Our Strong Tower: Work Week 50

Monday, June 24, 2013

Work Week 50

We had a busy week at the house site. The plumber, electrician, a/c subcontractors were out. We got tubs installed in a few homes and plumbing done (lots 6, 7, 8, 9,10). Lots 6,7, and 8 was worked on by the electrician. The duct work was done in lots 6, 7.

Saturday morning, we started with our safety meeting. Facio then went over were we are in the building process. We have power in most of the houses now. He told us the doors and windows have been ordered. They will be out in about two weeks. Then Toby and Facio assigned jobs. Debbie, Deena, and I were given the jobs to measure all openings (doors, windows, pantry, linen) to make sure they were the correct width. Then we had to write down okay or how to fix. John, Lupe, and Patricia were to continue working on hot water heater stands. Paul and Brandon were to continue working on the furnace stands in the attics. Leticia and Maria were to continue with blocking and soffit building. Luisa and Jackie were to go behind us and start fixing the openings. Pat, Steve, Robert, Andres, Andy, Tony, and a volunteer were to work on building the boxes around the post on the front porch for the craftsman houses. Alfredo and Michael worked on fixing Lupe's truss. Naty worked on clean up. Carlos and Jacob worked on the utilities.

Bath tub lot 10

master bath lot 10

Deena's lot 7 with plumbing and wiring in

a/c ducts

Lupe's house (lot 8) with lights and tubs in.

Brandon and Paul building the platform for the furnace in my house (lot 10)

David cutting green boards.

Lot 6 getting the boxes build on the posts.

I am adding a board to the front door of lot 6.

Jessenya adding a wall in lot 7.

Jacob and Alfredo adding the fascia board to lot 8.

Robert and Steve building the boxes on lot 8.

Sunday, we started where we left off on Saturday.

Deena's garage.

Carlos and Andy working on lot 6's boxes.

Boxes at the end of the day.

Lot 8 at end of the day.

After finishing work on Sunday night, we had a quick meeting. Toby and Facio said we all did good work this week with lots of energy. We are getting closer to have inspection on the first houses. We are waiting for paperwork from a few companies. We then discussed who was coming out this week.

It is very exciting to see all the subcontractor work done and to know that inspection is coming. I know we have a long way to go, but it is great to see progress. We were blessed to have friends stop by on Sunday during lunch to see at all the work we have accomplished. Ian stopped by to visit on his way to work, also. The hardest thing for me is all the time we are missing with our kids. We are blessed with many friends who take our kids for the weekend and do fun things with them, but I can't wait to be able to enjoy our new home with the kids. And invite all of our friends and family over to celebrate this beautiful home that God has given us.

Prayer Requests:

1) Wisdom for Facio and Toby on how to teach and direct us.
2) Health and safety for us and all of our children.
3) Endurance: it has been almost one year since we started and we could have more than 6 months left. John is working 50 hours a week right now plus working on the house on the weekends. I know he is not the only one putting lots of hours in at work then coming out on the weekend.
4) The subcontractors are available when we need them and they do their work quickly.

This week we were able to go to church for about 40 minutes. It was wonderful to see everyone and listen to worship music. We miss being there so much. I am so thankful for all the prayers and word of encouragement we get from everyone. God has blessed us.

Psalm 100

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
²Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
³Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
⁵For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

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Home Ownership Program

We are doing a program through a organization that has been building homes in our area for 40 years. The program is designed to help lower income families buy homes. There will be a total of 24 homes built. The homes are divided into two groups. We are in the first group of twelve families. We work together to build all twelve families' homes. By the end of the process we will know our new neighbors very well. We are required to work 40 hours a week, split between two people. We do most of our work on the weekends. There is a contractor working with us to teach us how to build a home. We can not move in until all twelve homes are complete. It usually take one year to build twelve homes. We don't do plumbing, electrical, drywall, or stucco. We are the labor. The labor is our down payment down, sweat equity.

Deena and the Boys

Hi, I am Deena. I have four awesome young men (21, 19, 17, and 12). We have always wanted a home of our own. The place we are in was supposed to be temporary housing sixteen years ago. Now God is giving us a new adventure. We are going to build our own home and eleven others with our new neighbors. And God blesses us with neighbors who we already know! Jacob is my co-builder and my two teenagers will be helping as much as they can. God is always providing
for me when I least expect it. He is so amazing.

Where did this journey start?

For me, Tricia, this journey began with me wanting to own a home and God using this desire to grow my faith and dependence on Him. I have been trying to buy a home for 6 years with my husband, John. We tried many times to buy a home, but God always said no. A year ago, we finally decided to stop our search and learn to be content where God has us. God had different plans for us. In August, we applied for a self-help housing project. In October, we were accepted. I then told our neighbor (for 7 years) and friend Debbie. She applied and was accepted. In January, I told Deena a friend from church. She applied and was accepted. These homes are such a blessing. We sit in awe of what God has given us. We are excited to get started on the homes. God is our strong tower. He will give us the strength to build these homes.