Winston working hard in the bamboo work room.

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” –Henry Ford

Hi from today’s leaders, Aisling and Jayvann! Today was our first CAP delivery day. We woke up at 7:00 am and started the day with Licelot’s yummy grilled cheese. At 9:15 we got on the bus and drove up to la federacion. It was another gorgeous day in the mountains so we all enjoyed the sun and the breeze. As we need to work on our gift/souvenir store, we (Jay and Aisling) assigned people to three different groups: products committee, remodeling committee, and mural committee. The products committee welcomed numerous women and children from the surrounding communities to help create handmade souvenirs. We made many bamboo items such as pencil holders, key chains, and rings. We also made necklaces and bracelets out of string and natural seeds. Many people are already really excited and ready to buy these gifts. Another group in products helped make coffee by picking out bad beans, toasting them, and then grinding them. The remodeling committee started their project by cleaning out the existing room that will be selling snacks and coffee. They cleaned out all of the bamboo racks (which consisted of numerous spiders), they dusted the corners, and they wiped the countertop. Additionally, they painted the back wall white and will continue painting tomorrow. The mural committee made a lot of progress in the bigger room with their beautiful painting of the mountains, the river, and the coffee bags.

For lunch today the federation made a delicious meal of rice and beans, chicken, salad, and homemade orange/lemon juice. We worked on our projects until 4:15 and then came back to the hostel for free time. A few of us took a small walk down the street to buy a snack and a soda. The rest of us just relaxed or played cards. At 6:00 we took time to start writing a rough draft of our appreciation letters to Global Glimpse donors. We talked about our experiences on our trip and how we are grateful for their dedication to this organization. At 7:15 we had dinner. We ate sweet mangu, cheese, melon, and lemonade. After dinner we went to nightly meeting and discussed what we did well today, and what we need to improve on. We decided our exact groups for tomorrows preparation so hopefully we get a lot done and we can open up for business. Today was also exciting because we had a videographer shadow us to capture the work of our delegation. It’s now time to go to bed. good luck to Vincent as he is our leader tomorrow. Good night all.

-Aisling and Jayvann