The Sozo/Flatirons Construction Trip - Day 9

If you received my daily email updates you've seen most of it, but not all. Since my return I've added a few notes and comments which I've put in blue italic type so those of you who don't want to read it all again can pick out the "new stuff." <g> I've also added a couple photos from each day of the trip, which weren't always in the daily updates.

If you'd like to see more photos from the trip, follow the link to the left.  I took many of them, but the rest were taken by other team members Levi Dockendorf, Jeff English, Dave Harrison, Jordan Kejr, Micah Kirkwood, Michal Kmita, and David Pesek. Ron Barnes was there, too, but usually too busy keeping track of the rest of us to take photos. <g> If you'd like hi-rez copies of any of them just let me know.

Tuesday, July 1

For those of you in a hurry, here's the elevator version we went to Barek Aub today, said "thank you" to the elders, they thanked us, we planted a couple trees, we prayed to Jesus, they prayed to Allah, yadda yadda yadda, we went back to the guest house, and we fly out tomorrow.

The End.

OK if you want to read more about one of the most incredible experiences I've ever witnessed, let alone participated in, read on.

This morning Ron, our team leader, was still not feeling up to par and didn't think he should make the trip to Barek Aub with us today. He asked if I was comfortable leading the team by myself and, even though I knew this would involve speaking to the Barek Aub elders, in a fit of gross overconfidence I said, "Sure!"

Upon arrival at the village Mohamad Kahn from Sozo called the village elders together to give us all a chance to express our thanks to one another and say our goodbyes. He first spoke to the elders thanking them on behalf of Sozo for their cooperation in the project and thanked Flatirons for funding the water well project, school, and clinic and for coming all the way from the US to work here in Afghanistan.

Then Miajnoon, the eldest and Team Leader of Barek Aub, expressed his thanks to the crew and all of Flatirons for their funds, time, and effort. Then Abdul Zahir, the religious leader of Barek Aub, thanked us and said God will bless us for our devotion to the children of Barek Aub for providing the school and clinic. Then Bashir, who is confined to a wheelchair and has donated his home for the current temporary clinic, praised us for working so hard to bring a first-class permanent clinic to Barek Aub because he knows how much it will mean particularly to the children of the village. Then Abdul Baqi, one of the 12 elders and the engineer who is on site 24/7, spoke in glowing terms about how much it meant to all the people of Barek Aub that we would come all the way from the US and work with their men, side by side, and stayed through the heat and dust. Over the next 15 minutes or so each of the elders present (I think there were 9) took their turn thanking Flatirons for helping their village with the well and for our investment in the future of their children in the form of the school and the clinic, which are now well on their way to completion. The gratitude being expressed, from these people who have nothing by US standards, was very specific and totally overwhelming.

Then Mohamad Kahn asked if I would like to say anything and I jumped at the opportunity. I thanked the elders for allowing us to come work with their men. And because we all knew that we weren't as skilled at bricklaying as they are, I thanked them for putting up with our inexperience as we worked with them. I then said that we would take the memories of our week home with us to keep permanently and I hoped the clinic and school would be a permanent reminder to them of the bond we feel with the people of Barek Aub. At that point I know Michal and Jeff added their comments, but to be perfectly honest I was higher than a kite at that moment and all I remember is the elders nodding in agreement. I'm sure it was good.

We then located a good spot to plant the two trees and began to dig the first hole. Each Flatirons team member dug a little and each of the elders wanted to dig a little, too. We all took turns and it was amazing to watch as each of these impressive Muslim men, many rather formidable looking <g>, took turns with the pick pounding it into the earth so we could shovel it out. It was quickly apparent none of them was a stranger to manual labor. We then noticed that one of the elders had a prosthetic leg, but that didn't stop him (it didn't' even slow him down!) from digging out his share. And then we watched as Bashir, the elder in the wheelchair, hoisted himself out of his chair and crawled over to the hole and began whacking away with the pick. NOTHING was going to stop him from doing his part in staying connected with Flatirons.

Hello? It's reality calling anyone home?

The hole was now deep enough so one of the local kids ran over to the well and brought back a pail of water. He handed it to one of the elders who began pouring it in as I added the soil we'd brought from Colorado while Mohamad Kahn explained what I was doing to a chorus of Dari oohs and aahs. They backfilled the dirt, finished pouring in the water, and we all started clapping. We planted the second tree about 20' from the first, also at the clinic. We decided to save planting a tree at the school for another team so they can share in a similar celebration with the elders.

After the tree planting was finished, I felt the appropriate thing was to say a prayer so I asked Mohamad Kahn if it would be appropriate and he said it would be OK.

So I said a short prayer asking God to solve the bureaucratic issues that were holding up use of the new well and for His blessing on the clinic, school, and entire village of Barek Aub. Mohamad Kahn translated for me and I closed asking everything in Jesus' name. I wasn't sure if that was OK to do in public in front of the elders, but gave it a shot anyway.

As soon as I was done and Mohamad Kahn was done translating, Abdul Zahir, their religious leader, stepped to Mohamad Kahn and said he wanted to pray, too. So he started praying in Dari then recited a number of portions of the Qur'an before concluding. Mohamad Kahn translated and said that he prayed to God (not Allah, which we all found fascinating) to bless the village and especially the people of Flatirons that God would grant us safe travel back home to our families and that we would return again.

Heavy duty stuff. And something I don't think any of us on the team will ever forget.

We said our goodbyes to the elders and construction team at the clinic and headed over to the school to say goodbye to the construction team over there. No formal ceremonies this time, just a few very difficult goodbyes and a lot of "tashakors" (thank you's).

Before we left, and with Mohamad Kahn's approval, we gave one of the men a pair of decent work shoes. The man is Nawroz, a 55 year-old who was severely wounded in the stomach and nearly lost his left leg when a bomb went off in his office building during the civil war. Nawroz (pronounced nah-ROOS) was probably the hardest worker on either job site. He was a tough, crusty old man when we arrived, but due to the unconditional love shown him by Jordan, Levi, and the rest of the team this leathery old soul melted into a funny, playful old softie who was so gripped with emotion at the gift of a pair of new shoes that he could barely make eye contact with us as he walked away.

I'm glad I'm sitting at a typewriter right now because if I were trying to tell you these stories in person I wouldn't be able to get them out - such was the effect the men of Barek Aub had on us. But that's the way it often goes you do something to try to help someone and you receive twice the blessing yourself.

As we left the village for the last time, we took note of all the changes we could see just from our week out there: the first floor of the school is nearing the halfway mark for the bricklaying, the clinic is about one-third complete, and 5 new roads have been cut in at the west end of the village. There is still much work to be done in terms of pouring the concrete columns and installing the roof structures, but it's not hard to see that a lot of work has been done since we arrived for the first time last Thursday.

We headed back to the guesthouse where Nahim had lunch waiting for us. After lunch we spent the afternoon buying last minute souvenirs on Chicken Street, relaxing, and packing for the trip home.

This will be my last update till we are back on the ground in Denver Thursday evening. Our final prayer requests would be for Ron's comfort on the trip home, safe travel for everyone, and for continued prayer for the people of Barek Aub - their needs are unfathomable and our work there is just beginning.

We can't thank you enough for your prayer support so far. I know I speak for everyone on the team when I say this has been the experience of a lifetime and it would not have been possible without your support. God bless you all till we see you again in a few days!

OK, now... The End.

--Bob Tunnell

Bob thanking the elders of Barek Aub for their graciousness and hospitality throughout the week.
photo by Micah Kirkwood

Miajnoon and Abdul Zahir, the Head Elder and Spiritual Leader of Barek Aub .
photo by Micah Kirkwood

Miajnoon definitely wanted to be a part of the tree planting.
photo by Micah Kirkwood

Nothing was going to stop Bashir from climbing out of his wheelchair and helping plant the tree.
photo by Bob Tunnell

The Team posing with many of the Elders of Barek Aub after a historic week and memorable day.
photo by Micah Kirkwood

Jordan with Nawroz... now a lifelong friend.
photo by Micah Kirkwood