Monday, September 24, 2012

Work Weekend 11


Saturday started with our safety meeting on keeping a clean work site.  We found out that 4 more house plumbing has passed inspection.  Facio told us we were going to concentrate our work on 4 houses.  He was hoping that we would be able to pour concrete in the footings next weekend.  We discussed that some college groups would be coming out to help us October.    We then broke into groups.  One group back filled lot 6, 9, 13:  John, Steve, Paul, Lupe, Brandon, Evelyn, David, and Michael.  Debbie, Leticia, Deena, Lynda, and Leticia's sister and brother-in-law worked on vertical rebar.  Patrica and myself finished marking out windows and doors on lot 9,12, and 13.   Alfredo and his volunteer worked on rebar and bending rebar.  Pat, Maria, Wendy, Delilah, and Dave worked on putting inside forms up and cleaning out footings.  Jackie, Luisa, Andres, and Maria worked on fixing and finishing the rebar. Carlos and Jacob worked on straightening outside forms.  After they finished, Jacob moved to back filling and Carlos went to work on putting pipes in for our utilities.  Our friend John Marc came out and helped with inside forms for a few hours after lunch. Right before last break, our friend Kevin came by and brought us some pink lemonade.
Debbie's lot with plumbing ready to be back filled.

Robert and Maria's lot with plumbing .

Lupe's lot with plumbing.

Alfredo and Naty's lot almost ready for concrete.

Steve and Maria's house with plumbing.

Evelyn's house with plumbing,

Andres and Luisa's house with plumbing.

Leticia's house with plumbing.
John Marc after helping with the inside forms.

Everyone working hard on lot 6, back filling and hanging rebar.


Leticia's sister and brother-in-law hanging rebar.

All of us hanging rebar on lot 9.
After Patricia and I  finished marking windows, we joined the crew working on putting vertical rebar. After awhile Facio moved us to putting the bolts in on lot 6. After Debbie, Deena, and Leticia finished the vertical rebar on Brandon and Patricia's lot, they helped us putting the bolts in.
Deena wiring the rebar.
Leticia and her family working on rebar.

Leticia and I looking at a bolt.
Sunday morning we started with a quick meeting then got back to work where we left off on Saturday.  Naty and Jeffery were able to work on Sunday and joined the different groups. We were joined by our friend Brad.  He helped with back filling.  Later on John came out to help back filling.  Our friend Gary came out after lunch to help clean footings.  Sal came out to help for awhile and helped with back filling.  Leticia's sister and brother-in-law came out with cleaning footings.
Back filling.

Carlos working on putting these pipes in for utilities.






Everyone working on back filling lot 13.

Leticia's family and Naty cleaning footing on lot 6.

Lot 13 with everything back filled.
John, Steve, and Facio working on putting inside forms on lot 12.

Brad and John helping with back filling.

Naty looking at her house.


Michael and Jacob working on putting a ramp together for back filling.
Patricia and myself  hanging bolts.

Paul cleaning up.
Pat and Maria working on forms.

Robert and Jeffery

Jacob filling a wheelbarrow with sand.

Patricia standing in her house.

Garage wall with bolts and all the rebar.

We did not get everything done that we needed to get done to pour concrete next weekend, but we are very close.  We were very blessed by many people coming out and helping us this weekend.  Our friends, Matt, Daniel, Nathan, Joe, and Hannah came by during last break to bring us juice to drink.  After they left, our friend Carrie came by with Popsicles and ice bars.   It is great to see all the help we are getting in building our homes.  Thank you for your help. A lady came by all excited Sunday, because she is in group 2 and they just got their approval.  So they will be out to join us soon.  Our little street is going to get very busy soon.
 
 
Prayer Requests:
 
1) cooler weather.  The heat is very hard on our productivity.
2) Wisdom for Facio on teaching us and we learn the new skills and perform them accurately.
3) Praise for all the help we are receiving.
4)Help continues to come out.  All of us our getting nervous as the days are getting shorter, which means we will be short even more hours each weekend.
5) We work efficiently next weekend, so we can pour footings soon.
6) safety.
 

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
 


Psalm 28:7

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.

 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Work Weekend 10

We arrived Saturday thinking we would see more plumbing done, but no.  We still only have four house done.  We found out that he is suppose to come out this week and get more houses completed.  We then had our safety meeting on cuts and scrapes.  Next, we discussed that we need to buy a new first aid kit and a new hose.  We then divided up into our work teams.  Brandon, Steve, Jacob, Pat, Ian, John, Maria, and Wendy all worked on Alfredo and Naty's lot. They worked on finishing the inside forms and had to fix errors in the footing boards.  Pat, Maria, and Wendy after a while moved down the Brandon and Patricia's lot to work on the garage wall footings.  Debbie, Deena, Paul, Carlos,Tony, and Sal worked on digging out the foots.  They worked on making all the footings 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide.  Sal made us this great tool to help us make sure all the foots were the right size.  Jackie, Luisa, Maria, Jackie's  helper, Leticia, Lupe, and Evelyn worked on the rebar on two homes (Debbie's and Jackie and Carlos' lots).  Patricia and myself continued to mark out the bolts. Alfredo and Naty worked on bending rebar for all of us.
 
John, Jacob, Ian, Brandon, and Steve working on forms on Alfredo and Naty's lot (6).
Dave, Maria, Wendy, Pat, and Facio working on Brandon and Patricia's lot (9).
Jackie, Maria, and Jackie's volunteer working on rebar on Debbie's lot (16).

Debbie's lot with rebar in garage.
After digging for the morning, Phil went and got us a jackhammer to help with the digging.  This was a big help.  We were able to get some of the deep holes dug.  Around the porch and in front of the garages there is spots that have to be 40 inches deep. 
Sal, Carlos, Patricia, and myself working on Steve and Maria lot (11).
Debbie cleaning out footings on Steve and Maria's lot (11).

Luisa, Maria, Jackie, and Jackie's volunteer working on rebar on Debbie's house (16).

Paul working on foots with the jackhammer.

Debbie using the jackhammer.

Debbie modeling her pink duck tape glasses.
Our friend Randy came out in the heat of the day to help out for three hours.  It was such a bless to have extra hands.  Lupe's sister came out and helped for the afternoon.
Pat and Randy (our friend) cutting a  board.
Sunday we all got right to work.  Everyone started where they left off on Saturday.  Carlos and Jeffery were given the task of fixing footings around the garages.  Patricia and myself were tasked with nailing in bolt holders and finishing the rebarring Alfredo and Naty's lot. Lupe's sister and Andres and Luisa's daughter and friend came to help us with rebar. Also our friends, John and Adam came out and each worked a few hours digging on the footings.  John's wife Carrie brought us ice cream around break time.  It was a great treat.


Carlos and Jeffery working on Andres and Luisa's lot (13).

Deena cleaning out the footings on Leticia's lot (14).

Leticia, Lupe, and Evelyn working on rebar.

Jackie, Luisa's daughter, and Maria working on rebar.

Footings with boards and rebar.

John pounding in stakes for the inside boards.

Pat, Facio, and Robert working on forms.

Jacob working on forms.

Patricia adding bolt holders on to the forms.

Andres and helper working on rebar.

John, Jacob, Brandon, and Steve.

Marian, Wendy, Robert, Pat working on forms.

Patricia and myself nailing the bolt holders into place.
This is what we are nailing into place.

Vertical rebar Patricia Debbie, Deena, and myself added to the garage.


Me covered with dirt after adding vertical rebar with Deena, Debbie, and Patricia,
 
This was a hard weekend.  It was super hot.  We had to fix mistakes on Saturday.  By Sunday afternoon, we finally started to feel like we were making progress. Thank you to everyone who came out this weekend to help us.  The help is such a blessing.

Prayer Request:
1) Cooler weather.
2) We learn new tasks quickly and remember how to do them.
3) Wisdom for Faico on how to teach us our tasks.
4)  Health.  A few of us were not feeling well this weekend.

Psalm 8

8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
 

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”