Mud

So I finished my second day of “house mudding.” Saturday we got one wall done, and then over the weekend the family of the lady we’re building it for worked on another wall. When we came back to do it again, there were more people to help, which made the work go faster and a lot more fun. Several guys worked on the roof and helped make the mud, and the kids and I did the building, as well as fetching the water from the well. Let me tell you, those were some hard-working kids!

It was an extremely hot day and I got a little sunburned and was quite exhausted by the end of it. I guess it didn’t help that I’d walked three miles to the hospital that morning and probably didn’t drink enough water overall. But that is nothing compared to the daily duties of everyone else who lives here. I am continually amazed at the endurance and strength of these people. They have very high pain tolerance and just grit their teeth and bear the pain. They carry heavy loads, work long hours in the heat, walk for miles, live in poverty and still manage to smile. So what’s a little sun and mud on me compared to that?