Tuesday Update

Tuesday was work day 2 at the church. we continued work on the ramp to access the second story, painting all the steel beams with a protective coating, and chipping away at the columns to provide a rough surface so that the decorative coating will adhere well.

Members of our team realized that there was a flaw in the plans for the ramp. This necessitated some changes and that meant digging more footings in the rock/clay ground. It was back breaking work, but so much better than having built the ramp and then discovering the error. 

All of the work is done by hand. Luckily we have a strong team, big muscles, and some young energetic bodies.

Jim and Grace, twenty five feet off the ground painting steel beams.

Jean chipping away at a column. I think we all agree that this is the most tedious and unrewarding of all the tasks we have been assigned. 

 Rev. Josh taking a turn at chipping. Ten large columns, approximately 14 feet high, three exposed sides each to chip away at. 

CJ taking a turn chipping.

Randy chipping away. There is an almost identical shot of him doing this yesterday and now we are wondering if he never moved and has been at it all night????

John down in the hole hefting out a huge chunk of clay he dug out with his hands.

Jim and Ron breaking up concrete that is in the way.

Ron, CJ and Jim taking turns with the pick axe breaking up concrete.

We learned about this local fruit today. It is called momon chino in spanish. You peel off the outer rind and eat the fruit inside, discarding the pit. It reminded us of pears and was delicious and fun.

Ashley bending rebar for the supports inside the footings, Use those muscles!

Ashley and Wendy showing their rebar handiwork.

Preparing to mix a batch of concrete. Eight 5 gallon buckets of rock, six buckets of sand, 2 2/3 buckets of water and one 120 pound bag of cement. That made enough concrete for one footing. Theres Rev. Josh in the background working with the rebar.

When you are doing the work of the Lord, there are all sorts of things both big and small. One small thing we did was to install toilet seats in their church bathroom. It was a small thing that will make a big difference.

Some of the steel beams for the ramp were 36 feet in length and extremely heavy. Without our team there to help hold and lift these into place, the church crew could never have gotten them in place. 

The structure of the top of the ramp beginning to take shape.

We are very tired, sore and extremely happy and fulfilled. We are making lifelong connections with both the people of Costa Rica and with each other. Maybe the most important connection we are making, though, is the one with our Lord.