Tamp On!

Hola!
Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to help with the construction of the church building I worked on last year in El Cope. One year ago, as I was sweating over cinder block placement and concrete mixing, I never dreamed I would be back on the same soil filling the church building with dirt for a floor that would soon make the church complete. I was overwhelmed with the presence of our God as I reunited with Abel, Solomon, Peto, and Thelma. Working on the building last July, I never once dreamed I would be back in the same place, El Cope. I could not write my friends in El Cope, or simply send them an email or Facebook message, and for that lack of communication I never thought we would be reunited, nor would they even remember me. Of course, I was wrong. They knew instantly who I was, as well as my name, and that I was going to school to pursue my dreams of being a doctor. I'm pretty sure they all thought I had already become a doctor, but clearly, I have no medical license. I should have just gone along with their assumption and administered some treatment. I know that is illegal in the United States.
Anyhow, my job on the work site this past week was a little something I like to call "tamping." As we filled the church floor in with wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt, it had to be compacted in order to make a sturdy foundation for the concrete that would later be poured on top. So I had one of the metal poles with a flat piece of something heavy strapped to the bottom of it and slammed it down over and over again on the dirt of the floor. My tamping team referred to me as the "Tamping Queen" (because I was the only person of the female persuasion tamping) and naturally I made a song out of my title. You may be familiar with ABBA's hit song "Dancing Queen," so envision the tune of that song beginning with the chorus in the following re-written verse.

You are the Tamping Queen, young and sweet, only nine-teen
Tamping Queen, feel the beat on the "tamporine", oh yeah
You can tamp you can die having the tamp of your life, ooooh
See that girl, watch her tamp, diggin' the Tamping Queen.

So not much creativity, really I just replaced dance with "tamp" every time, but it felt REALLY creative at the time. I sure sang it like I thought it was creative.

The Tamping Team

Me, tamping for Narnia

 The group that worked on the church this past week.

I also was able to do the zip line once more in El Valle. It was just as beautiful the second time!
After our last group left, we slept, a lot. Which was nice, because I was rather tired. And by rather tired I mean I could not have gone on one more day without a little sleepy sleep.

I bandaged that foot because I am a doctor.

I painted those nails.

So, thanks for your cute little eyeballs reading up on my activities.

Te Amo!
Katelyn

P.S. Today Miriam and I tried to figure out which use of "I love you" was correct for friendly use and which was more for a sexual use with our friend Josephine. We got some really strange looks every time we said "sexual."