Roof Tops and Breezes

It has been a very different trip for us.  Very often we are in the desert, with little shade and hot sun.  This year we have been working in the area of "Cumbres," which is just off the Pacific Ocean.  We are up on a hill and have a wonderful vista of the ocean.   All day there are welcomed breezes.   This is very helpful as that since Monday we have been working on the roof, getting it ready for the pouring of the cement layer.

The process is that of preparing cement forms so the cement doesn't run down the walls of the house, then laying a lattice of re-enforcement bar (re-bar) on the roof.  Once this is done, at each cross of the re-bar, the meeting point has to be wired together.  This is a slow process.   We haven't counted the number of cross-overs but it is in the hundreds but seems like thousands.


It can be a hot job, but with that welcome breeze from the ocean, and the ability to look out a beautiful scene makes it doable.   All while working a large speaker is pumping out music of the great Vicente Fernandez, or just the well known Mariachi music.  Of course, there is a healthy mix of current American hits.  All this makes the tedious job of wiring this rebar together more bearable.

Each day we are treated to great food by the women of the area, who are helping as part of their commitment to getting one of the next houses.  We have had a chicken mole, the most wonderfully spiced chicken BBQ, and a chicken caesar salad.   Usually, each main course has rice, beans, and tortillas with it.   The juice is real fruit juice made with melons, cucumbers or other fruits.  A welcome refreshment after the work on the roof. 

When we finished our work we headed out to the 'border' to experience the border and the wall as Mexican's experience it.  It always strikes me as strange, because the Mexican side is full of life, music, laughter, and all the joy of any beach town.  The US side is just empty, silent and desert life.
The Mexican side of the wall is painted with pictures of hope and happiness.  The US side is just rusted. 

Last night a large group of participants headed out for a professional soccer game and others went to the orphanage to play with the children.  On a sad note, the orphanage run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart has closed.   There were some financial problems we have been told.  We pray the girls are in a good spot.

The other group we have been with has been doing similar work at another site, (with the breeze).  Today all 40 of us head off to there to begin the roof pour.  We will pour that roof today.  Tomorrow we will head back to Cumbres and pour that roof.   With that our week will close.

If the internet is good I'll post how today went.   Thanks for your prayers and support.

It begins!

The internet has been a bit sketchy here so this is the first day I have been able to post.  All arrived on Saturday with few flight problems.    We picked everyone up and headed toward the Mexican border which only is about a half hour from the airport.  This year we had no inspections at the Mexican customs and sped right down to the Posada. 

The Posada is a large volunteer center built by Esperanza which can hold up to 80 Volunteers.   We knew we were joining about 10 Volunteers from Seattle who come from Trinity Lutheran Church, but we were also met by 20 High School students from Davis, CA.   They were scheduled to go to Honduras, but because of the violence there, their trip was canceled.  It is a group of young people who have been in a Spanish immersion program since kindergarten.  This trip was another step in that education process.   Nice young people and hard workers.  Another surprise was that (Dr) Marcel Tam met us.  He was a college student 17 years ago when I first took a group from LIU to build houses here. 

We settled in on Saturday and got to know the larger team a bit.  On Sunday we headed to a small church just down the street.    After Mass, we loaded up the van and headed to Puerto Nuevo which is a little fishing village about half hour away.   Some of the group went shopping and another group headed to a restaurant looking out onto the ocean for fish tacos.   It was a wise choice.  Our final day of relaxing ended.

Yesterday, Monday, began with a large meeting of the whole group with the director of volunteers who spoke to us of our work, safety and many things we needed to know.  We loaded up the Vans and headed out to our work areas.   The "Shrine" portion of the group headed south to a very remote piece of land on a mountain that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.  I will get pictures today!   Being close to the ocean provided us with a beautiful view and wonderful breeze.  It was hot and so we appreciated the breeze.

We were met by "Louis" who owned the land and currently lives in his broken down trailer.  He complains that it is very hot in his little mobile home. Louis had been a truck driver in the US and knew of the Providence-Boston area.  The walls of the building already up and our work was to prepare the roof for a 'pour.' The roofs are cement also but before the cement can be poured (buckets of cement lifted to the roof one by one) forms have to be made to hold the cement in.  That is our work for the next few days.   Our work is more exacting than hard.   We value Andrew Sanchez, part of our group who comes with amazing carpentry skills.

Here are a few pictures of our first days. 

2018 Pilgrims of Hope Project about to begin

Ten hearty east coast builders will be arriving tomorrow at San Diego airport and then the drive to Tijuana.   Everyone is excited.   We will join about 10 others from the West Coast.   We expect another great week.  Please pray for us!

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