House Building

Today we got up and the sun was shining. After two weeks of rain, that was a very welcome sight. Even more so than you know because we were going to build a house, rain or shine. All we knew about the house when we left this morning was we were replacing one that had burned. After missing a few turns and Marc begging a policeman to let him exit off the highway from the wrong lane (the policeman won) we finally made it to the house site after 10:30 only to find out the wood that was suppose to be there at 10:00 was not there. Welcome to Honduras. Not having wood when we arrived was not a big deal because we had to tear down a good portion of the charred remains of the old house. There was a house in front and some sort of house behind which we threw all the old lumber in. The tear down was nasty. The wood arrived just about the same time as we finished the tear down. It was ten minutes til 12:00. Alittle behind schedule. The lot was small and tight. Two walls had to go up along side rock walls. One had to go up very close to the house in front. The corner posts and the roof beams had to be brought in through the house in front. Everything else could be brought in through a narrow side yard. The house we built today was hard work. But the mother and some of her kids were on the site all day and we got to visit with them and get to know them. That was fun. The house was built for a mother and her 5 kids. When the house was complete, the group and the family gathered inside and said a prayer. Gloria, the mom was most grateful. It was a long, hard, satisfying day. When we got home, that shower felt so good as I washed away dirt, ashes and sawdust

Tonight we were served a typical Honduran meal of rice and beans, guacamole salad and homemade tortilla chips, and fried plantains. It was oh so good, after working so hard. I am sure we will all sleep well tonight knowing 6 people have a roof over their heads tonight.

Terri