D woke up early to go running, as he was able to recruit some running partners (not me, of course). At 6:45 a.m. we had a short devotional message by Gerald. The theme of the week was God as the Potter, with us as the clay.
Monday morning was probably our best breakfast of the week: egg, potato and bacon burritos.
We loaded up the vans and headed for the worksite. Turns out that the two houses we were building were on the same lot, and the church where the VBS was held was also within walking distance.
This is a picture of where one of the families was living. (The boy in the wheelchair was a friend/relative of the family we were building for). The two outhouses in the back were donated by our church not too long prior to our arrival. (That’s what we used to go when we were on the jobsite).
Inside shot.
There were various kids that appeared throughout the week to check out the progress—very cute.
Here is a picture of the materials we started out with. It is hard to believe that we were able to make two houses from this. The only thing that was pre-made was the cement foundation, which you can see in the back left.
D and I worked on different houses. I think most of the spouses were split up. I was assigned to the wall team and D was assigned to the roof team. The first day there was a lot of measuring, cutting and nailing. By the end of the day, the walls were up and the roofs were in place!
As you can see, it was pretty overcast in the morning. The cool weather was definitely a blessing, and it lasted each day of the build.
For lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and snacks. The afternoon brought the heavy lifting. Knowing that I could not be of much help, I decided to document the process.
There was barbed wire right near the edge of the house, which made putting the roof on even more precarious.
D had the privilege of using the “Red Head” to attach the wood to the concrete for the first time. These are the casings as evidence. I think he just enjoyed yelling “Fire in the Hole!”
It was a good, productive day. No major injuries, just sore muscles.
For dinner we had “Eat Like a Local” night: beans, rice, corn tortillas and nopales (cactus). This vegetarian meal did not go over too well with some, especially after the hard day of work. The nopales were reminiscent of green beans, and did not have much flavor.
Norma did make us another cake though, so that was nice. D and I both went to sleep early—we needed it.