In God We Truss

I wish I could take credit for that title. A friend from Tucson actually said it first, and I really liked it. So, since she didn't use it in her update letter, I decided to use it. Thanks, Lisa!!! ;^)

Without further adieu, the long-awaited photos of the New Hope Conference Center.

We are still in awe of how quickly this building project came together. To God be the glory!!!

Aside from the occasional splinter and bump, there weren't any casualties either. Praise God!

Following are photos from beginning to end, more or less. Construction on the roof began on December 16 and ended on December 26. Amazing!!!

Brother Joaquin and Doug put the finishing touches on the endcaps and installed the doors a couple of days after the team left.

We can hardly wait to see how God will use this building!!!  Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave and worked toward this project!

Our next big event, Master's Bible School, starts Monday and will last 10 days.  Please be in prayer for this event!

Tying it all Together

I've learned a lot of new Spanish words while doing construction. Lots of times the word itself isn't really new, it's just being used in a way that I'd never heard of before. Cuchara, for example, means spoon. In construction, though, it's the trowel used to throw mescla (mortar).

Another example is the word cadena, which I've mentioned before. The cadena, which is literally translated "chain", runs horizontally along the top edge of the construction to strengthen the walls. Every few meters, vertical posts called castillos (castles) rise up from the piso (floor) to the techo (roof). The cadena is poured along the top of the tabique (bricks) and connects all the castillos. This process holds the structure together and makes the building incredibly strong.

Our goal was to get the building ready for a roof -- and by November 10, we were very close!!!

With the tabique laid, all the men could focus on preparing the wooden forms.

Doug's special assignment was to connect 4 inch bolts to the metal in the cadena which will be used to attach the roof.

Have I mentioned how hard our young men have worked? Every day, they are up with the dawn, getting their chores and schoolwork done early so that they can devote the rest of their day to hauling sand, gravel, tabique and bags of cement up to the back hill -- and delivering coffee and making runs to the store for Coke and potato chips, too! A couple of the boys were staying up till 10 or 11pm to finish Algebra homework and getting up at 5 to do chores. Dedication! I sure love and appreciate my teenagers!!!

Once all the wood was attached, secured and double-checked for level, it was time to pour the cement.

Bucketful by bucketful the concrete was moved from the mixer to the wheelbarrow to the scaffold to the top cadena.

On November 14, the wooden forms were removed, the site cleaned up and the very-important-basketball hoop was installed. The men celebrated the completion of the walls with a couple of games of 3 on 3.

Taking it to the Next Level

With the lower 2 meters (about 6 feet) of walls finished and the cadena (in English it's literally "chain", it's similar to a header) poured, it was time to set the level of the top meter of wall. Although Julio really doesn't like heights, he took his place on top of the wall.

Here is Andrew helping Alfredo heft bricks to the andamio (scaffold). This picture was taken the day after a load of bricks toppled off the andamio, missing Andrew's head by only a few inches. From what I heard, no one had ever seen him jump so fast! You can see how the tabique (bricks) are piled on either end of the andamio. Somehow, one of those stacks toppled over. This is why we pray protection over the worksite and the workers every day!

Chuy and Joaquin stopped in several times during the past month to help with hauling and mixing and whatever else was needed. The walls grew quickly and by November 8th, the guys were almost ready to start pouring the top cadena.

The last of the brick work was completed November 11. Hurray!!!

The Slippery Slope, Part 2

We finished the ramp a couple of weeks ago -- construction has continued at a very brisk pace, even though our internet came to an almost complete standstill. I kept taking pictures, though, so here are some pics of the last section of the access ramp!

Quite an improvement from the 2x12 board balance on the stack of bricks!!!

They Keep on Moving Along

A few pics of the fellowship center construction. Today the guys poured the concrete "cadena" which ties the corners and walls together.

I don't know why, but pouring concrete always gets a bit tense. Whether it's something as small as a doorpost or as big as a roof, there is always a moment of "tension". Sometimes there's more than a moment.

In today's drama, there were two groups. One group was preparing the mold and wiring up the last sections of metal.

The other group was mixing the concrete and pouring the cadena.

The tension started when the pouring group caught up to the preparing group...and found a section of the mold that wasn't quite prepared.

All work stopped for a moment. Then everyone pitched in and helped get the mold shored up and ready to pour (keep in mind that the cement is mixed, wet and needing to pour).

It all came together without further problems. Evie and I were down at the house, praying!

After lunch, Doug and the guys decided to make the best use of the daylight left and started the last section of the access ramp. We had a couple of spills off the edge of the temporary wooden ramp today. Nothing serious -- just a couple of bruised prides and scraped knees. Glad that the kids' angels were on the job today!

End of the day pic:

Construction Continues!

Not an overly-creative title, but I wanted to share pics of the center. The guys have made a lot of progress in a very short time!

Doug, Caleb, Jessee and Seth left last Wednesday on the mission trip to Quimichis. Knowing that Julio and Andrew would be by themselves all week (Joaquin can only help off-and-on), the guys wanted to haul as much brick, gravel and sand up to the back hill as possible before they left.

Jessee was up at the break of dawn on Monday and Tuesday. So were the gegenes (really awful biting gnats), which took some of the joy out of the otherwise beautiful morning.

The truck arrived carrying the last of the tabique, rebar and armex that will be needed for the walls. Here's Doug, tossing tabique to the driver.

After they finished unloading the truck, one of the boys ran down to the store for a bottle of Coke (tradition) and Jessee spent the next hour or so talking to the truck driver about Jesus. Pretty cool. We were able to give him a Bible and invited him to stop by again any time.

We got a call from Home Depot saying that the wood we'll need for the roof would be in on Wednesday. The only problem with that is that the van and the trailer would be in Nayarit on Wednesday. So, the manager agreed to hold it for us until Tuesday. Thank you, Lord!!! (Pray that it's there when we go on Tuesday!!!)

Wednesday morning, Julio arrived and he and Andrew worked all day...and into the night.

Thursday and Friday were more of the same, and Saturday was a half-day. The guys are moving right along!

By Friday night, they had finished pouring all the cement pillars and Saturday was spent putting the rebar and armex in for the header.

On Sunday, we all rested (pretty much!), and tomorrow they'll be back at it!!! Woot! Woot!