Newsletter

Last week we had a mission team from Wynne Baptist Church in Wynne, AR

Arriving on Monday at Catarina much has changed in just a few weeks. The construction project of the church there has been transformed from the loblolly of mud and rocks that we had to deal with when we first arrived on October 20th with the guys from AL to this two story structure. This was going to serve as the pastor's house, Sunday School space and a foundation for the worship building that would extend out over it.

The two story structure was nearly ready for it's concrete roof which our team would be working on this week and they didn't waste any time getting right to work. As always, the first day on the job is a little hectic but soon we were like a well oiled machine....... except for a backfire every now and then.

The first order of business was to straighten the steel rebar. It came in 20 foot sections and the only place we had to work was out in the street. Though the road was not frequented by cars we did have to watch for horses and bicycles not expecting to see gringos working in their road way.

While the steel work was going on, a bridge was being constructed so we could cross from land to building. These homemade Guatemalan bridges will test your faith but this one worked well.

Soon the steel was straightened, placed and tied, to make a grid on the roof of the new construction and we were ready to pour concrete. The heat index was high and already taking a toll on us all. We found shade when we could and consumed lots of water.

With the concrete mixer in place we began the process. Six 5 gallon buckets of rock, six of sand, ten gallons of water and one 80 lb. bag of concrete. We would repeat this process thirty times before the roof was finished.

I almost failed to mention the game we played on the other end.....It's called "Pass the Buckets of concrete and throw the empty ones back." Good catch Bro. Mark!

More updates on Tuesday.

Lord bless you all,

Lewis