Back at building today . . .
Our task was to dig 6 trenches about 4 feet deep by 1.5 feet wide by 24 feet long on our previously made level ground. Everyone worked really hard, and the sun seemed to beat down on us stronger than ever. Levi even lent a shovel, although he preferred to eat the dirt, rather than put in the pile like everyone else. He let Alma (a wonderful adopted mother to both our kids) take him to the stream too. Both kids enjoyed playing in the cool water to combat the heat and humidity. Caedmon also helped dig today. Although, we were pleased to see her opting to play with the local children too–something she has been shy towards so far.
Caedmon´s note to you all today is, ¨I digging! And tell Papi I see a duck.¨
Here is a picture of our progress as of today. Tomorrow we will fill the trenches with about 5 inches of sand and then compact it all with homemade cement buckets with attached sticks.
At the end of the day, the truck that has been carrying the sand to our worksite got stuck in the river we´ve been crossing by foot. We unloaded the supplies and carried them up by foot, but as for the truck . . . three of the young boys will be spending the night in the truck so that nobody steals parts or the whole thing (apparently not an uncommon thing around here).
Back to work tomorrow!
The Serranos
Hey Gang!
Thanks for keeping this updated. I am coming to the site every day (a few times a day actually) to see your progress. It’s fun to see new pictures and get the latest scoop.
I’m at home at the moment and the workers are here installing the new A/C unit. The old one was pretty nasty as you can imagine. It was the original equipment when the house was built. The refrigerator coils were completely blocked so that not one bit of air would pass through them. The new unit is significantly larger. I’m now expecting that the windows in the house will have permanent frost on them when we fire up this bad boy! That should give you something to look forward to as you are sweltering in the jungle down there.
Our mission trip was a wonderful experience. We re-roofed one building, completely painted the exterior of the church, painted the interior of the fellowship hall, and rehabilitated their kitchen. They hadn’t had the use of their kitchen for at least a year. I’ve got a great video to show you of our trip down there when you return.
Monday night went pretty well. The Jonestown documentary was sobering. When it was over no one said a word. The room was in complete silence for a while. It was actually hard to watch, but very well presented. Thanks for buying that for us.
Our game last Sunday was a huge success. WE WON! We beat the only undefeated team in our division 16-10. Patrick and Leah were unable to be there, so Brianne Davis filled in for Leah. Their pitcher was having some trouble finding the plate in the beginning so we jumped on them and once we got out front, we didn’t let them back in. It was great! By the way Sis, thank you for putting everything together for me. I would have drowned in the confusion of trying to figure out who plays where and what inning. Whatever we are paying you as our Manager, it is not nearly enough.
Guess that’s it for now. Keep those photos and updates coming.
Grace and peace to you,
-Papi