AMOR Ministries Journal: Day 4 Building Homes in Mexico

This is an excerpt from my journal building homes for AMOR Ministries in Mexico.

Tuesday April 17, 2012

Everything they said about Monday being the hardest day of work was true. Muscles I hadn't used in years screamed at their lack of use. But I got a much better night's sleep since I dressed in more layers and added a flannel cocoon in my sleeping bag. My earplugs have been used each night, there are lots of weird noises including helicopters (I've been told they are for border patrol), dogs howling and roosters cockadoodle-doo-ing.

Our tents are close together, unlike the times I've been camping at national parks. So nothing goes unheard. Remember that.

Like yesterday morning, after all bathroom functions had been performed, it's off to making a brown bag lunch before getting a nice breakfast. Our kitchen staff is extraordinary. They make it all happen in the wee hours of the morning and late hours of the evening. And the food is amazing. This morning we had creamy scrambled eggs and a sausage with a side of fresh fruit and yogurt. The usual coffee and hot cocoa warmed our bodies. As soon as the sun came out, our layers of winter clothes were replaced by t-shirts and jeans. No shorts are allowed at the building site.

Today we completed our concrete foundation. We also had 6 more walls to construct. So today involved lots of measuring and sawing of wood, plus plenty of hammering. No one missed their target so there were no sore thumbs in our team.

Once the foundation dried, we were able to lay our completed walls on the concrete, locked up our site and prepared for another evening at tent city.

All of our labor is hard, physical work. No power tools used here!

Today's completed work: