Cade and Cory Kratzer

We have been in Harmons for three days now and it has been a blast.  Arriving on Sunday, we basically just chilled and got to know the basics.  Monday we were able to walk around the whole community and see how things were SO different from Blue Springs.  And just to put this out there it has been raining the ENTIRE TIME (except for three hours this morning).  After the tour of Harmons we were assigned our work locations for the rest of the afternoon.

(Cade)
I was assigned to do greenhouse work.  At first I was a little "ehh" just because on the tour it looked great and I didn't see much work to be done.  BUT I was wrong.  First, we had to go around and pick up any fallen peppers which were labeled as "rejects". It was pretty easy except the majority of them were rotten.  With that finished we had to walk around the greenhouse and pick weeds around the walkways and in the pepper rows.  Some weeds, which at first I thought were plants, were taller than the peppers.  This took roughly forty five minutes and we then carried those to the compost pile.  The whole time we were being rained on even though under the protection of the screens, it still got through.  It was quite an experience.

(Cory)
I got to work at House #2.  When we got there they already had the frame up. We got to place the windows.  I was nervous at the start because this was somebodies house we were building and i didn't want their window to be lopsided.  But after a while we got the hang of it and it was really fun.  The family we were building the house for sat outside and talked to us so it was nice to get to know them.  The Jamaicans helping us then put up the roof.  Which was very impressive.  Because it was raining and they were standing on two by fours, carrying heavy sheets of zinc over their heads.  Then we came home and had dinner, a bible study, and played cards

On Tuesday we were both assigned to House #1.  When we got their we had to wait for the maul to be dropped off at our work site.  When it arrived we had to carry it to the back where we were building.  Each bucket weighed around forty pounds.  These were the three hours it wasn't raining, it was quite hot.  Then they mixed it all up to make concrete.  Here was the hard part we had to place it on the walls.  It kept falling off!  So, we carried the concrete to the Jamaicans instead. They got the first layer on all eight walls. 

After lunch we went to the infirmary.  This was a pretty heavy experience. We arrived and we were immediately embraced with a hug by one lady , she was awesome.  Next, we went inside and had some time to go around and meet and talk with the residents there.  Although the conditions were tough to realize you could just see the happiness in their faces at us visiting with them.  I ,Cade, got the chance to play dominoes with three other guys.  Next to us was Courtney Buttress who was amazing at it and kind of intimidated me with her skills.  It was definitely a new and difficult experience but I was able to see God there the most.  Together we have learned a lesson that God is everywhere.  No matter what he will be there and will allow joy to fill yours and anybody else's life.