Friday, February 20, 2009

- A small correction and a Thursday report

It was reported that the group at the ministry center had completed all of the work intended for us except for some minor electrical work. That was incorrect, the work of sanding and mudding the first room continued, for some members of the ministry center group, Thursday and is continuing today. The electrical work has been completed and work on new walls has begun in another room. The members of the groups have been changed over the last couple of days. This was done to allow everyone the chance to experience the work that is happening at both sites. God has blessed us with construction leaders who are capable of directing the work at both sites. We always want to finish the work that we are asked to do, but we also understand that the work is just a part of these trips. Relationships with the people here is very important, but can be time consuming because of the language barrier.
Both groups had a very long day yesterday. The group at Duquesa started the day removing the forms from the concrete that was poured on Wednesday. In the pictures you can see that the concrete is a darker color than the rest of the house. At this point the concrete is still fragile and can easily be cracked. We have to be careful as the work progresses. Forms for the rest of the concrete work have to built and a sill plate, wood 2x4, needs to be installed on top of the new concrete so that the roof trusses can be installed. This will allow us to install the roof before we leave. The money that was raised for this trip will be used to complete the house with a combination of volunteer and contracted labor. Add some windows, some doors and a concrete floor and the pastor and his family will be able to use the house while the rest of the work is being completed. The Duquesa group stayed longer last night to finish the concrete work. When the Duquesa group returned to the ministry center last night, the ministry center group was also working late to finish a coat of mud. Today the group is doing finishing sanding, minor mudding repair and working on new walls. As on every trip that we have made there is so much more work that could be done and we would like to do. The Lord gives us our time here and helps us to trust that when we leave the work will continue. In all cases, maybe not according to our North American time schedules, the Lord is good, the work continues.

A couple added notes:
The question was asked about the cloths pins on the arms while playing dominoes. It was determined that the more cloths pins on the persons arms, the more they are losing. The exact rules for this have not been determined.
Also a big "Thank You" to Dave Horjus, the letter that you wrote to Jeff was shared with the group last night. It was well timed, very accurate and helped some very tired bodies laugh.

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