Our Bolivian contractor, who is carrying out the bricklaying work, watched for a while and asked me what he thought the difference was between the Mennonite and Bolivian men. He said, word for word: ‘When 15 of you set to work on a job, every one of you knows exactly what to do, and you only have to swap roles once, and the job is done. With us, it’s often the other way round.’ The more men are supposed to work together, the more onlookers there are, watching as one or two struggle. This time, there really was some truth in that. The group of brothers arrived at the building site early on Saturday morning. After a brief discussion and a prayer, they set to work. The aim was to paint a large number of timber beams so that they would be ready in time for the construction team from Germany, who will be using them to roof the outbuildings at Arche. Everyone had brought their own tools and the work progressed well. It looked like a hive of activity. In the late afternoon – after a shared lunch and Faspa, of course – the work was completed and everyone drove home feeling satisfied. It was a blessed day with plenty of fun and joy in the work. Glory to the Lord!
