Another exciting and fulfilling day in Abaco for the Pella Christian IMPACT team! Hear from Meinders and Kynlee Groenendyk about the Bahamian shops they visited as well as the work the team continued around the island!
Today started off very similarly to Monday. We ventured to Zhivargo’s house to finish what we had left over from yesterday. It was a very nice, yet partially windy day. The wind was able to help us keep cool as we finished the deck. We continued sheetrocking for a couple of hours and then returned to the church for lunch. After lunch, we visited two local stores. The first store we visited was called Salty Island Shop, which is owned by a local Bahamian lady and her husband. The clothing is all handmade by her and also carries items from local artisans. Nothing from this store is imported. The second store that we visited was named Island Treasures. This store contained lots of perfume and clothing. The items sold at this store were imported. Once we finished our shopping, four of us went back to Zhivargo’s house to finish sheetrocking. We finished up our work there.
The others that did not go back to Zhivargo’s house went back to camp to help tidy up outside. This included mowing, washing the van, weed-wacking, cleaning up the beach, cleaning the fire pit, and clearing out some dead trees.
Going to the different stores and seeing the handmade items opened our eyes to how hard these ladies worked in order to sell their items. Each conch shell that one of them sold was hand-carved into spoons and bowls. These bowls were so beautiful. This shows how difficult it is to get things imported and it was a reminder that the store owner might not have everything they need. The hours spent on each individual piece of clothing and different items were so obvious. Being able to notice the little details in the hard work was very interesting.
Being able to sheetrock Zhavargo’s house was such a blessing. Seeing him walk across his new porch thinking, “I have somewhere to walk now,” brought smiles to our faces. You can imagine just how excited he and his son are to finally almost live together again after five years. Seeing Zhavargo’s joy brought us joy realizing that we really did make an impact.
— Meinders and Kynlee Groenendyk
