What do you get when you bring 20 men from the Morden/Winkler area of Manitoba to Pan de Vida? You gets LOTS of work done. All of the men are skilled in one area or another and as mentioned in Church tonight, they have been into every nook and cranny of Pan de Vida.
As the men prepared to come, plans were being made on this end for the men to work a specific project on a proposed place for the boys who need to move from the current rental property. Well, turns out God had different plans and at the last minute the project was scraped and another had to be organized the day of arrival. The weather here has been as cold as 0C(32F) and the highs were averaging 15C(62F) and with some rain on top of that, it delayed some of the materials being ready and delivered. This did not discourage them because they have gone through the whole facility doing all kinds of projects.
A new ramp has been installed outside the entrance to the church, some clotheslines put under the awning for an area to hang small items when it is rainy season, a new metal grate has been made to cover the drainage ditch, a retaining wall around the church entrance patio, a new drain from the kitchen to a "holding tank", weeds cleaned from the playground, broken water lines in showers repaired, computers in the school all revamped, door frames and doors made for the last volunteer apartment and much much more. Just as everyone at Pan de Vida is learning that they are jacks of all trades, everyone is approaching them to fix this and that.
The electrician and plumber have worked constantly in their fields. They had to install wiring for some newly donated, industrial appliances for the kitchen. The back hoe dug up some wiring while prepping the area to be paved and he fixed that. The plumber fixed a glitch with the water pumps in addition to several drains, taps and other maintenance. They also did lots of work to the current boys home to help them get by until they move.
In addition to this, the team also had the blessing to go to The Otomi House in Amealco and be a part of a Samaritan's Purse shoebox distribution. They have been blogging while here, so I will give you the link to follow it. I try to capture the events the best I can but I am sure you will be more blessed to read from their personal experience. Also, due to lack of adequate internet service, I am unable to get pictures uploaded onto Xanga. Facebook was gracious and accepted the attempt, so I made a photo album and will share that link with you as well.
The men still have 2 days left and I am sure they will make a huge dent into the massive paving project in progress. For those of us that live here, it has been a true blessing to have them come with so much zeal to work on the things that help us function better. It isn't just the physical things either. They have encouraged us so much in their passion for the kids. They have spent lots of times interacting and playing with the kids and showing them the love of Christ through them.
The Men of Hope Blog http://menofhope2010.blogspot.com
Pictures link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188464&id=511160411&l=5457b1e52a
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