Blog post by Nick Lamoureux

Bon dia (good morning in Portuguese)!  Slept fairly well last night in the new tent.  It rained a few times, but just tropical showers.  It even got down to 75°F or so in the tent – a welcomed break from the staggering heat.  A few local women and the [4] girls in our group are preparing breakfast.  They certainly eat a lot of fruit down here I’ve noticed, even with dinner.  Though not very filling, it is delicious! 

I awoke at 5:30 to shower.  It was cold but felt great.  Someone in the surrounding area projects hymns of some sort across the countryside at this time every day.  I don’t know why, but at least I was already planning to be up at this time.  Sunrise here is warm and beautiful.  It reflects off the leaves of the numerous palm trees in an inviting sort of way that makes me feel quite comfortable here. 

I am of the understanding that the vegetable garden will be 0.30 acres, and the “orchard” we are to plant will cover the remaining acre lot.  Just watched a motorcycle drive by carrying a family of 5…

We seem to have accomplished quite a bit today on the garden.  By the time breakfast and the compass check (on teamwork, given by me) were through, it was 9:00.  Not exactly an early start, but it turned out to be fine.  We (the UYC group and 15-20+/- Brazilian church members) spread a giant pile of manure over 0.30 acres by hand.  When I say “by hand”, I mean that we filled burlap bags with manure, carried them on our shoulders, and dumped them in the barren field where other people would spread it around with rakes or shovels. 

Following this, we had to acquire lime for the field to adjust the pH level.  Roughly 500 pounds was needed for the garden area, so Mr. de Campos and three other men went to a farm 20 minutes away to acquire some.  Oh, also, the lime was still in rock form and had to be crushed upon purchase.  After the lime arrived and we spread it over the field, a tractor was hired from “down the road” to till in the manure and lime. 

During the period of time in which Mr. de Campos, et al. were in town, we carved a 1/8 mile long ditch, in the hardest and most unforgiving ground I have ever seen, from the recently-drilled well down to the garden area.  The purpose for this ditch is to bury a pipeline from the new well to the garden.  I have been elected (having knowledge and familiarity with plumbing) to go to town tomorrow and select the necessary pipe and fittings by which we may complete this task. 

During the digging process, water had to be poured in-line with the ditch for us to effectively be able to carve through the bedrock-esque “soil”.  Everyone is thoroughly exhausted, myself included; however, as I am used to this sort of manual labor on a daily basis, I was not overly-affected by the work as were some.  My hands are strong and covered with calluses, but unfortunately for a few (e.g. my wife, Megan), this type of work left painful blisters on their hands. 

There are a number of communal dogs, flea-infested curs really, that hang around the church building and kitchen area all day.  I have made friends with all but one by feeding them scraps of leftover meat after we finish eating. 

On a similar (but quite different) note, I brought a bag of Beef Jerky with me, which it turns out is unavailable in Brazil.  I gave one piece to every Brazilian in the village that we were working with.  I am not sure whether or not they enjoyed it, but there were a variety of different facial expressions nonetheless.

Also, LifeNets carried out a glasses drive in the U.S. and we were able to bring many pairs of glasses with us for the brethren. They do not have basic healthcare, so many of them really do need glasses in order to be able to read or even see.  As soon as Mr. de Campos laid them all on the table, the local brethren all swarmed around the great excitement and enthusiasm, young and old alike.  I am so happy that I am able to be here to help however possible.