A conversation with Jordan (2014)
Automatic audio transcript; may contain errors.

[0:00] It's pretty unbelievable just how happy these people are.

[0:05] I've never really seen anyone really upset.

[0:07] They've always had smiles on their faces,

[0:12] and it's just for what they have,

[0:16] like the little shacks that they live in,

[0:18] the food source that they have,

[0:21] but I would say to someone who might want to come down here,

[0:24] is do it.

[0:28] I'm thankful God has gave me the opportunity

[0:31] to come down here and it's a huge blessing and it's a huge eye-opening to

[0:38] truly see what real poverty looks like. I can definitely say that I've changed

[0:46] and I can definitely say I've grown closer to God and there's probably

[0:50] some things I'm gonna change when I get back home. I know for one it's like

[0:54] these guys really have pretty much nothing and I have way too much of

[0:59] everything so I'm definitely going to be getting rid of some stuff. Pray about it

[1:04] and if you can don't think about it anymore just come. Another highlight would

[1:12] probably be me being a balloon artist that I'm not. It didn't matter whether it was a

[1:22] weird sombrero or a cat which wasn't a cat or a dog or whatever just I would

[1:29] blow up a balloon tight for the kids and whether it'd be just a snake or if it'd

[1:34] just be some random thing that I tied they'd always just laugh and giggle and

[1:39] play with it until it popped and I'd blow them up a new one and just to see the

[1:44] happiness over a simple balloon it's like the highlight of their day. So get

[1:49] up have breakfast have a group devotion you go out and you spend from like nine

[1:56] about five-ish working whether it be what all did we do we lay down cement we put

[2:03] in wells we dug wells we played with kids I gotta go fishing one day that was kind

[2:10] of cool that was a relaxed day and I'm thankful I had a day to just kind of

[2:13] chill and enjoy Panama a little bit yeah then come back for dinner and watch a

[2:20] movie or just hang out and fellowship with everyone and walking up first time

[2:25] I'm looking at where we're gonna be for the next week or so.

[2:29] You walk into our compound, the house that we stay in,

[2:34] and on the sides is where we sleep with our cots

[2:37] and our mosquito nets and all of our stuff surrounding it.

[2:42] And then as you walk out of our sleeping area, eating area,

[2:48] you walk down the path a little bit

[2:50] and it'll be our showers and bathroom.

[2:53] and the showers is just two knobs and a little cold water and you got to not take

[3:03] long showers at all you got to use like no water it's pretty much soap up or get

[3:09] wet a little bit soap up and then rinse a little bit of the soap off and then

[3:14] dry the rest of the soap off on your towel and pray that the towel will dry

[3:19] be dry but the next time you want to take a shower. And then the sinks are outside and

[3:25] the bathrooms you gotta throw your TP away instead of throwing it in the toilet. So

[3:30] that was interesting but I can say that I didn't throw my TP in the toilet. I was proud of that.

[3:36] Oh yeah. And by the grace of God there was internet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there did.

[3:41] One of the highlights of my trip, well there's a couple, laying down cement

[3:52] The way they do it, we just order a big huge truck and pour it down here.

[3:58] If they don't have a machine, they do it on the ground and mix it by shovels.

[4:06] And they make a huge dome kind of thing and pour a bunch of water in the middle.

[4:11] And then they're just shoveling and shoveling into the middle and mixing it all up

[4:15] and then putting a wheelbarrow and dump it.

[4:17] just to see those guys not even really breaking a sweat and doing that and the

[4:24] the hot heat is just and how determined they were to do it and they did it

[4:29] without really complaining or anything like that I know if it was me I'd be

[4:33] like dying of thirst and taking breaks every five minutes or whatever but the

[4:40] guys down here they're just so determined to get work done I mean like

[4:43] sure they have stores but they had to take like an hour boat ride to go get

[4:47] there and we can just drive down to the little mini mart or whatever and get our groceries

[4:52] but and that and they only get like ten dollars a day wage.