct sun and disappointed that we couldn’t finish the roof, we were committed to helping in any and every way we could. Carlos Garbay school was very accommodating and thankful despite all the unexpected events.
Once Diego came back with more paint brushes we began to help the painting group, who were very grateful for our help.
Its Andy here and I was LDD on July 5th. Today the art team was very productive, even though we didn´t finish. The more artistically talented worked on sketching and painting the more important side of the wall. The others painted on the walls that were sketched yesterday. The important side of the wall has four panels each showing the four different regions of Ecuador and the unique plants and animals. Amazon, Galapagos Islands, Sierra, Coast.
Although my peers may have already learned this, what I learned today is: It doesn´t matter if your work is considered important or not. It doesn´´t matter if your work is not as good as others. What really matters is that you try hard and that you are passionate towards the work that you do. If you do this, you will be proud and others will too.
The most inspiring people were the students at the school. Even though they have special needs, they still work hard to over come them. They do this every single day, and it was fun to witness all of their hard work especially their dancing.
Katie: lunch, the students performed a traditional Ecuadorian dance for us. And at the end they invited us to join them. It was really fun to experience celebrating with the students. They have been practicing for weeks, and we felt honored.
Katie: Lunch was the pambamesa traditional meal. It is when the community brings food to share. Its similar to a potluck except that everyone eats with their hands. After another hour of hard work we headed back to the hostel to rest before our last tutoring session. Everyone had a blast at our last class and all the kids received gifts or treats. They were all very appreciative. My class got a little crazy at one point, but Liza stepped in and helped calm them down. It was hard to say goodbye, since we had watched them grow.
Overall today was a rollercoaster of emotions. Both teams were disappointed that they were unable to finish their project. But we voted to continue working tomorrow during our free day so that we could get closer to being done. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but everyone is excited.
Thank you to everyone who follows our blog, we love hearing your comments nightly in our meetings. And can´t wait to share our adventures when we come back soon.
Andy: From being LDD I have learned that I am a very shy person who does not like to tell people what to do. And, because of this I find it hard to encourage a large crowd. I am more comfortable encouraging a few people at a time.
You all are doing a amazing job. I am extremely proud of all you!
Doug (Faith’s dad)
Thanks for the update Katie! What a day to be the Lider del Dia! You had some challenges but you made it work! I am so proud of all of you it seems as though you all are a great group of young adults with big hearts ♥️
Faith, only a few more days and your sister will be on your nerves again so enjoy your time away while you can. The fog wasn’t too bad yesterday so Geo came over to watch the fireworks. We all miss you and can’t wait to see you ?
Mommy loves you❤️
Hi Marcos, looks like you all are working hard and having a lot of fun..
Great to see you in pics..
Love you miss you
~Dad-
Hello, Great job everyone! You guys are all doing an outstanding job!
Thank you Katie and Andy for the update.
Marcos we love and miss you very much. We are very proud of you. Can’t wait to see you next week. ?
~Mom~
Sorry to hear that the projects did not proceed as planned. Great of you all to continue working on your free day. Miss you, Maddie.
Great job everyone ! Everything looks nice … Dallana did you learn how to dance? Haha
Julia, I’ve only just logged on today, but Damon has been updating me in your adventures. You are truly a “little star”… I can’t wait to hear all of your stories creating lifelong memories! Xoxoxo
You are all working so very hard and showing such love and honor to those in the community. The wall mural looks wonderful already! The projects might not be completed but the process couldn’t be more important for all of you and your host community. Coco, nice work on the butterfly! Grandma Hardaker
Every time learning the unexpected events is one step closer to the success.
❤️zahra❤️
Im sorry you guys weren’t able to finish your projects but great job for doing what you could. Anything is better than nothing. Keep up the hard work and it will pay off. Mindy I hope yoy feel better! If you call on your free day I may not be able to pick up because of work but leave me a message anyway I want to hear your voice. Love you and miss you!
Mom
katie carley :))
I’m so glad that you seem to be enjoying your time in Ecuador. I can’t wait to see you when you come home because i miss you mucho! Im officially ungrounded and I passed both of my AP tests 🙂 there’s so much that I have to tell you, but you haven’t really missed anything exciting from my standpoint lol. Really take in these last few days and prepare for my hug. Love you always,
Bailey 🙂
Hi Zahra… so glad that you are having this incredible experience.
Love and miss you
Hi Zahra… so glad that you are having this incredible experience.
?
OH MY! it must be quite disheartening indeed…. You all are doing the best you can… From painting to tutoring, you are putting in so much effort to help people.
You can do it! You are doing great! Keep it up!
OH MY! It must be quite disheartening indeed…. I hope all is well
You are putting in so much effort. I am so proud of you.
You got this, You can do it (Go and finish what you’ve started hahaha).
We can’t wait for you to come home so we can hear stories about your adventures. Even if the larger projects aren’t completely finished, it’s very clear that you’ve had a profound effect on the kids and the community there and that is the most important lesson you can pass on to them: dedication and devotion always bring about good things. Cant wait for sunday/monday to hear you tell the stories of your trip. – Daddy H.
Zahra baji ??
Wow… you guys are actually working! That’s great. What a learning experience. Haley – I hope the bugs are treating you kindly. I know what a pin cushion you can be ?.
Miss you much. Love Dad.
It is all in the process as someone said. Failing is part of learning and using that experience to create success. I’m proud of you, KK, for your leadership and hard work. Thanks to you and Andy for the update. KK, learning more dance moves I see! -Mama Belle
Hi Everyone,
You all rock! It is a good experience you all are learning there. You realize that every project takes time, patience, unexpected occurrence, rethinking and retrying, and all that builds up your skills. I’m proud of the hard work you’re all doing there.
Esli gets those art talents out! LOL!
We are doing well and can’t wait to see you back. Enjoy your few last days in Ecuador!
Mom
I am so sad to hear that the project did not go as planned ): Regardless, I encourage each and every one of you to be very proud of the work that was completed. Keep in mind that the little things still make a big impact as I am sure all of you have witnessed over the course of the trip.
Katie Carley – I was so excited to see that you were LDD! I am dying to know what your talent was. I hope it was better than saying the alphabet backwards and starting with ‘X.’ Prepare yourself for a very over dramatic hug when you get back ((:
Hola mi Evergreen Valley familia!
Sounds like a lot of good work you guys have accomplished for Carlos Garbay! You should all take a moment to pat yourselves on the back, go ahead, I’ll wait. I hope you are proud of your beautiful mural and ceiling renovations! Your impact will leave a lasting impression of love and kindness at the school. The CAP project and English tutoring were definitely the most powerful and engaging aspects of my trip.
Buen trabajo everybody!!
Big Love from Keilana.
Great job everyone! You should be SO proud.
Juli, I expect you to show me the traditional Ecuadorian dance??when you get back home.
We’re leaving Florida tomorrow morning heading home..can’t wait to see you ❤️
Love you,
Me
Great job everyone! As many have said, it is the process, the effort, the learning and the kindness that truly matters. And I’m super impressed that you’ll be working some tomorrow as well. What a team! Cant wait to hear about the final steps….whatever they may be, they will be cherished by those you are helping. Treasure your final few days together, hugs to all and a big ol’ kiss to Sara – love you much, mom – dad – ryan – pete – max.
Hello Maddie! So much accomplished in so many ways…such a gift from you and your team members to those who live there. I am so proud of you and your team members with all you have done and are doing. So many meaningful memories for those you have cared for there and for all of you who have worked so hard together to make it happen!! Very impressed!! Love you.