Today was dedication. 6 new houses were dedicated, and I was a part of 2 of those. Both families were incredibly touched, and that means a lot to me. After dedicating, tons of blocks were moved. We moved blocks from all 6 sites to wherever they were needed with our big trailer on the back of our F-550 truck.

After that, eating chicken and pizza was on the menu. Then, the day was wrapping up so I was forced to say goodbye to my family down here in Mexico. The relationships made here are amazing. It gets no better.

I hope everyone had a great summer, and has a great next few weeks before school starts back up!

After that, the staff headed over to Jose and Armando’s houses where we had a guiso, or a cookout. We put a pot with some legs over an open flame and put chicken, sausage, peppers, onions, some water, and some tomatoe bullion and had a delicious meal.

After spending some quality time with all the staff, some of us headed over to the market to get some last minute shopping done. While at the market I got a shoe shine which made my boots look brand new for only like a dollar.

Then after a short nap, some of the staff went to La Casita for empanadas which was delicious. So overall it was a delicious food day!

Tomorrow is roof panel day so it should be a good one!

I am working with a group from Mearle’s Inlet, SC that I had last week as well as a group from Pennsylvania that has been coming down for years and years. Both sites are walking distance so I have been walking back and forth between the two sites a good bit during the day.

Today the staff went to dinner at El Norteno (there is supposed to be a tilde on top of the second n.) It is a delicious taco place that was found by Will Betton years ago. Props to Memo on that one.

Tomorrow is a half day and I think we are planning on having a guiso, or cooking out with the guys for lunch. Should be an exciting time!

Unfortunately tragedy hit Piedras in a few forms this week. First, the flooding came ruining houses and causing evacuations across the city. The water was even turned off for the majority of one day, causing a little bit of panic across the city. If all this wasn’t enough, the mayor died tragically while checking out the flooding from above in a single engine plane.

Besides that, the houses were completed this week. All 3 are standing strong and will offer protection from the rains that are to come. Thursday was definitely a meaningful step giving these families shelter from the pouring rain.

Next week is my last week down here in Piedras Negras which is definitely bitter sweet. We have 6 groups so it will be very busy, but I’m excited for one more week in Meh-hee-co.

I would also like to just re-itterate what he said about John Martin and Ashlee Demastus. They are both incredible young people and have done a great job in the shadow of Executive Director and founder of CPC, Dianne Davis. Like the starfish story states, it really does matter what we are doing today. That sort of smacked me in the face today as me and Pato (Mike Hutchinson) were driving in our CPC white truck back from the jobsite. First, a lady crossing the street in front of us made a point to wave, smile, and then yell “God bless you!” as loud as she could. This lady looked familiar, but I definitely did not know her. Then, just a little bit more down the road, one of the men selling newspapers on the side of the street also stopped by our window and said “Dios te bendiga” or, God bless you.

I know we always say how much this matters, but a lot of times you don’t see it. I saw it today and it truly touched my heart. It brings tears to my eyes now typing this how much we really do matter. I love this city and I do love the people here. I know the rest of the staff and all the groups feel the same way.

Anyways, we started a new construction week this week! 3 groups came in, one from Virginia, one from Texas/Tennessee, and John/Alex’s home church from Georgia. I’m working with the Kenbridge Baptist Church group from Virginia, a group I also worked with last year. I have had an absolute blast with them thus far. Their group is mainly made of youth, so that is an incredible blessing. I love seeing young people down here doing what the Lord has asked of them.

I’ll keep you all updated throughout the week. But I expect rain, rain, and more rain just like last week. Today it rained on and off pretty much all day. The cloud cover is a blessing, but after the rain, the humidity and bugs get pretty awful.

It’s going to be a great week and I can’t wait to get back to blogging!

(1)  Our intergenerational team from Westminster worked extremely hard, and grew together throughout the week.  I strengthened the friendships I had with some of the group, and began friendships with others I didn’t really know.  I certainly gained an immense respect for our young adults who remained motivated throughout the week, and worked when my ol’ bones required me to rest for a second.

(2)  Does one house make a difference?  I really don’t know.  What I do know is that 18 people from Westminster made a connection with a family in Mexico.  There were no boundaries on the worksite, except for a language barrier that we tried to overcome (with help).  I also know that the house will be a tangible symbol that people can come together in the name of Christ to do great things.

It's all about family

(3)  Its only 21 x 21 foot house, with three room, two doors and four windows.  There’s no running water, although many families add that later.  There’s no indoor plumbing, although we see many CPC houses where the homeowner adds a bathroom.  There’s no air conditioning.  Just a roof on walls atop a cement floor.  However, as we drive through the neighborhoods of P/N, we see that CPC built houses are brightly painted, and almost always in good shape.  Perhaps we’ve helped these families by giving them a sense of pride and sense of ownership.  I hear stories from Greg and other people who continue to go back to visit families for whom they have built houses.  The stories almost always demonstrate that the new house was the last piece of the puzzle for those families and help those families go on to productive lives in P/N.  In our case, we know that Luis no longer has to share a house with his sister’s family.  He will have his own home, with his daughter and new child.  And, hopefully, a place that will allow them to move forward and be successful.

(4) I can’t explain how impressed I am with CPC.  John Martin (construction) and Ashlee (Education and Medical) have assembled a staff of college-aged adults, all of whom are unbelievable in their dedication to the mission of CPC and to making better lives for people in this small part of Mexico.  These young men and women, typically aged 18 to 21, are able to coordinate medical teams working in the CPC-built and CPC-run medical clinic; to operate a CPC-built pre-school and library; and to supervise work teams from across the United States, sometimes with work team members that have been building these houses for 16 years.  The staff is enthusiastic, fun-loving and hard-working.  How can I explain how proud I am of my son being a part of this organization, and how proud I am of the role he played over these many weeks.  I cannot describe the feeling of watching him stand up in front of 5 work teams to explain what was to be done that day, or watching him interacting with the Mexican workers and staff or hearing him talk about the blessing of the home.

(5)  How wonderful to work alongside Elena.  Steve, our construction leader, made sure that we (as parents) allowed our children to be independent on this trip.  Even though that was my goal going in, Steve’s preparation and plan ensured that I kept to my plan.   Steve assigned different jobs to us, and we didn’t really work together until we poured the bond beam on Wednesday.  While I hoped that Elena would appreciate the experience, I was so impressed with my daughter’s willingness to do anything and everything and to smile all of the time.  And to realize that she did appreciate the experience, and enjoyed the relationships that she formed with all of our team, I’m so glad we took the time of our lives for this trip.  And, her and Sarah Carter and Lindsay certainly stood out throughout our time in Mexico with their blonde hair!

(6) Westminster has three terrific construction coordinators.  On this trip, Rick Ellis and Steve Earp provided a confidence and a calm that was just the right touch.  They showed up at the work site every morning knowing who was working with whom, and what needed to be done each day.  Shouts of “Rick” and “Steve” rose above the worksite from those of us that weren’t quite sure what to do or exactly how to do it.  They both handled it with grace.  And, even though it may not have been perfect, they both made all of us feel like we had built that absolute best corner, or had installed the best window, or put on stucco like a professional.  I loved watching Elena interact with these, and other, adults and the family.

I’m impressed by CPC’s efforts to have a pre-school and library in P/N that will help children move forward.  And I’m hopeful that their goal of beginning an elementary school may be realized sooner rather than later.

I know that our efforts this week have made a difference to the people who went and had this experience together.  I’m not a Bible-thumper, and feel sometimes that my knowledge of the Bible or other Christian writings is not all that great.  I have never liked talking about my faith, or the importance of faith in my life — even though I believe it to be of fundamental importance.  I have always preferred to “do” things that demonstrated my faith.  I love cooking at the homeless shelter.  I enjoy participating in worship.  I love the fellowship opportunities.  This week gives me the time to reflect on my faith, and to realize that these faithful works are a necessary part of a faithful life.  While I’m stacking blocks, or spreading stucco, I know that I’m doing what Christ has asked us to do.  It brings joy to my heart and to my life.  I may never see Luis and Veronica again.  But I know that for a brief period, we were truly the hands and feet of Christ in their lives.  I hope they will remember the big group of Americans, even if not each of us individually.  And I will always remember this week for its impact on them and on me.

The title of my post is shouted by the team at the end of the dedication.  It means “Onward for more houses in the name of Jesus Christ.”  That’s my hope.

This picture taken with timers on our cameras. Note Elena trying to run back to beat the timer!

Steve pointing out things that need to be done on the front of the house.

And the work began with threats of rain, sprinkles, and downpours..

Yep, Taylor can push a "mean" broom. LeeAnn on the front step.

The work ended with a dedication ceremony with Luis, Veronica, and Heidy (I think that’s how she spells it).   The ceremony provided us an opportunity to reflect on how we have come together in the name of Christ and become a family.  We talked about how we hoped this house could be a blessing not only for our family, but a blessing for those who come to visit and for those who might see it.  We expressed our hope that this home would be a symbol of hope for this family, and perhaps for others that realized that this was Christ’s blessing.

Greg and Molly helping with the dedication. Love those orange shirts.

Molly Betton and Greg were very helpful in translating everything for the family. We presented gifts to the family as tokens of our love for them.  We created a scrap book with pictures of this week showing all of the folks that worked with them on building the house.  We made a little banner on which we all traced our hands.  We gave them a Spanish-language bible.  And then we presented a child’s book in Spanish and English for Heidy.

The family and Amy reading during the dedication

The Jacksons and Hillary making a presentation to the family

Looks like Heidy liked her new book

Greg led us through a CPC tradition of planting a tree in the yard. He explained that the tree was hopefully a reminder of Christ’s love for this family.  The lime tree, like the love of Christ, will continue to provide for this family — not only shade from the sun but food for their home.  The tree was watered by mixing water from Mexico and from the United States.  The water, which looks the same and smells the same, reminded us that there is no difference between any of us in the eyes of Christ.  With the family, we all took turns watering the tree with the water of both countries.

Steve and Luis finish watering the lime tree

Finally, Steve led us through a Bible story from the book of Joshua about a miracle.  I’m sure I’ll mess this story up, so my apologies in advance.  Let me do my best….the people of Israel were headed to the Promised Land and needed to cross the Jordan River.  God provided a miracle that stopped the flow of the river allowing the people to cross.  After crossing the Jordan River, the people picked up a stone and placed it on the bank of the river, to commemorate that place that a miracle occurred. The Bible tells us that the rocks are still there.  To symbolize the location of our miracle, the house, we asked the homeowners to place a pebble into the back step (which we had poured this morning).  All of us took stones and placed them into the step in the form of a cross that will remain with house forever.  A sign of a miracle.

Elena helping to complete the mosaic Cross on the step.

At this point, the homeowners thanked us with the sincerity that brought many to tears.  Anyone would know how important this was to them, and what a big step this was in the life of the family.  Oh, and I failed to report, that Veronica was four months pregnant!

And then the celebration began, and we decided to have Fiesta.  We had a lunch with the family in their new home.  We brought Church’s fried chicken, and the family could not allow us to have a fiesta without them contributing.  So, they brought delicious tamales and salsa.  While it sounds like a weird combination, it again reminded us of the diversity of our family.

Where there is food, you will find Mike and Greg

After the fiesta, Friday night was a celebration with all the work teams, a delicious banquet and time for sharing.  The night was capped off with a celebration of Communion led by Reverend Cindy Higgins.

An emotional week, capped off by an emotional day.  We have to begin packing the cars at about 3:30 am so that we can hit the road by 3:45.

Sorry for the delay in posting this.  Friday night was sort of “stormy” in P/N and the internet was up and down.  So, thanks for reading.

Last night was the Westminster dinner where we had a great opportunity for fellowship with our team.  All of us are very grateful for all of the support we receive from friends, family, and church family.

Because of the threatened bad weather, we headed to the work site a few minutes early and Greg made sure the roof panels arrived soon thereafter.  The panels are made of extruded cement with embedded asbestos, and are about 3 feet wide and 25 feet long.  They’re not extremely heavy, but they are certainly awkward when you’re trying to get them on top of a 10 foot wall.  We had lots of help from CPC staff, since everyone knew that the quicker the roof got on, the easier part of our day might be (i.e., the inside work).

The roof panels arrive with lots of help

After the roofs are lifted by our hands up onto the building, and moved into place by nothing but our own hands, a flurry of activity began.  Our construction leader commented later about how he couldn’t remember a time when so much had been done so quickly.  Not because we were in a race or competition, but because we really wanted to make sure we could finish this house for Luis, Veronica and Haiti Naomi.

The “less weighty” of our members got up on the roof to drill holes in the roof panels, to insert J-bolts, and to tie the roof panels to the building.

Chris (left) working with LeeAnn and Amy on the roof panels

I think its only lightly raining at this point.

As you will see in the picture below, there is a big space between the top of the wall and the roof panel.  The answer to this problem is “chinking” — a process of using blocks, parts of blocks, rocks, and pebbles to block up the space between the wall and the roof panel.  Then concrete (mortar) is used to tie all of the blocks, rocks, and pebbles in to a solid wall.  This has to be done on the inside and the outside of every exterior wall.

The roof is on, the chinking must now begin

Someone said chinking is like solving a jigsaw puzzle with infinite solutions (also a jigsaw puzzle with pieces you make yourself).  You need to break big blocks into smaller pieces, or break corners off of blocks to fit in odd sized spaces.  You need to find rocks to fit in tiny places.  I personally enjoyed the mortaring of all of those pieces together.  Many use a process called “throwing” the mortar which literally is to take a handful of mortar and throwing it in the spot (or close to the spot) that you need it.  You have to hope that you don’t knock a rock from outside to inside, though.  Eventually, your have something that looks like a concrete wall.  The biggest problem is that putting mortar in your bare hands takes all of the moisture out of your hands.  After a few hours of throwing mortar, your hands look worse than shriveled prunes.  In the picture below you can see what we’ve “chinked” and mortared many of the places under the inverted “V” of the wall panel, and still have some small gaps to chink and mortar over.

I'm working with Luis, the homeowner. The pony tail on the roof belongs to Sarah Carter, whose Dad is working on the right.

You can also tell that we’ve had more rain because my shirt and pants are soaked.  The rain didn’t seem to relent, but we all knew the work needed to get done.  Our goal was to finish the chinking, and then to stucco over our chinking, before we left.  We didn’t take a lunch break until a little after 2.  It was just a beehive of activity.  We got pretty close, but couldn’t stucco on the side where it continued to rain.  With all of the rain, and then throwing mortar, and then stuccoing, we all came back to the hotel wet, dirty, but ready to eat.  I know the clothes I wore will not come back over the border.

Almost all of the work got done.

After lunch, the rain relented but it remained cool.  At some point, the car thermometer said it was 81 degrees F.  Steve took a group back to finish the stucco and then clean up.  One of the results of throwing mortar and spreading stucco is that a lot gets dropped on the ground, resulting in a crazy mess.  Add the rain being tracked into the house, and the floors were pretty bad.  With this crew, you really don’t need to ask for volunteers because everyone is willing to do whatever it takes.

I went with several folks to get pictures processed (we create a scrap book for the family showing the house being built) and food ordered (we have a meal at the house after it is “turned over” to the family, in this case we ordered Church’s fried chicken — try doing that with a little bit of Spanish) and more soda purchased.

By all reports from my daughter and others, the house is about all done.  Veronica was there with Haiti, and I hear that Veronica had a huge smile on her face all afternoon, and Haiti may have overcome some of her shyness.  The roof panels really make a difference in turning this structure into a home.

We get to sleep in tomorrow, and breakfast is at 8. There are some small tasks to be done tomorrow, and then we have a dedication of the house when we turn it over to Luis and Veronica.  Having done this once before, I know how emotional this event can be but how rewarding as well.  I can’t wait.

The Westminster team has adopted yet another dog from Piedras Negras.  This time, its a little brown puppy that was rescued by CPC staff.  Congratulations to the Dulls.

Placing the U-block for the bond beam

So the first order of business is to begin moving more blocks into the building and, rather than stack them inside, we put them right up on the wall.  These blocks are half the size of a cinder block.  And they are shaped like a “U”.  The open end of the “U” faces upward, so we essentially are building a channel around the top of the walls.

Then we put rebar in the channel.  The rebar is positioned in the middle (top to bottom and side to side) of the channel on top of spacers (or “chairs”).  The rebar in the bond beam will provide a little additional strength.  The rebar is pre-sized for our building, and pre-bent so that it will go around the corners.

Making sure the re-bar is placed correctly

Because the blocks go across the window frame, and across the door frame, you can see how we had to brace up those openings.  After the U block was placed, and the re-bar put in place, CPC did its one and only inspection of the week.

After Greg approved our preparation for the pour, he gathered the family, the workers and our team together to talk about the importance of the bond beam.  Greg explained how the first course of blocks was very strong, but then the stacked blocks don’t provide much strength.  However, the bond beam provides strength through its unification of the walls and the individual blocks.  He explained this in Spanish and English, so that Luis and the workers could understand.

I should also mention that many of the team have been doing their best to communicate with Luis.  Mark Jessup was able to learn that Luis works in the evenings until 3 am.  So he sleeps for a couple of hours, and then is on the job site until its time to go back to work.  Mark and Sarah Carter were talking to him again before we left. Elena commented to me, since she joined in on part of the conversation, that she thought Luis was really nice.  That personal connection is such a great part of this experience.

Greg explaining the bond beam process to Luis and to the

Time for the pour to begin.  We began with Luis (Veronica and Haiti could not be there) starting the continuous pour, a symbol of this new family (our work team and Luis’s family) coming together.

Mark and Sarah Carter helping Luis with the beginning of the pour

Steve is very conscientious about ensuring that families on our work team had an opportunity today to work together on  this pour.

So, since this is Greg’s blog, which I have now blog-napped for the week, here’s a picture of us.

If we weren’t pouring the bond beam, we were hauling concrete from the mixers (just outside the front wall) around to the back door.  Concrete is hauled in buckets and lifted up to pour into the channel.

LeeAnn, Greg, Elena, and a proud Dad

Thanks to the “mixers” we had a good supply of concrete at the ready.  They seemed to know how much we needed and when, and we never had to ask for more, or tell them when to slow down.

At the end of the day another course of blocks was laid at the end of the house (in this case, the back wall), and concrete poured in the holes to provide strength and tie that course of blocks in to the bond beam.

Our work team is blessed with wonderful “leaders” who have patience and kindness, and know what to do and how to do everything.  Thanks to Rick, Steve, and Amy.

Rick, Steve, and Amy (with Jon Michael and Lee Ann)

Before we can put on roof panels, we needed to make sure that the bond beam had dried sufficiently.  So there is nothing to do on Wednesday afternoon.  Before we left, and in order to prepare the work site for tomorrow, we set up our “scaffolding” around the building that will allow us to lift and place the roof panels in the proper place.

Let me leave you with a picture of a little more “togetherness” on the job site.

Many of us will be off to the market this afternoon for a little relaxation.  Some of us will be blogging and checking in with work.  The weather is still warm, but breezy.  Tonight we’re off to Casa Grande for a team dinner, generously provided to us by Westminster.  To all of you Westminster folks who are reading this, we do appreciate your prayers and your financial support of us on our mission week.

Hasta luego.

On the work site, after our devotional with Luis, the first order of business was yet another block line!  After putting another 150 blocks into the different rooms, we needed to lay another three courses of block, pouring mortar down through the holes in the blocks in the corners and around the doors and windows.  This assures that the corners are solid, and the windows and doors are sound.   Don’t let the stacked block house fool you, we have to make sure that our measurements are exact so that windows fit, and doors fit, and the roof panels will match up with the bolts that hold them down.  The house is 21 feet by 21 feet on the outside.  That’s just over 400 square feet for this family of three.  Because the walls are getting taller, now to about 6 to 8 feet, our version of “scaffolding” is set up around the inside of the house (a stack of blocks with boards spanning across two stacks).

Window frames (the glass is put in later) and doors are put into the home.  Its always a relief when the door fits in (and opens and closes) and the windows can be properly shimmed into place.  Mortar is poured between the frames of the doors and windows to “cement” the windows and doors to the home.

End of morning session of second day

The morning was hot and the work was tiring.  But not everything was hard work.  And the promised rain was nowhere to be found.

Greg and Elena and I setting a window in place -- sort of.

The afternoon job was to stucco the blocks we put up in the morning.  Sorry there are no pictures of folks trying to do this fun task.  But, essentially the process is to smooth stucco on the block wall with a hand trowel, and after it has dried a bit, use a sponge to smooth out the imperfections.

By the time we got in the car, the house was stuccoed almost to the top of the walls.

The end of day 2 -- this is the wall I worked on most of the day

The day was hot, but you can see that the skies are starting to get ominous.  I think it was about 94 degrees when we got in the car at about 7:15, so we must have been working in high 90′s or so. Oh and for those who are wondering, the duct taped pants were a success.

Taylor, Elena, Sarah Carter, LeeAnn, and Ryan. The smiles speak volumes.

We got back to the hotel and many of us ventured out to have dinner in P/N.  Because our time was short, CPC recommended that groups split up and go to different places to that we don’t overwhelm a restaurant with 18 or more hungry Americans.

Our group was Mark and Sarah Carter, Taylor, Ryan, Lee Ann, Gregory, Elena and me.  Greg took us to a taqueria , (El Norteno), an open air restaurant with plastic tables and chairs, and a Mom and Dad cooking for us.  Greg told us that we just were going to order a bunch of tacos for everyone.  So, we ordered sixty tacos and got drinks out of a drink cooler.  The tacos were made in small flour tortillas, and were brought to the table family style (10 tacos to a platter).  Forty were chicken, and twenty were barbacoa (a pulled beef).  On the table, they gave us a mixture of cabbage and cilantro (we think), some small limes, a fresh pico de gallo, and two types of salsa (green and red — apparently the green was hot).  Grab a drink, grab a few tacos, and that’s dinner.  We made it through 56 of the tacos (and brought four to Memo Sanchez because his library was right around the corner).  The bill for 14 drinks and 60 tacos was $45 american.  Everyone enjoyed the food and the authenticity of the taqueria, and the fellowship was terrific.

Taylor apparently doesn’t do spicy.  Yet, for some reason, decided to take a small taste of the green salsa.  He may not do spicy ever again!  Lets just say that  his bottle of water wasn’t enough to ease the pain.

The rain began as we drove home.  Reports from some folks that did not go out for dinner was that the hotel experienced strong rains, lightning and thunder.  We were only a frew miles away, but didn’t have the same storm.  Weird.  Perhaps this is the sign of the tropical storm/hurricane that may be coming our way.  You all probably know more than we do.

More tomorrow, but one last picture from the front of the house we are building.  This is our “neighborhood.”