This was a long day. To clarify, it was a really long day. But it rocked us, changed lives, and was just plain awesome.
We started today quite a bit earlier than the other days so that we could get on the road to Zapote, which is about 90 minutes, 4 river crossings, and a lot of dirt road farther away than Membrillal. Our word of the day today was mercy - so for devotion we got a small taste of how we are nothing and deserve nothing in the presence of our almighty God - via Job 38. We then piled into our vehicles and made it to "town" by about 8:00 and by 8:30 we were divided into 2 groups. The bulk of the team went up the hill to begin work on a new house, but Sean, Ashton, Gerry and I accompanied Rudy and Pastor Jose Luiz the opposite direction on foot to work on a stove for another family.
I can't speak much to what went on with the house site, but down the hill, we built a stove in under 3 hours. Understand that to build the stove, there is a lot of cement that needs to be mixed, a lot of dirt that needs to be dug up from where ever, and a lot of bricks that need to be cut and soaked in water. Sean, Ashton, Gerry, and Jose Luiz worked at such a feverish pace that Rudy and I barely left the little structure where we were laying brick - which I was grateful for, because the sun was unbearable when accompanied with the incredible heat. By 11:30, we were back at the church loading the truck up with bricks for the other stove - but before that we shared some time with the family who we built the stove for. I remember clearly what the man of the house said.
"En el nombre de mi esposa, mi hija, y yo, muchas gracias, porque yo se que nunca NUNCA es posible a pagar para esto."
"In the name of my wife, my daughter, and I, thank you very much, because I know that it would never NEVER be possible to pay for this."
Then he lost the ability to hold back his tears. At that moment my flood gates were opened, and we talked longer and prayed together. The team hiked back to the church somber but incredibly encouraged.
After loading supplies into the truck, we met up with the rest of the team. When I got to the site, about half the posts necessary for the house were in the ground, and there was significant progress on the rest of them. Our smaller team prepped for the stove to match the new house, while the rest of the crew wrapped up a few things. We ate lunch back at the church, refreshed ourselves, and collectively made a silent commitment as a team - we were going to finish that house and the stove today. Work started at a feverish pace. Our two teams meshed back into one, and we seriously broke speed records. I continued to lay brick for the stove with Rudy, while all around me were ladders, people with saws, hammering, sheets of corrugated tin, digging, mixing, cutting, door building, and just about every other thing you can imagine. Before long, the structure was together, the stove had made significant progress, and Kelly was standing on 4x4 beams 10 feet in the air putting together the roof.
The team worked furiously as a unit until about 5, when the jobs became less plentiful, Matt started taking selfies and lots of things were cleaned up. We completed everything for the woman and her wheelchair-bound father - even wiring a light into the new house. Tono rolled the elderly man in, and the group gathered inside the house, where we all were able to experience a scene that mimicked the one I wrote about earlier in the day. As we were praying, the rain that had held back all day finally broke loose. We high-tailed it out of there, and had a crazy drive back. It was REALLY raining. To cap things off, Taylor fell asleep on my shoulder on the way back.
To sum things up - we're exhausted, but this day was incredibly rewarding. It's why we came here. Blessing people this way is what we who are more fortunate are commanded to do. Through our work, the gospel was shared - I remember Jose Luiz telling one of those who received that God has never left them. I am blessed and encouraged, and I hope you will be too. Thanks for all your support, and a quick shout-out to my amazing wife - thanks for caring for our 5 crazy and amazing kids while I do this. I am not worthy of your love!
We started today quite a bit earlier than the other days so that we could get on the road to Zapote, which is about 90 minutes, 4 river crossings, and a lot of dirt road farther away than Membrillal. Our word of the day today was mercy - so for devotion we got a small taste of how we are nothing and deserve nothing in the presence of our almighty God - via Job 38. We then piled into our vehicles and made it to "town" by about 8:00 and by 8:30 we were divided into 2 groups. The bulk of the team went up the hill to begin work on a new house, but Sean, Ashton, Gerry and I accompanied Rudy and Pastor Jose Luiz the opposite direction on foot to work on a stove for another family.
I can't speak much to what went on with the house site, but down the hill, we built a stove in under 3 hours. Understand that to build the stove, there is a lot of cement that needs to be mixed, a lot of dirt that needs to be dug up from where ever, and a lot of bricks that need to be cut and soaked in water. Sean, Ashton, Gerry, and Jose Luiz worked at such a feverish pace that Rudy and I barely left the little structure where we were laying brick - which I was grateful for, because the sun was unbearable when accompanied with the incredible heat. By 11:30, we were back at the church loading the truck up with bricks for the other stove - but before that we shared some time with the family who we built the stove for. I remember clearly what the man of the house said.
"En el nombre de mi esposa, mi hija, y yo, muchas gracias, porque yo se que nunca NUNCA es posible a pagar para esto."
"In the name of my wife, my daughter, and I, thank you very much, because I know that it would never NEVER be possible to pay for this."
Then he lost the ability to hold back his tears. At that moment my flood gates were opened, and we talked longer and prayed together. The team hiked back to the church somber but incredibly encouraged.
After loading supplies into the truck, we met up with the rest of the team. When I got to the site, about half the posts necessary for the house were in the ground, and there was significant progress on the rest of them. Our smaller team prepped for the stove to match the new house, while the rest of the crew wrapped up a few things. We ate lunch back at the church, refreshed ourselves, and collectively made a silent commitment as a team - we were going to finish that house and the stove today. Work started at a feverish pace. Our two teams meshed back into one, and we seriously broke speed records. I continued to lay brick for the stove with Rudy, while all around me were ladders, people with saws, hammering, sheets of corrugated tin, digging, mixing, cutting, door building, and just about every other thing you can imagine. Before long, the structure was together, the stove had made significant progress, and Kelly was standing on 4x4 beams 10 feet in the air putting together the roof.
The team worked furiously as a unit until about 5, when the jobs became less plentiful, Matt started taking selfies and lots of things were cleaned up. We completed everything for the woman and her wheelchair-bound father - even wiring a light into the new house. Tono rolled the elderly man in, and the group gathered inside the house, where we all were able to experience a scene that mimicked the one I wrote about earlier in the day. As we were praying, the rain that had held back all day finally broke loose. We high-tailed it out of there, and had a crazy drive back. It was REALLY raining. To cap things off, Taylor fell asleep on my shoulder on the way back.
To sum things up - we're exhausted, but this day was incredibly rewarding. It's why we came here. Blessing people this way is what we who are more fortunate are commanded to do. Through our work, the gospel was shared - I remember Jose Luiz telling one of those who received that God has never left them. I am blessed and encouraged, and I hope you will be too. Thanks for all your support, and a quick shout-out to my amazing wife - thanks for caring for our 5 crazy and amazing kids while I do this. I am not worthy of your love!
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