Hands in the Dirt

There was a buzz all morning about the stay at the monastery. The energy began to subside on the song-taew ride back to Base, as the heat began to rise and the lack of sleep began to catch up on the team. Upon our return to Base, Chris can the group an hour and a half of "free" time. When it was time to gather for lunch, all 12 of the students were found sleeping, hard, in their rooms. The nap would prove to be needed as they embarked on another service project.  This time, to the home of a local farmer. It was 105 degrees, with a temperature "real feel" temperature of 109 degrees.

After our morning break, we made our way over to a local home that needed our help with their back yard garden. [We were at a farm, where we converted a patch of a rice field to a vegetable garden. For the second year in a row, it is predicted that the rainy season will be too dry to support the rice fields]. It was a very hot day, and we were all exhausted, but our girls toughed it out through the high temperatures. As the local staff roaped off a piece of land, we quickly got to work. We used hoes and rakes to get rid of the weeds, and the other green plantation that was growing. After clearing all of the green, we started to make different rows that, we would later use to plant seeds. The heat continued to beat down on the backs of our girls, but we were determined to make a difference. The owner of the land then handed us seeds to spread on our rows. After the seeds were spread, Micaela took the hose and watered the rows down. We were able to make three rows of vegetables, and help a family in need. As our leader, Chris, said, although we felt like we only did a little, we really did make a difference. After leaving the garden, we all felt an appreciation for what we have. It was a great experience, and I think we all got a lot out of it.   ~ Madelyn

This is a rough view of what our plot of the garden looked like when we started. 

There were a lot of weeds and dried stalks that needed to be cleared in order to make the dirt ready for planting.

The straw hats were a MUST out in the blazing sun and heat.

We were able to make three distinct rows in the garden bed, in which we planted cabbage seeds. 

Micaela put her years of gardening skills to work!

Though we didn't clear the entire plot which we'd set out to do, we left the farmer with three rows of planted seeds. He and his family will be able to water from a hose until the rainy season begins in June.