HONDURAS- SAN PEDRO SULA- DAY 4

Heyyy guys!!!

Today we focused on teamwork. We started in different groups, with some making cement, others picking up trash, and others cleaning pots. I was cleaning the pots that we used to make the rice yesterday, and the other women in the community were helping me. It taught me a lot about how resourceful they are- they used the bags from onions to scrub the pans, the ashes from the fire to exfoliate the pans, and used old clothing as rags for cleaning. We also got to go to our friend Anthony’s barbershop because we were helping him put in cement; we began an assembly line to scoop the cement, then transfer it through his house into his barbershop. We first learned of Anthony through a video that we were shown, so seeing him felt like meeting a celebrity!! He was one of the scholars with International Samaritan and began working in the trash dump as a child. Being able to improve his barbershop just a little bit felt rewarding because his dreams of becoming a barber were finally coming to life. They even engraved Regis 2025 in the cement, signifying the meaning that we brought to the experience; Anthony could have done it completely on his own, but instead, he showed us patience and welcomed us into his home with open arms.

As the cement dried, Anthony gave Deion and me a haircut. Everyone stood by and watched as he did because we were just so impressed by his ability to overcome such difficulties throughout his life- he lost his brother and his dad in the trash dumps. Seeing his joy and optimism shine through, just cutting my hair was inspiring. When I was getting my haircut, I was visibly terrified because moments prior, one of the guys placed an English translator in my ear, saying “Super Short.” This showed me that even though we are divided geographically and linguistically, we still find opportunities to laugh and have fun.