Today was our third full day in Brazil, but since at least 1/3 of the folks flying in from other parts of the U.S. had flight delays, today was our first day all together at the work site.

Some of us have spent the past two days hauling cement blocks from point A to point B, and today we moved them to point C & then back to point A. LOL, but that’s the nature of the work here. Need something sturdy to set stained wood poles on to dry? Fetch a pallet of bricks & bring them over, but then take them back later because they still need them for the walls! 😉

I think the best thing that I packed, besides trowels, was my lumbar support wrap. It has been a great help! My back is sore today, but I’m certain it would be much worse without it.

Besides hauling bricks, I also got to help with some of the masonry work again today. I learned the Portuguese words for “level,” “corner” and “middle,” as I used a hammer to bust holes in the cement blocks so they would foot over rebar, then filled the holes with masonry mud after the bricklayer checked to be sure the row was level. That was my favorite part of the day, hands-down.

I managed to scuff my calf in the same spot a couple of times as I was carrying blocks, but it’s nothing bad. As Monte Python would say, “It’s only a flesh wound!” 😉 Unfortunately, we have had a couple of injuries in the group, so please keep them in prayer: one guy cut his hands when he fell on some rocks at the beach, and someone today broke his foot. 😦

VBS starts tomorrow, so No. 1 stayed with that group most of the day to go over songs & dances & puppets. It sounds like a great program they have planned!