Today was our third and final day working on our CAP project at Yaruquìes School. Each team was able to finish all of their projects and help other groups get their final touches done. The construction team was able to finish constructing and painting two play houses in the primary playground. The fix team finished reconstructing 8 tire swings. The aesthetic team was able to finish their murals and paint quotes and shapes on the walls of the field and playground. We returned to La Primavera and discussed our strengths/weaknesses and lessons learned from the experience and wrote letters of appreciation for Global Glimpse donors. In celebration of two birthdays on the trip, we went to diner at a Mexican restaurant named Lina, where we said goodbye to our bus driver and Medical fellow throughout the trip. Finally, when we returned to La Primavera, a group hosting an event at the hotel invited us to dance with them until curfew.

What stood out the most to us is the contrast between the first and last day of CAP regarding communication and respect within each group and the entire team. By the final day, everyone was helping every group wherever they could and everything ran very smoothly, while on the first day we had some speed bumps. We were able to complete every intended project (as well as two extras) ahead of schedule. The ambition and enthusiasm of the entire team for the project carried us through the final day to complete all of our goals and worth through all limitations of time and resources.

We both agreed a major takeaway from the day and the project as a whole was our reinterpretation of the phrase “a team is only as strong as its weakest link.” We realized that this statement, while true, is not in regard to intelligence, skill, or experience. The passion and commitment to a project is what drives the entire team, if not everyone is willing to give their all then it drains the energy from the rest of the team. Additionally, even without the “necessary” skill for certain projects, everyone was still able to contribute as much as they wanted to. As a team I think we realized this through compensating for our own weaknesses by utilizing the wide variety of skill in the entire team. I don’t believe we would have been able to complete our goals successfully if we did not have such an immense amount of passion and dedication to the school and to the cause.

Big Love

Christine and Mitchell