Day Four - God floods in

After two hard, concentrated days of laying block, today was a day for careful tedious work to finish the walls and gables on Felipe's and Iris's house. Finishing over and around doors and windows, setting up and moving scaffolding, channel block and MORE REBAR in the eleventh row, and lots of special measuring, cutting and laying for the gables filled the day and into the evening as the last gable was completed right at dusk (about 6:00 p.m.). But it was a long day of work mixed with blessings falling like the rain that threatened this morning. That's right, rain was falling on the mountains to the east and south of us while heavy clouds rolled overhead most of the morning making for a significantly cooler work environment --- blessing number one.

Other blessings (in bullet points, Jeremy):

- When we arrived this morning at the site, Hee Haw tried to open the front door and it was stuck. He went around to the back door and looked into the house. In the corner, he spotted our brother, Javier, sleeping on a makeshift pallet with his Bible beside him, where he had spent the night roofless guarding the work site for the house of his friend, Felipe.

- After the clouds finished rolling over with no rain, the sun broke through just before lunch, leading to an afternoon of spectacular white clouds against a clear blue sky pouring over the surrounding mountains. All of us were moved by the grandeur.

- Kristen surrounded by kids, coloring pictures. She was surprised when a voice from behind asked for a page so he could color it and she turned to find Orfilio's outstretched hand, his face shining with that huge smile.

- Kristen turning cartwheels in the street with the kids.

- Joel passed out pieces of gum to the kids. One of the boys, after getting his piece of gum, ran down the street to his house and returned with a banana which he gave to Joel.

- After three previous attempts and four hours today of meetings at the bank with Orfilio, Mike and Ginger finally got their Honduran bank account opened and Mike actually got to lay a block on the wall. The bank account had been a real prayer concern because without it Mike and Ginger had been having to go to different banks every day to withdraw cash from ATMs to transact all the business. As you may guess, gringos carrying large sums of cash in Honduras is not recommended. That prayer answered Mike finally got to lay a couple of blocks on the last gable with us. When Steve asked Mike to turn around so he could take his picture, Mike responded: "Take it while I'm working. Who do you think I am? Bob?"

- Dennis was standing on the scaffolding laying block when he stopped to watch the rolling clouds and Kristen playing joyfully with the kids. He glanced to his right to the yard of the house next door where Iris, wife of Felipe, was watching our team work and play as we built her new house with tears rolling down her cheeks. When Dennis shared this Joel pointed out the strange fact that God had given a man born without irises in his eyes this woman named Iris to be his loving companion in life.

- We met Pastor Ancelmo Herrera Zelaya whose house we will begin tomorrow. Pastor Ancelmo has previously refused to allow Baptist Men to build his family a house until the other families in need in his church got houses. Meanwhile, he and his family have had to live in the Sunday School rooms at his church. Now Team 1 and Team 2 will build his family a house because of the love and support of our church family.

- David had a long conversation in Spanish with Javier today about faith and the Bible. Tonight at devotion he said he began to wonder as he listened in amazement to Javier's beautiful Spanish words that perhaps he was having a conversation with Jesus.

- As the day wound down and we raced against a setting sun, we found ourselves two blocks from completing the gable. Steve had cut the last angle blocks and Dennis and Doctor Juan were on the scaffolding in need of mezcla (mortar). We asked Javier for more mezcla (all of the other Honduran workers had gone home). There was no more mezcla mixed so Javier, assisted by Kristen, began scraping the mezcla from the ground where the mezcla had been mixed all day. Somehow, like Jesus dividing the loaves and two fishes, when Javier finished scraping and mixing the scraps of mezcla from the ground we had just enough to finish the last gable. Fittingly, the day ended as it began in a lesson of faith, determination and courage from this poor, simple, loving, smiling, serving child of God.

In addition to blessings we had our first casualty of the week. David was attempting to cut a five foot long piece of board into two pieces this morning when he made a significant rookie mistake.. First he tried to saw it with a hacksaw. When he made no significant progress doing that he, in a stroke of genius decided to karate kick it in hopes it would break. He succeeded but the longer piece of board popped up and hit him in the forehead above his left eye leaving him with a shallow cut and a big swollen knot. Unlike Tom last year, David never shirked his duty and left the work site. Instead Doctor Juan administered first aid and David toughed it out until he could receive further treatment at the house this evening. The patient is healthy but his pride has taken a severe blow.

And speaking of David, many of you have inquired about soccer. There is a soccer field about fifty yards from our work site where several boys play soccer in the afternoon. Yesterday some of the kids at the work site asked David if he was going to play soccer. David then began to regale the boys with tales of his exploits as a player in the forty and over league in Raleigh and in his younger days in Colombia. However, he then explained that he could not play because of a torn ACL suffered in a particularly brutal game about four years ago. In other words the typical old man ploy. Dazzle the kids with tales of exaggerated past glory and then avoid having to back it up by feigning injury. Pathetic really.

Anyways, it was just another ordinary day in God's kingdom.

We love and miss you all,

Team 1