Mission Team - Catching Things Up

Well, once again, I apologize for not keeping you all up to date with our progress.  With the camp’s internet access down, there was not much that could be done.  We are on our way home, and since we have several hours of driving ahead of us, I figured I would get caught up.

If you recall, the first day had us laying the foundation for the house, as well as building all the walls.  The walls were stacked in sections, waiting for us to attach them to the foundation.  Day two was by far the most physically demanding day.  Not only were the temperatures extremely hot, with no cloud cover, we also had the most work in front of us.  As the first panel went up, there was much excitement from the team, and everyone seemed to be quite energized.  The new thing about this house build, compared to others, is the house was extended 4 feet, and there is now a bathroom.  That meant an extra wall.  The walls all came together pretty well, but we had some challenges with the roof.  Not only did we have to wrestle the roof framing up, but we then had to do our best to square it, and secure it.  Keep in mind, there were no power tools at all!  Everything was cut by hand!  Not sure the last time you built a structure with a handsaw, and hammer, but it was not easy. 

As soon as the exterior walls were up, the cement team began to wrap the house in tar paper (more nails), and then wrap the house in chicken wire for the stucco.  While this was taking place, we had a team wrestle 4’ x 8’ panels on to the roof, and then we began to (you guessed it) hammer again.  The impressive sight for me was how the cement team came together with a train of wheelbarrows, and mixed the stucco, and got the first coat on really quickly!  That team was amazing.  While this was taking place, the water-proofing for the roof began.  This was a new process that seemed too easy to be effective, but according to the 1Mission team, it works quite well.  You have to paint an adhesive that looks like thick paint, onto the roof panels.  After that dries, you lay a felt type material onto a fresh coat of adhesive, and then cover that with two additional coats.  This worked out very well.  The day at the build site finished with a strong structure, and a filthy, exhausted team.  We departed the site, and part of the group went for ice cream (a tradition), while the remainder headed back to camp to claim first showers (a must)!  

Our day ended with a fiesta, which included the families who were receiving houses.  We heard about the community service required, and exactly what they did to earn their houses.  Great time!

Written by Pastor Jay Boykin