We started off our day with a cardio workout at 6 am at the church basketball court in Batey Neuve. This was followed by breakfast and devotional time. This allowed us to learn more about the importance of mentorship and how we are called to mentor others towards Christ. This was a great way to start, before we headed out to the first village to distribute water filters.
Our first stop was Tamarindo. This is a small village that sits outside of the Bateys, and is distanced from the sugar cane fields and lined with beautiful mountains. Pastor Edward welcomed us into his church as he gathered the few members of the congregation. We stood next to him in the front of the church and sang a song of thanks and worship before beginning the explanation of the water filters. Next, we provided a live demonstration of the filters, in which we made the water visibly dirty. After the water traveled through the filter, it appeared clear and safe to drink. Following the team demonstration, we broke into small groups to work hand and hand with a community member in their homes to create the filters. The members were extremely grateful.
After all of the members received filters in their homes, we traveled to the other side of Tamarindo to distribute more filters. We followed the same sequence as we provided a demo for community members. The goal of the demo is to educate the community on the filters to ensure sanity and future longevity. After, we built another 25 water filters for the people. As we were building the filters, we also made sure to love on the community members and share the word of God with them. We used the water filters to provide an image of how accepting God can take our dirty past and make them clean and pure. After our first two stops we returned back to Batey Neuve for lunch! The morning consisted of lots of smiles, worship, and water filters.
Lunch in the Batey Nueve is something that truly feels like a dream. Fresh fruit, warm meat, and ice cold water, the blessings seemed to overflow. After spending a morning with people who have nothing in “our eyes”. The feeling of wanting to give back was something Sam and myself had talked about while on the way to continue to hand out water filters. We arrived at the church in Batey Seis and were greeted by pastor Ricalvin and his congregation. The warm eyes, massive smiles of the kids waiting on the street seemed to uplift everyone’s spirits. As we got off the bus the kids met us with high fives and hugs as we ventured into the church. Inside the church you could feel the presence of the Lord as Ricalvin addressed his congregation. He did so in such a way that brought nothing but hope and love to the people he was speaking too. The water filters were easier to assemble as we had been preparing and presenting them all day to various people and groups. The confidence from those who shared and demonstrated was something that was truly inspiring.
Another aspect of the day that i am sure we will never forget was playing with the kids. They insisted on playing all kinds of games, from piggy back rides, to rock, paper, scissors, to baseball with a bottle cap. The joy and the smiles on the kids’ faces was something that brought an exuberant amount of energy to the group. I saw peers interacting and engaging with them like they had been babysitting them for years. Confidence was shown by just jumping in and engaging with them in every way possible regardless of the language barrier. After some play, and distribution of the water filters we headed back to Bate Nueve for dinner.
After dinner the neighborhood children came out to play with us. We played everything from rubber band flipping, to baseball, to basketball and arm wrestling, dominoes and cards. This was something out of a dream as we all were able to intermingle and spend time just enjoying life together. The little girls offered to braid anyone’s hair who wanted and they were incredible.
The boys were competing on the basketball court without shoes on like it was game seven of the NBA finals. The pure love for being around each other couldn’t have been more clear. The devotional and shared stories that followed were a blessing as we debriefed the day, shared our experiences and offered support as testimonies were gracefully shared. It was another beautiful day spent in Bate Nueve, one that was filled with many blessings, lessons, and laughter.
We’re excited for what tomorrow will bring! Go Hope!