Building the Kingdom one block at a time

Our last day began with a devotion by Brian on one of our newly poured slabs that focused on the question "Why are we here?" using selected passages from Romans. It is easy for us to fall back into thinking that our good works are the basis of our salvation and that if we just go on enough mission trips and help enough people that God will surely see us as good people. Of course, Paul's letter to the Romans makes it very clear that that is not the case at all. So, if we are not saved by our works, why do we go and help these people? Paul's answer is that in response to God's love for us, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices and that we are under a constant obligation to love our neighbors. Our prayer is that through our work we have shown God's love to the people of Escobedo in a very tangible way.

The last day of work is to lay the first row of blocks on each foundation with input from the homeowner about the placement of the doors. A simple task if you have concrete blocks. Since construction materials have a way of sometimes disappearing from the job sites (just like in the U.S.), we don't have them delivered in advance. The plant that makes the block we use is not very close to the job site so it takes a while for the delivery truck to get to us. So we waited. And we waited.

Unlike Tuesday, Wednesday was a very clear day and getting hotter by the minute. Providentially we had some blocks left over from last year's construction that were stored at the site of one of this year's houses. So, we put the pickup truck to good use and started moving block to the other sites so the teams could get started. Our theory was that once we started to actually move the block that our block delivery truck would show up. Well, it did, but not till after we had moved enough blocks to get started on two sites. These are heavy blocks and it takes about sixty to do each house. That doesn't sound like many unless you are the one actually moving them.









It takes two trips for the delivery truck to bring us all the blocks for the seven houses. We urged the driver to hurry back with the second load and he said he could be back in about two hours. Of course, that turned into about three hours and we ended up moving block for the last two slabs with the pickup truck. It didn't appear that it was the driver's fault for the delay and we gave him a tip that was graciously received. None of us who moved the block will need to do any bicep curls at the gym for a while. :)

By about 3:30 PM we had finished all seven houses and started cleaning up to go home. We took pictures with the future homeowners. There were many heartfelt expressions of gratitude from them, and some tears of happiness as they realized that their promised house was one step closer to becoming a reality. The father of Alberto ( who has MS and is in the wheelchair in the photo) was particularly expressive in his gratitude for our work. We now understand better the message of Genesis 12:2 where God tells Abram that he will be blessed and that he is to be a blessing. It was a very humbling and spiritual experience.











Well, we packed up all the tools ( or most of them anyway - a few got left behind) and loaded up into the van and pickup truck and headed back to our home away from home, Hotel 88. Everybody was in good spirits, hot and tired, but with a great sense of satisfaction. Twelve of the guys were in the van, and Brian and Howard in the pickup truck. Brian had just turned on the main road back to town ( a four lane affair) when one of the local transito policmen waved Brian over. Despite Brian's and Howard's excellent command of Spanish ( in other words almost none) and the policeman's excellent command of English ( in other words none) it quickly became apparent that Brian had been going too fast through a school zone. The policeman didn't have a radar gun, he just judged that Brian was over the speed limit. Now understand that Brian has driven that road a lot of times and never noticed it was a school zone much less ever seen a school anywhere in the surrounding area.

After Brian gave the policeman his drivers license (wondering if he would ever see it again), the policeman proceeded to explain that the fine for speeding in a school zone is $ 70 USD. Brian quickly considered his options. 1. make a run for it and get out of the country as quickly as possible, 2. pay the $ 70 fine, 3. try bribing the policeman - when in Rome do as the Romans do, or 4. call his lifeline Marcos. Just as Brian was frantically dialing Marcos' number and the policeman was preparing to write the ticket, Brian's phone rang. It was the rest of the guys in the van. They had stopped in a nearby service station to buy gas and witnessed the pullover. Brian quickly hung up on them so he could call Marcos.

Thankfully Marcos answered his phone and Brian handed the phone to the policeman and said to the policeman ' Mi amigo' while pointing at the phone. After what seemed like an eternity, the policeman closed the phone, handed Brian his license back and said he could go. Marcos had explained to the policeman that we were doing social work and told the policeman that we were probably dressed in dirty work clothes and had a truck full of construction tools. That description fit us to a 'T'. Marcos is definitely our guardian angel.

Meanwhile the guys in the van had been trying to decide what to do. Apparently there was some division as to whether to stop and offer help or to get as far away as fast as possible. Reports have it that six wanted to stop and help and six wanted to flee the scene. Since they quickly left Brian and Howard to fend for themselves, is is obvious who yelled the loudest. So, after the policeman let Brian go, Howard called the guys in the van and told them that Brian had been handcuffed and taken to jail. They actually seemed to believe it for a while. Later interviews with the twelve in the van revealed that each claimed to have been one of the ones that wanted to stop and offer assistance and that none would admit to abandoning Brian and Howard. :)
It was very funny. (at least after it was over)



We had a fun dinner at Chili's on Wedneday night and all flew home on Thursday.

We appreciate your prayers for our work. Please support the Mexico Mission in any way that you can and buy as many blocks ($ 10 each) as you can. Keep the Senior High Youth and their advisors in your prayers as they prepare to finish the work that we have begun.

The Mens Monterrey Mexico Mission team: Rolando Perez, Howard Swinford, Allen Hirons, Mark Thompson, Bill Claxton, Tom Steele, Bob Petersen, Bob Sabin, Rem Bennett, Jan Milligan, Phil Brand, George Childress, John Wells and Brian Wright

Concrete Assurance

Today's devotional, "Born Again", was inspirational in that we all could connect with the message that Jan Milligan was making about the desire we have from within to be live out our lives for Him. To love and assist those less fortunate, to stand up for the rights of those that are different and to help others by introducing them to scripture for special circumstances. We are all here with special talents that only we possess. It is like Christ is painting a masterpiece and each of us is a shade or color. When we interact appropriately with others the vision is clear and magnificent. It feels good to be here doing what the Lord has placed before us to complete.

Today was a perfect day to pour concrete. Overcast and no wind. The first truck was supposed to be at the job site by 8 am, but it finally arrived about 9 am.
After that the trucks came pretty regularly except for one break in the early afternoon. We worked today as one team and moved from site to site.

When the trucks arrived, everyone was anxious to put on their rubber boots and get in the 'mud' (concrete). Most of the time, the truck could get close enough to drop the concrete at least close to all four corners. On one lot, however, the truck could only get to the front of the slab, so we had to 'pull' the concrete to the back of the form. Very tiring work, but with fourteen guys it makes it much easier because we can take turns.















We started using a new method for finishing the slabs. In the past we have used bull floats, which work fine, but leave some small ridges in the slab. This year we used a screed board (a long board that stretches across the entire width of the slab) to level and smooth the slab. It worked very well and our slabs were the best we have ever poured (at least in our humble opinion).



Another first for this trip was that Rem Bennett actually convinced a couple of the concrete truck drivers to let him drive the truck. Fortunately he didn't run into any walls, cars or power lines!



It is very rewarding to see the smiles on the faces of the future homeowners. For some of them, I think that up until the slab is poured, they are really not sure that they are getting a house. When they see the concrete being poured, they really begin to believe. We had a lot of smiling faces today and when they smile, it makes us smile. It makes all the planning, expense and hard work worthwhile. From our perspective, what we are giving them seems so much less than our standard of living, but from their perspective a home like this is a huge improvement in their standard of living and will have impacts beyond what we can imagine.



We finished about 2 pm and everybody was hot and tired, but very satisfied with the work we had accomplished. Back to the hotel for a hot shower, a little rest and then dinner. We ate at El Papalote and everyone seemed to enjoy another dinner of Mexican cuisine. Allen, the designated 15-passenger van driver, has really taken to the local driving protocols. If we didn't know better we would think he spent all his vacations here.

Tomorrow will be our last day. We will lay the first row of block on each house and that will be the end of our part of the construction process. In just about six weeks, the Senior High youth and advisers will be here to build these homes.

Foundations

We began Monday with a devotion by Howard Swinford based on scripture from Matthew and emphasizing the spiritual foundations we are building through this mission trip. These foundations are for the people who will live in the houses that we are helping to build, for the Senior High youth and advisors that will come in June and for ourselves. These spiritual foundations are just as important (and actually are more important than the physical foundations we are building out of concrete).



Rem Bennett, our lead construction guy, split us into four teams and we started work. Since most of us only do this work once a year, we need some retraining to get back up to speed and to remember the little things about building the forms. Although it is not rocket surgery as the saying goes, it is still important that we build a good foundation. After a somewhat slow start, we got rolling and by lunchtime we had finished four of the seven sites. Having the pickup truck to deliver materials and tools to the teams worked very well. Here are some pictures which illustrate the work being done. Fortunately, although it was hot, it was also overcast most of the day which helped keep it bearable.
















One of the houses we are building is for a grandmother who is raising her two grandchildren who were apparently abandoned by their mother. Her new house will be at the back of her lot. To get the concrete truck to the back of the lot required that her existing outhouse be demolished. To call it an outhouse is actually a stretch, because it was merely some old pallets that had been nailed together. The walls were covered with various pieces of cloth and it had a flimsy tin roof. Although we thought we had explained that it had to be demolished on Friday night, apparently she had not understood it like we thought. After some careful measurements and explanation of the situation, she accepted the fact that it had to be done, smiled and proceeded to start tearing it down by herself. We tried several times to get her to let us do it, but each time she would come back and join in the demolition. She is a woman of small stature, but her determination was amazing. It was readily apparent that getting a new house was very important for her. Although we were hot and tired by this time of the day, her spirit lifted ours and her lot is now ready.

It was a great day of construction. Everyone pitched in to get the work done and everyone had a well earned sense of satisfaction with what we had done.

Ready to do God's Work in Monterrey, Mexico

It is Sunday night and our mission team is in hot and sunny Monterrey, Mexico. The 14 guys on the team are here to pour the foundations for seven houses that the Senior High Youth will build in June. For some of us this a new experience while others of us have been here many times and have poured more slabs than we can remember. Regardless of how many times we have come on this trip, we are all here in response to God's call on our lives. Our purpose is to glorify God and to show his love to some of the poor people who live on the outskirts of greater Monterrey.

Three of us arrived on Friday afternoon and began finalizing preparations for the work ahead. In past years, most of us have flown to Monterrey while 3 to 6 of us would drive the church van and trailer full of tools from Marietta to Monterrey. That is a hard two day trip, but not without its rewards. Over the years we had identified our favorite restaurants along the way, and we would look forward to each of them like visiting an old and dear friend. Last year we and the Senior High team left all of our tools here in Monterrey. So this year we all flew and rented a 15 passenger van and pickup truck here in Monterrey. So far it has seemed to work well.

Late Friday afternoon and evening, we went out to the sites where we will be building. In February a small team came to Monterrey to identify the sites and to make other preparations. The prospective homeowners were told what needed to be done to prepare their lots for our construction. We were anxious to see if that work had been accomplished. Thankfully almost all the sites were either ready for construction or the homeowners committed to have it done by Monday morning when we begin work. Here is what one site looked like in February and what it looks like now. The homeowner has done a very nice job of preparing the site and getting everything cleaned up. It makes our work much easier.





Saturday was spent buying lumber for the concrete forms, transporting that lumber to the job site, cutting about 200 stakes that are used to hold the forms in place, going to Home Depot for some tools we needed to buy and then off to Walmart after dinner to start buying supplies we need for our breakfasts and lunches. Here is a picture of our rather sizable load of lumber.



Needless to say we drove very carefully from the lumber yard to the construction site ( probably about 12 miles). Here we are unloading and storing the lumber at Carlos' house.



We built a house for Carlos and his family in 2002 and ever since then he and his wife have been a big help to us in storing materials and tools and in helping to identify the families that need homes.

On Sunday, some of us went to church while others went to the airport to pickup the rest of the team that was flying in. During the service, we were introduced and we were thankful to have Rolando Perez with us who speaks fluent Spanish. He was able to explain to the congregation that the foundations we are constructing are not only physical, but spiritual as well.





After the rest of the team arrived ( 2-1/2 hours late thanks to Delta) we all went out to visit the building sites so that everyone would have a good idea of the challenges to be faced on Monday morning.





Tomorrow morning, we will rise early, eat breakfast on the balcony of our hotel and head for the building sites. The first order of business when we arrive is the morning devotion led by one of the team members. These devotions are an important part of our day and help us to keep focused on our real work here, that is to glorify God in all that we do.

Sorry this post is actually being published on Monday night, but a very intermittent internet connection at our hotel caused the delay. Thanks for reading and please keep us in your prayers.

Committed

On this, our last work day, we began with a devotion by two amazing young women. Katherine Reed and Melanie Valentine shared with us the importance of making a daily commitment in our sacrifices to God. Their honest stories of their own journeys were exactly what we needed... though we did not realize it at the time.

Things did not start well at the "fence" sight. The early morning hours revealed that adjustments to the fence foundation were required. In about ten minutes, that crew destroyed the work they had done in the previous three days. Everything fell to the wayside and with little more than 12 hours of daylight they were beginning again. You can imagine what that crew must have been feeling. Barry Christensen, Mark Humphrey, Nate Shelton, Alex Christensen, David Johnson, Drew Anderson and Alex Ball had devoted their entire mission trip to the building of a fence. And on our last day, it looked as though their efforts would be for naught.

Over at the Williams Street house, Team Leader Debbie Petersen consulted with Homeowner, Royland, and decided to take things one step further. Armed with an FPC trailer, she purchased new windows for the Peabody family. 13 windows. None of which actually fit into the window frames. All that would require custom trim installation. An enormous job all on its own. She looked about her motley crew; then handed Jan Coots and Susan Christensen (our Siding Sisters) another box of nails; Susan Merrick and Karen Humphrey a crow bar for Window removal; left Trevor Jordan and Jeremy Jackson alone as they continued to level the bathroom floor and distributed paint brushes to everyone within reach. This job, that wasn't finished yet, got bigger with every passing hour.

At some point during the day, both teams decided to forgo our afternoon and evening activities. Our goal: to complete all project lists... even those newly generated just that morning. Neither team was willing to break more than a few minutes. The Lunch Wagon (Abby Christensen, Isabelle Jordan, Allison Humphrey and Lily-Kate Jordan) delivered the lunch to the Fence crew while the Williams Street house was treated to a low country boil by our thankful homeowners. Lunch & Production (Joe Jordan, Mac McIntyre, Katie Stegal, Jessica and Anna Gamble, Holly Howren, Katherine Reed and Leah Valentine) crews drove between sites, delivered, snacks, ice, drinks, drill bits and hurricane straps and filmed more volunteer and victim interviews. Driving and negotiating, Patsy (aka: Nonna), and Sarah (aka: Gram), kept us all on the road and on schedule.

It was, my friends, an enormously huge group effort.

Dusk brought the arrival of an exuberant fence crew who had victoriously overcome their many obstacles. Within 15 hours they had re-installed every post, every side rail and every slat! We celebrated their arrival with 14 pizzas, more cases of drinks, cold veggies and an old-fashioned-but-all-together-new-sort-of-church ice cream social. Night fell on us. We sent several "home" to church for showers while a small crew stayed behind to hammer in the 13th window. With the window install trio of Rose (aka "Tiffany"), Trevor (aka "Frank") and Jan (aka "Lisa") standing by, Susan Christensen nailed the final piece of siding under the final window by flashlight.

There was tremendous union in our prayer circle as we took Lina, Roy, Roydie, Brian and Santi in our arms to ask God's blessing on this family and to thank Him for his providence in every aspect of their recovery.

So... as our littlest volunteers fell asleep upon the church pews... as we listened to an inspiring evening devotional... I was reminded of the words we had all heard just that morning. That our sacrifices for our God come in all forms and have to be renewed moment by moment. The dedication of our crews as they exemplified the meaning of commitment was inspirational. The message that I think I will take with me tomorrow when we leave? That we have nothing to give that is any more worthy than a daily commitment of our lives. No matter where we are or what we're doing.

What an awesome day!

Thank you for your prayers during this week. Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for allowing us to have this opportunity. Thank you for your commitment to God and for the example that you are to all of us.

Please stay tuned for a future video production, a slideshow and lots of smiles and stories as we rejoin you this weekend in celebration of our Savior's resurrection. I can think of no greater way to express your appreciation of His sacrifice than to consider serving Him and the Katrina Mission recovery effort.

Details for our next great adventure to come.

-----
Becky Jordan
Blogging the FPCMTTASBNOMT
(FPC Marietta Spring Break New Orleans Mission Trip)

The List

I am a person who likes lists. I have lists in a notebook I keep for work. I have lists in a calendar I keep for home. I have folders with lists in them for the various projects in which I am involved. I have lists in my head all the time. It's like a data ticker wherever I go. People talk, I hear them in list form.

At first blush, it would seem that Mission work is also about lists. Dan Valentine has a whole entire notebook of lists that gets scratched out, re-ordered and listed again. Debbie Peterson has lists that seem to be growing with every minute that she is on the site. Our faithful BM Team has the shortest list... I think it probably says "Finish."

While our lists are important, coming to New Orleans is not about what we get to mark off our lists. It's about the lives that God is touching through our lists. We won't even come close to accomplishing all that is on our hearts to do this week. But as our Devotional Leaders (Beth Williams, Alex Ball, Drew Anderson, David Johnson) told us last night... there will be more crews to come behind us. We are a small link in the chain that God is using to haul New Orleans out of their despair.

Sometimes it's hard to imagine that our little tasks will amount to anything when we look at the great need. But in an exercise of believing that no task, no contribution, no effort is too little ... yes, you guessed it ... I went back to my old habits and made a list.

List number 1: our people. Paralegals, corporate executives, stay at home moms, stay at home grandmas, teachers, administrators, secretaries, students, children under 10, 4 adult men, 13 middle schoolers, some wild assortment of crazy, fun women and only a handful of folks who have ever done anything like this before. We are ust 39 normal folks.

List number 2: our accomplishments, to date. Repair exit signs, weed a children's garden, cut grass, remove 13 old and install new windows, move 50 boxes of tee shirts, apply two coats of paint to 15 doors, scrape & re-paint trim, order, dig 15 3' holes, purchase and install 15 galvanized steel fence posts, replace facia and angle trim on house exterior, install 45 fence rails, apply 2 coats of primer paint and 2 coats of exterior paint (by hand) on an entire house, remove two walls, install over 60 pieces of siding (of various sizes), clean church pews, paint 2 coats of ceiling paint on a new tutorial room in the church, touch up trim across the church, clean and prepare a conference room and office for the new Presbyterian Disaster Assistance central office, destroy two pads of concrete, remove stand alone concrete stairs, paint furniture, record three hours of disaster area video, conduct 7 volunteer interviews, record 8 testimonies, conduct 3 victim interviews, install 150 fence boards, etcetera!

Hmm... maybe a list is not such a bad thing from time to time. :)

____
Becky Jordan
Blogging the FPCMTTANOSBM, 2007

Home

We hear it all our lives, don't we? "Home is where the heart is." Such a nice platitude for those of us who know that home is at the end of the cul de sac. For many of you, home is the place to which you will return from your vacation. Or, maybe home is back in the Midwest where Mom and Dad await your return - with or without the grandchildren.

If you live in New Orleans, it's possible that your home looks like this... a 165 square foot trailer parked in your tiny front yard. A trailer, ladies and gentlemen.

We met the couple who's house many of our volunteers are working hard to solidify. They are Lena and Royland. She teaches pre-school at the First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. He builds boats. They are beautiful people. Young. Strong. Appreciative.

They invited us into their home this morning for coffee and donuts. I thought it would probably stink, to be honest. I thought it would be messy and unkempt. I thought, and I am ashamed to say it, that I didn't even want to step inside. But curiosity took the best of me and I carefully opened their aluminum door.

This, is the first thing I saw. Just like your house, just like mine... there are still rules. Then, I turned to the left and saw the children's room. Two platform beds in which three little kids (all under the age of 6) sleep every night. Neatly hung clothes hang from a makeshift rod on one top bunk. Storage for dry goods, Mac & Cheese, Cheerios is used on the other. The shower is 2'x2'. The master contains one bed with 12 inches on either side for standing.

This family of 5 has lived in this trailer for two years. Not two weeks. Not two months. Two years. Over 700 days. It is absolutely unfathomable.

The thing is, it's not just Roy and Lena who need help. It's every single one of their neighbors... most of whom also live in trailers on the front lawn. It's thousands upon thousands of homes.

We sat around the dinner tables tonight laughing about the funniest moments of our day, laughing about the Barry & Mark fencing team (whom we now lovingly refer to as the BM Movement) and their 40 hours in the "dessert" (an area of town that is desolate and sandy with no running water or electricity.) We laughed about the ridiculousness of getting stuck in a 2'x2'' trailer bathroom. We laughed about getting lost and the moment at which I realized I had really and truly "driven my chevy to the levy."

The fellowship hall of FPC New Orleans felt like home. In the midst of the laughing, a hush came over our table and I wondered whether Roy and Lena were tucking their little kids into their "room." We shook our heads in disbelief at the stamina they maintain to endure, persevere and cling steadfastedly to their home.

For so many of us, home is really about our belongings...our couches, our dishes, our CDs, our closets, our shoes, our tools, our checkbooks, etc. What if your home (and I do mean all of it) were literally gone. I would challenge each of you to take a roll of masking tape and measure off 165 square feet of your home. Spend a day in that space with your family. Just one day. And try to determine exactly what your home is. Is it all of the things in your house that make it your home? Or is it what you might have left...what you carry within your heart (or on your back) if everything disappeared in one horrible, horrible night?