El Primero Dia del Trabajar (The First Day of Work)

Written by The Five Pterodactyls

We're writing this at the end of a very exhausting, productive, and exhilarating day. Yesterday Daniel Harkavy introduced our verse for the week:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

-Proverbs 3:3-5-

Already this trip has required a lot of trust and faith. Yesterday, after a few final preparations in San Diego, we crossed the border into Mexico and checked in to our hotel in Tijuana. Then we loaded back into the vans and made the trip to Valle Verde, a community on the outskirts of town where our group has been building houses for the past few years. Our first stop was at the church.

We were excited to see that the cement pad had been poured and was ready for building to begin on the community center that our group plans to build. This is a huge undertaking and from the outset was a big leap of faith, so it was amazing to see it coming together and know that our work could begin.

From there we headed to the home site. This is where we, the Pterodactyls, would be spending most of our time. The home we're building this year is for Gustavo, the caretaker of the church, and his family - his wife Maribelle, and their three daughters. They also have a son who came to meet us with his wife and baby. The site was clear and ready for building, and the family was so thrilled about their new home they slept in a tent on the cement pad (rather than their current home at the church). After meeting the family, we headed back to the hotel and rested up, and awoke this morning ready to get to work.

Today was our first day of work, and boy did we work! Here are some of the highlights:

*We started our day unloading the trailer at the church. Everyone worked together to do the job quickly, and this included some of the neighborhood children who just wanted to lend a hand. Some of these children were familiar faces from past years.

*At the home site, we were greeted by Hector, Oscar, Hector Jr, and John, all volunteers from Baja Christian Ministries. They were AMAZING workers - skilled and enthusiastic. Hector in particular could be heard shouting "Mas rapido! Rapido! Thank you Jesus!" throughout the day. Gustavo and his family also helped tremendously throughout the day with whatever needed to be done.

*All of us Pterodactyls helped out with framing, and the job was done before we knew it! (seriously, it only took, like, 20 minutes)

*Anna and Laura painted up a frenzy - with the help of the women in the family - and then were able to move on to other tasks.

*Clavos, clavos, clavos! (Nails, nails, nails!) Between the five of us, we hammered more nails today than one would have thought possible. The air was alive with the sound of hammering all day long. (note to self: next year, add earplugs to the packing list)

*Meghan and Nicole braved the dizzying heights and hot Mexican sun to help out with the roofing crew.

*Everyone's individual efforts added up to a bigger result than we could have imagined. With trust in the Lord, we worked with all of our hearts, and before we knew it........

Here we are at the ALMOST finished house, with Gustavo and Maribelle.

Hasta manana!