Breakfast: potatoes, tortillas, and fruit. I should show this picture to my kids since I don’t think they’ve ever eaten anything but seedless watermelon!
When we arrived at the jobsite, Dean, one of our team members, took the families out to a restaurant for breakfast. This was the first time they had ever eaten at a restaurant! His job was to keep the families away from the houses so that we could furnish them on the inside before they came back.
Dean did a good job, so while we were waiting around, we took some team pics:
The Gen Xers (that’s us) and the Gen Yers.
The men.
The women.
When the families returned, we welcomed them through a human tunnel.
With the help of a translator, Gerald conducted a dedication ceremony for each of the families. He reminded the families that these houses were a gift from God, and that all glory should be given to Him. This young couple is expecting their first baby (a girl) next month!
Roger, a talented woodworker at our church, made these lovely signs for the front of the houses.
This was my favorite day of the house build, for obvious reasons. I also enjoyed helping to make the inside of the houses a “home”. I made beds and laid out the clothes that we brought. It was a lot of stuff, and the families are always surprised, because they think they are just receiving a house.
This room is dark because the family did not want windows on this side due to a neighbor who sometimes gets drunk and throws rocks. We wired the houses for electricity, but they are off the “grid” so it won’t function until the power lines come closer to their property.
Three generations.
Little Paloma with the key to her new house. Love those cheeks!
Showers were delivered. There is no plumbing—it is basically a bucket system, but a great improvement from what they had before, which was basically a tub of water outside.
The clothesline turned out nice. I liked the cheery clothespins from Daiso.
Earlier in the week, the families persolnaized their outhouses.
As a reminder, here is where one of the families was living beforehand. I cannot even imagine how different it will be for them to live in their new house.
Afterward, the VBS team held a hot dog lunch at the local church. I ended up in the van that went for a fish taco run.
Wow, these were so good. My favorite tacos of the week. Hot and fresh from the fryer. Two tacos were plenty for me. A couple of the young guys ate NINE.
Afterwards we stopped at the candy store to browse. I thought these large Coke cans were interesting. Wonder why they don’t sell them in the U.S.? (I placed the small cans on top to show the scale).
That afternoon/evening, my stomach wasn’t doing too well. Let’s just say I had to see “Dr.” Miles again, this time for some Immodium. The team went out for tortas (one of my favorites, darn), but I stayed behind in my cabin, eating saltines and rice crackers. Thankfully, I felt better almost immediately, and I was fine for the rest of the trip.
