2X4 Time

Brought out that teamwork today! Nice! Breaking up into 7 groups of people, we turned a pile of 2X4's into walls with windows and doors! One of the definite highlights of the day is that we got to know the family better as they were with us watching their house go up. Edgar the son, and a few of his friends were around showing us some of their biking skills and raced for us. The father we got to know especially as he chipped in and not only helped with sawing, hammering, and putting together, but even gave some of us a few new construction tips. The mother's birthday was today, so when we had all the walls put up and nailed in we sang Happy Birthday for her in her new house. Pretty sure we left a big smile on her face as we pulled out after today's work.

Cement Day House #2

This morning we geared up for the day with morning prayers, quiet time and a very much enjoyed pancakes and peanut butter breakfast. When we arrived to our worksite, we got to meet the family who we are building for; a younger couple with two kids, a boy Edgar, and a brand new baby girl Zuset who was just born last month. Concrete day is always the hardest it seems like, but today was phenomenal. Everybody did an awesome job mixing, shoveling, hauling buckets, pouring and leveling the entire pad by 3:30 this afternoon. Excellent work! After getting back, some soccer and dinner. And later tonight we will have our first-day-campfire reflections and discussion based on our impressions of the first day of work, and about what we observed in the foreign culture and environment that might have impacted us .

Arrival day! house #2

Our 2nd home building group arrived at the ranch safe and sound! Everyone is feeling the excitement and anticipation of the work about to begin. Everyone took a tour of the orphanage, went over all of the fine details in orientation and settled into the group housing, which are actually replicas of the house they are going to be building. The three parishes that have come together to form this group are quickly becoming one seamless entity, getting along and loving one another in the spirit of Christ's love, ready to embark on what lies ahead.

last day -- adios amigos!

It was a joy to have the folks from the Colorado area here this past week. Even though there were only 15 people, we managed to get a home built and see a family's life permanently changed. This morning began as they always do with chapel at 7:15am SHARP and breakfast. We then helped everyone pack up and load the vans for the drive back to the US. Safely back, we all waved adios as out first home building group left us and went back to their lives at home. Hopefully a little more aware of how their being in Mexico has made a permanent impact on one family and even more so, how Christ has made an impact in all of our hearts because of that family.

Day 4: stucco and a house blessing!

Today began with morning prayers and breakfast. After loading the pickup truck with trowels, sand, buckets and wheelbarrows we set off for the last time to the worksite. It took the whole morning to get the house nicely coated with stucco. And after lunch, the only word I can use to describe the house blessing is--beautiful. The eyes of the mom and her two kids, who had been there all week and had watched us build their house for them, shown with such love, humility and gratitude that I cannot put into words their effect on us. Truly every one of us were impacted and recieved more than we gave by the grace of Christ who shown through this family. May God grant them many years!

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work day 3: chicken wire and the roof!

What a fine day in Mexico! We started the day as we always do with prayer and some quiet time to think about why we are here. It's always a little surprising when confronted with the quietness of our peaceful surroundings. Unfortunately this never lasts long enough and we are summoned to the kitchen to have breakfast (yay beans!) and begin our day.

Today was chicken wire day, which means that the rough frame of the house we built yesterday was wrapped in a covering of paper, tar paper and chicken wire - the base for applying stucco to the outside of the house. Everyone got a turn trying to keep it tight (PULL!) and hammer nails. at the same time others were dutifully putting the roof on the house, shingling it in 3 layers - plywood, tar paper and shingling roof material. Everyone got a chance to go up and show their skills at making noise (hammering is loud!) and creating a weatherproof structure for the family. We were joined again by the two children who will be living in the house.

The work day ended with the windows and doors being put in - it actually looks like a house! Tomorrow we will stucco it and have the house blessing. Upon doing so, this poor family's life will be dramatically changed and Christ's hands will have be shown in our work.

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1st Homeuilding group of 2009! - framing day

The first home building group of the summer from the Rocky Mountain Region in Colorado arrived last Friday. We poured the concrete foundation on Saturday and let it dry over our day of rest Sunday, which gets us to today--waking up to a misty and brisk early morning, pulling ourselves out of bed to start framing day at the chapel with morning prayers at 7:15 sharp. After a scoring breakfast of french toast (oh yes!) and some bathroom scrubbing, we loaded the trucks and set off for the work site with 2x4's in hand.



Framing day is kind of an all around favorite. Hammer wielding, saw vs. leatherman races, timed anchor bolt drillings, and bird blockage--what's not to love? Dividing into groups and actually building the walls took up the majority of the morning. Everybody did super! Even two of the younger girls from the family that we're building for helped out with hammering a nail here and there, getting measurements and trying their hand at sawing. After breaking for lunch, we stood up our newly made walls, squared them, and nailed them together so they actually begin to resemble a house. The day’s work was completed by putting our frame for the roof on top of the house. After getting back from a good day of work with the family, we took a trip down to the beach, took a dive in the salt water and returned back to the orphanage about 45 minutes later--bean burritos in sight. And after dinner activities of course involved getting beaten in soccer by the boys, evening prayers at the chapel, and Mike's poverty wheel presentation. Now, THAT is what I call a good day. Tomorrow, chicken wire!