Day Three

Wow. Can you believe we have completed day three already?? It's going so fast! We spent yesterday at the job site in Pueblo Modelo. Those of us who have been there before could not believe how much it has grown in one year! The government gave the village 500 more acres, which have been divided into plots of land for families. Our houses are deep into the village.

The team was eager to get to work so we divided and conquered. The houses are right beside each other and are going up simultaneously so we made it a friendly competition and one team was quickly pulling ahead. Angie has found a new calling in life - she did every job there was to do on the house: wheelbarrow sand, mix concrete, move block, lay block, fill mortar..... We joked that she could build the third house all by herself! Zach and myself spent a lot of the morning doing mortar. I'm not fast at it but I am pretty good! :-) Josh and Cody were digging out the front yard area for dirt to fill the floor area inside the house, to level it out before the concrete will be laid. Kenny spread out their dirt and later filled in mortar with Rick and Zach. Steve and Sarah worked side by side all day filling mortar and moving block. Jim K was Angie right hand man working hard! And Jim D spent the day assisting Carlos, the head guy on house number 1.

I was able to talk with the woman with house 2. Currently her home is about 6 x 6 with corregated tin and garbage bags for walls. She is married and has 3 little boys. She was a victim of this past summer's mudslides. She is very excited to be able to watch her home being built in her backyard, knowing that on Friday they will be moved in!! She has a small flower garden that is beautiful and she was out washing the windows that will be in her new home. It is very obvious that she takes pride in the appearance of her home. She certainly has been through much and deserves this!! The woman in house 1, her husband left her for another woman when she was 2 months pregnant with their youngest who is now 7 months old. She has 4 children, 3 girls and a boy. Her house is made of black garbage bags and bed sheets. It is very overwhelming to comprehend their current conditions. More on that later...

The kids who will live in the new homes spent the day by our sides. They are the sweetest things! We fed them all day :-) In the afternoon, I painted the little girls fingernails and Kenny and I read them "Los huevos y jamon" (green eggs and ham). They loved it! We'll need to find something new today. They just have the most beautiful smiles!

When we returned to the mission, we all split up. Some went to the rescue center/nutrition center. A few went to the orphanage and a few went swimming and then to the orphanage. We played for a while and then walked to dinner. Carlos wanted us to eat at the new mission house. It was gorgeous and delicious!! We ate so much good food and had an awesome view of the valley. After dinner, Cody had us ROLLING. We laughed so much our faces hurt. He is quite the comedian!! Carlos even got in on it. He was asking us questions about our church and how we raise our funds and even he started telling jokes and laughing. It was so much fun!!

Today we're off to the construction site again. Pray for safety, no sunburn, and opportunities to show God's love.

Dios bendiga! (God Bless!)