The Des Moines Christian School IMPACT team spent their day staying busy in Abaco! Read about their experiences playing with local children, working at Driftwood Farms, and seeing the differences in island life versus their lives at home in the latest team update from Mari, Hannah, and Olivia.

We started our day off by going to one of the schools on the island. Some people served grits and tuna to the children, and others had the opportunity to play with the kids. We played games like tag, hot potato, duck duck goose, and catch.

The school kids had huge smiles on their faces and would come up to us and give us all big hugs. They all enjoyed talking to us about their school, summer plans, hobbies, and more. At the end of the morning, we were able to hear the story of the library teacher, Ms. Mills. She told us about how she got connected with Many Hands, and how she has seen a change in the Central Abaco Primary School by the addition of the library.

After that, we went to Driftwood farms to help the Kellys close out their hydroponic greenhouses for the season. The team took out old greenery and moved the dirt from the pots. We also picked many kinds of plants and tended to the chickens by collecting eggs (or as Olivia says “picking eggs”). Another fun activity was feeding the pigs. For lunch, we had walking tacos with fresh lettuce and tomatoes from Driftwood.

To end the day, we had the chance to go to the local grocery store and see the big price difference from the islands to the states. Since everything in Abaco needs to be imported, it is all more expensive. This is one of the many reasons that Driftwood Farms began, so they could be able to educate the locals and give back to the community. Today was filled with a lot of hard work and joy of the Lord.

– Mari, Hannah, and Bailey