Smack a Skeeter!

Yesterday was our first full work day here at Beth-El. The entire group was very eager to start interacting with the community and learn about a different lifestyle. We started the day by listening to Dave Moore, the director at Beth-El who has also been on two Dominican Republic trips with Second Pres. (Photo: Dave Moore showing us the approximate size of a farm worker's bucket for picking)

He shared information about how migrant workers are paid (they must pick 150 small trash-can sized containers of fruit a day in order to make $45), their housing situations, and the importance of mission trips such as this one. Then Javier, our work leader, split us into two groups. One group worked to organize a sort of community closet which our group nicknamed “The Second Hands Store.” The store has well-stocked clothing sections for men, women and children. (Photo: Part of The Second Hands team)

(Photo: Kirby and her beautiful display of stuff animals) It is also filled with anything from children’s toys to holiday decorations to home improvement tools. All goods in the store are donations from people in the area. The other group worked outside, assembling boxes of rice and toiletry kits. By the end of the day we had packaged hundreds of bags including necessities such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. (Photo: Sidney and Alex packing kits for farm workers)

(Photo: Katie tying bags at the end of the assembly line) After a few hours, we took a lunch break and listened to Sister Sarah, who spends a great deal of time providing free health care for migrant workers. She talked about the workers’ traveling patterns, the long hours they work, and explained the many health risks of their jobs. Field workers are exposed to potentially harmful pesticides and herbicides, intense heat, and dangerous weather conditions. This combination of factors means that “no one grows old working in the fields.” Following Sister Sarah’s talk we returned to the kit assembly line and “The Second Hands Store.”

(Photo: Sister Sara shares her knowledge with our group and another group)

(Photo: Our group assembled all of these kits!) After the work day was over, we took a trip down the road to the La Tienda Mexicana, a convenience store that was stocked with many Hispanic treats as well as good old American sweets and cold ice cream for the extremely hot day. When we finished our snacks our adult leaders surprised us with a trip to the beach! Although the “real beach” was closed, we found a little cove, where we had fun splashing around and found a father-son fishing pair from Roanoke.

(Photo: Splashing around in Cockroach Bay - seriously, that is the name...though we saw no cockroaches)

(Photo: Sidney played her guitar for us during evening devotions) Then we conducted our evening devotions on the beach. Though this called for the invention of a new game, “Smack a Skeeter” the scenery was beautiful and we all returned home feeling energized and excited to work again tomorrow! We ended the night with a celebration for Anna and Cathy’s birthday that included delicious ice cream cake. -Anne Johnson, Caroline King, Ema Simpson

(Photo: We are so grateful that these two lovely ladies chose to spend their birthdays with us!) A few more photos from the day...

(Anne working away in the Second Hands Store)

(Susan diligently organizes items for the store)

(Looking down the assembly line)

(Our adult leaders!)

(Alex and Ema on the "beach")

(Legs devoured! The reason why "Smack a Skeeter" was invented...)