The Third Day and More

 Above is what greeted us the morning of the third day. The work had progressed beyond belief--by the grace and help of the Lord and many willing hands. It was like the Bible story of Nehemiah, where everyone worked with a will and got the walls built!

Below, the boys help guide the door beam into place.

 I know this is the third time I'm saying I'm so proud of those boys, but blessings on all those teenage boys who are doing something besides spending their lives on iPhones and video games and instead doing something for eternity that requires the use of muscles besides eyes and fingers.

 And blessings on the girls who stuck by their school work and cleaned up the rooms and motor home; who helped mind the little ones; wash, dry and put away laundry, and who were patient with their moms in the thrift stores we found nearby; and who WISHED they could help and WOULD HAVE if they could have.

 The contractor beams big as he gives lots of careful rides to kiddos on that last day.

 The boys are loading blocks onto the scoop.

 More happy kiddos.

 The exciting moment of the pastor laying the last block!

 Gloria a Dios!!!

 Then guys stick rebar in every 4 feet of wall for the cement pouring job the next day.

 And another ride!

 Jonathan working up at one corner. Thank God for bobcats and scoopers for ladders!

 Little copycat!! And boy, isn't' that sling doing her a lot of good??

 Hey, Stevie Wonder, can I borrow your comb for my brothers' hair? Davie Weaver thinks they need their hair combed...

 Here come the ladies and all the cooks to see the finished work of block laying!

 The team after the block laying was done

 And what would the team be without the dear ladies to cook and clean and launder and tell them what a wonderful job they did?

 We tried to have some time at the beach, but on the way our motor home brake caliper froze after Jonathan jammed it at a stop light. All the boys and guys in the caravan gather to see what can be done to that smoking, stinky situation.

 Jonathan couldn't get some of the bolts loose, so Stevie Wonder worked his wonders one more time. Two of the bolts required both men to loosen them with the lug nut wrench we went to Ace Hardware to buy--thanks to Jonathan's phone from which he googled the nearest Ace Hardware.

 Who is hiding in the tree near the church van they allowed our group to have the last day--offering for us to go wherever after the work was done. So we went to a place off  an island where there weren't so many people and the children got to wade and play in the water and gather hundreds of beautiful shells.

 Thursday the guys poured cement down and across the top, to hold the building together, and don't ask me for technical terms. I am the one writing the blog, not Jonathan!

 More of that job.

The Work Progresses

That first 

That first afternoon, a Spanish ice cream peddler came by, and the contractor paid for icecream cones for every single worker--besting most of a $50 bill! Blessings on him!

Below, this is what Timmy and Danny had fun doing near the cement mixer.

 Afternoon shadows lengthen and still the men (and boys) toil on.

 John Dykes in the straw hat observes the work and some of the guys rest. There goes Sam on the right with another block or two. I know I said it before, but I was so proud of those teenage boys. Most any time I looked, they were working right alongside the men and their dads. Great crew of Future Missionary Construction Teams!

 And yeah, Hannah has got to be in on it, too.

It's the end of the day, and for just a few moments, we pretend we do not see what is happening. 

 Awww, Mom....

 Lovely plate of delicious tacos for either lunch or supper.

 Three of the mornings found us ladies helping the girls and sometimes little boys with schooling in the dorm at the Rescue Mission where some of the group stayed.

 The girls and I were delighted one morning for Sharon Weaver to agree to come over for an hour during Spanish class to discuss Spanish difficulties with the girls.

 When we ladies arrived the second day, this is what one side of the church looked like.

 Danny found a little friend.

 Another snap of the guys working, with Ezra throwing a shovelful of mud up on the board for the block layers.

 Jonathan mans the cement saw the contractor loaned the team. What a blessing to have the contractor helping to provide various tools and equipment. May God bless him abundantly!

 The girls help pour water on a cooling bandana for Jonathan.

 Danny spent most of the afternoon capturing bees that were inside empty, sticky pop cans, getting them to fly into his plastic bottle, and then releasing them. His mom wisely left the scene and his dad held his breath most of the afternoon. Danny was patient and quiet, and he never did get stung.

The Spanish folk who helped ate at their own table with sometimes Neal Weaver who knows Spanish fluently like his parents. 

 One evening Phil and Cindy Ledger invited our two families and Weavers over for a snack and to look at their wedding pictures.

First Weekend at Ft. Myers

Saturday afternoon we arrived at the site of the Spanish church where the Mission Helps crew was to lay block the next week. Above, the boys pose with all the blocks, which, the men observed, had all been very neatly laid by willing helpers.

Below, the men (Steve Mease, Dave Weaver, Jonathan, Elon, and others) discuss details about the job with the contractor, a Nazarene man who has a heart for helping.

 Pearl decides the job is a lot bigger than she is!!

 There are 3000 blocks to lay. Steve Mease, rightly nicknamed Stevie Wonder for the speed with which he lays block, nevertheless worries whether the job will get done by Friday evening when the team is to leave to go back home.

 Sunday morning, after breakfast at the Ft. Myers Rescue Mission cafeteria, Elon's family and a few of ours slip up to the door of the apartment that belongs to Phil Ledger and his new wife, 

to serenade them with the acappella, 4-part blessing, "Bless This House."

 Then we find out that our two families have been asked to sing for morning service of the rescue mission! So since there are no children's Sunday School classes, we practiced together during part of Sunday School up in the dorm where some of us stayed.

Elon's family are such a blessing with their singing. That morning we sang "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place." It is such a beautiful hymn of faith, and I couldn't help being thrilled to be part of a second-generation Morley-related choir. The Lord's blessing was on hearts.

Very early Monday morning, the guys gather to have devotions and get started at the work site.

 The crew first thing Monday morning.

The crew wanted the pastor to lay the first block.

 Here he is leveling it.

 And his beaming face! This dear pastor Rigo has worked hard to build his church numerically and spiritually, and now he is seeing it being built in this way.

 That first day was a total miracle. Quite a number of Spanish men showed up as it was a holiday. At first Jonathan's heart sank as he wondered how he could ever keep them all busy. But the Lord gave everyone a will to work, and before long, the work was proceeding like clockwork.

I took this picture about two hours after the work started. This wall already had five layers of block laid.

 Elon and boys had the job of keeping mortar mixed and toted to the block layers, with the help of Spanish guys.

 I was so proud of the boys. Ezra, Jed, Sam, and Jared Weaver were quite a team of four teenagers all helping willingly.

 Stevie Wonder in his corner.

 Lunch time found everyone gratefully finding a cooler spot on a porch of the house on the property, and eating a delicious meal.

 We ladies had lost our way for about half an hour, so we got to lunch late! These are Guatemalan dishes, as most of the Spanish folk there were Guatemalan. These are tortillas stuffed with chicken, pork, or cheese and topped with shredded carrots, cabbage, beets and not sure what else. You could have as much hot salsa as you liked. These were delicious!

 Once after a meal, Elon's family and ours sang the same song we did Sunday, the spirit of which through the young people's simple sincerity, brought tears to eyes.

And again after the block-laying was completed, Elon suggested we sing "Bless This House."

I love that arrangement: "Bless this house, O Lord, we pray...Bless the folk that dwell within, Keep them pure and free from sin. Bless us all that we may be fit O Lord, to dwell with Thee!"

 So now the guys are back to work.

And I need to get ready for supper. I've been uploading photos and blogging in between dusting in the office, taking the children to the park and practicing parallel parking there with Crystal so she can get her driver's license soon, supervising supper, etc.