Safely back in Houston

We arrived safely (and even early!) back in houston. No issues in the airport. I was the one person picked for a random search of my bags--not once, not twice but three times! I had my checked luggage searched and then at security I was patted down and had my carry on searched. Finally at the gate, I had my carry on searched (again) and was patted down.

Very uneventful flight (and bus ride to the airport) so God is good!

This has been a fantastic trip and I will post some pictures/video when I can.
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On the way to the airport

We were awakened last night to torrential downpours. God was good and held off the rain till we were done with our work!

However, it made for a wet morning getting our suitcases to the bus. We finally got on board with only five minutes off schedule.

We had a bit of a scare a few minutes into the drive. A truck was coming the other way and we heard a large bang and crash. We thought it was a tire, but turned out that the truck passed so close, it hit the driver side mirror and shattered it! A little too close for comfort.
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Excursion day and last day of work

On Sunday, a group of five of us went back to the jobsite to finish the windows on the school. Actually, four of us started. Robert was sick at breakfast and I didn't think he was going so we left. He came out a few minutes later, got a taxi and joined us! The five of us then worked all morning to complete them and headed back. To get back, we walked into town and got three wheeled taxis to the hotel. If you have never ridden one before, it is like riding a dirt bike with a big covered seat in the back. Our two drivers decided to race each other down a dirt road. We have video we will post later.

The rest of the group either stayed at the hotel or went to a national park for hiking. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, although I am not sure Barb intended to go all the way to the top of the mountain. Nate gets the Mountain Goat award for running up and down the mountain--twice!

In the afternoon, we all went to a waterfall and river nearby. About 15 of us decided to go on a guided walk to caves behind the waterfall sounded interesting. What we didn't realize is that involved literally walking through the waterfall! It was an intense experience. I will try to post pictures later--we had a waterproof camera so we will see how it performed.

We had our final meeting and went over logistics for monday. The school administrator invited us to play volleyball and basketball with the kids, so a group of us went over. We lost a game of volleyball, but won at basketball.

We have had a great trip thus far and God has protected us and worked through us. We also have a great team!
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Sabbath at La Torre and the Orphanage

We had an awesome day! We started off with church at La Torre, which is where we conducted the VBS program. The church was full of the kids from the program. We did two of the songs they learned with the whole church.

Once church was complete, we headed back for lunch. We then prepared for taking our vbs program to an orphanage in the area. Everyone in the group wanted to go and help with the program. That was very helpful. We spent the afternoon with 70 kids from the orphanage and clinic. They were all so excited and a lot of our group also brought donated items to have the leaders distribute. We also gave away 30 dresses that our youth at West Houston made. The girls were very happy with their new dresses!! It was a great afternoon.

We have our plan for tomorrow. A few of us are going to finish a few things on the school and the rest are going to the national park.
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Friday report

We had a great day on Friday on the jobsite. We got all of the blockwork done on the bathrooms and put the roof on. We also got all but a few windows installed on the classrooms.

I was very proud of our team and how they pitched in to get everything done. Everyone did what was needed regardless. Of their job assignment. When God puts a task in front of us, he will equip us and provide the right spirit to accomplish his work.

Our VBS team completed their program as well. They had close to a 100 kids again. A lot of them are from the community and don't go to church, so this was a great outreach.

We ended our day with a great worship. We had quite a few of our volunteers give their testimony as to why they volunteer and how they cam to be on the trip. It never ceases to amaze me as to how God works to involve us in His work.
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Completed classroom

Here is one of the completed classrooms. We got them both completed except for five of the windows

Work group picture in front of bathroom

We finished the bathroom today and got the roof on

Thursday report

Our vbs team had another good day. They had 95 kids today and didn't have any issues. It was a nice sunny day so they could have their activities outside.

We got a lot done at the school today. We got all of the siding on the classrooms and some of the windows installed. We got all of the bathroom stalls completed and half of the dividing wall and storage closet.

We still have 6 courses and the roof to put on. We may not finish tomorrow. If we don't, we may have to work on sunday rather than go on our excursion. The group all seems willing to finish.

We had a great worship tonight. We had a lot of folks give their testimony as to why they are on the trip. It reminded me of a question one of my clients asked me: why not use the money that the volunteers spend for the trip (around 1500 per person) to send money down to have locals build the school. It was a good question that I had been asked before. One of the reasons is that these trips are ultimately more about building people rather than buildings. We spend this time away from our normal lives with other believers growing in Christ. We come back with a renewed spirit for Christ and a reminder of how blessed we really are in our daily lives. That is one of the key benefits from us going as volunteers, in addition to a real connection with the people we go to help.

Here are some pictures from today.

EZ Reeves-- strong like bull

Eliel reeves found a new way to carry block.