Today was one of the most exciting days so far for Team D because it was the first day of building! As we pulled into the village, Kpachiyili, the children were all together near the entrance, Peter, our translator, told us that they were there waiting for us. All of the villagers were smiling, waving and genuinely happy to see us. We greeted the chief and then got right down to business. In our past meeting, we decided to build the polytank stand in an area near the dugout that does not flood in the rainy season. Some men came with us in the truck to help build the stand and the children surrounded us as we began to work. Peter wanted music, so we brought the speakers outside and all of the kids sat down right next to where the music was playing. We unloaded all of the supplies from the truck and Peter drew a design in the sand for where the bricks would go. He made the design in the shape of what looked to be something like an igloo. The men laid the bricks and mixed the cement. Then Peter showed us how to use to the trowels to put the cement in between the bricks. He let all of us help. With the help of the villagers, we built the initial part of the polytank stand. The process did not take as long as I expected and we were done within an hour. It was awesome getting to see the fruits of our labor! Before we could move on in the building process, we have to wait for the cement to dry. Tomorrow we are going to fill the base of the stand with gravel and then plaster the entire thing so that the polystand will be able to sit on top.

After, we went back to the chief to tell him what we had accomplished and that we would be back tomorrow. We sat on a bench facing him and he gave us some chief wisdom. He told us that you must live your life through goodness and try to pass on good to others. Although we must live through goodness, he said that this goodness is the work of God. The chief always likes to relate everything back to God and the will of God. He said that he hopes that someday the children of his village will be so educated that they will get to leave the village, travel and develop their skills so as to eventually better the village. The chief puts much emphasis on education and the welfare of the children. He is awesome!

When the chief was done sharing his wisdom with us, something unexpected happened. A boy brought a live chicken to our meeting with the chief.  Peter said that the chief and villagers wanted to prepare us some food but they were unsure of what we ate. So instead of preparing something, they decided to give us this chicken. The chief thanked us and the boy gave the chicken to Mark. The chief continued by saying that we must all eat this chicken and it will give us the strength to finish our work in the village. He also said that before we eat this chicken, we must thank our parents for helping us get to where we are today. If we do all of us this, he said that all of us will someday find wives and husbands. Peter nicknamed the chicken, Mr. Coq. We were all so excited and shocked to receive such a gift. We asked the chief to take pictures with us and the chicken and he agreed. After, we showed the chief the picture and he shrieked with excitement. He said, “Oh this makes me too happy”. What an unforgettable day. Finally it was time for us to go and Mark held the chicken on his lap (which later pooped on him, ha!). All of the children chased the truck down the road as we left the village. This has been the best day of the trip so far. Peter’s mom is going to prepare Mr. Coq for us tomorrow for Mark’s birthday; it will be quite the feast!

-Brianan, Mark, Sarah, and Larissa