Dealing with Dugga!

Greetings from South Africa! Today was our first work day.  It started out rather chilly, but as the day went on we were thankful that we wore layers, because we ended up in t-shirts.

Our whole group laid brick walls, inside and out. By next Sunday, we will have completed the home for the next Mosaic family. It took a while to get the hang of the brick laying process, but soon enough we were brick experts. We were brickin’ like craaaazyy (You had to be there)! The mortar is called “dugga,” so when we ran out, we’d have to yell that out and one of the workers would bring some to us. It was a lot of fun learning their language.
 
There were also many children running around from the Mosaic houses and from the village behind where we are building. They loved having their picture taken and seeing the pictures. They also loved hugs! But who doesn’t love hugs?! The day definitely was long, working from 8 until 6, but incredibly fulfilling. Meyer and Louise Conradie, the founders of Mosaic, told us their ultimate goal is to build a self-sustaining enviornment by not giving handouts, but creating jobs.

Now we are off to bed because tomorrow we will be up again at 7 for another 8-6 day!

--Steph Collins