9 people from 4 churches, a language barrier with the resident crew, and 12 tons of concrete to handle each day has its quirks... and they gave the women shovels!
Learning the concrete lingo is one thing in English. Trying to translate it, well, let´s just say we all found out how limber Bill can be when he has to get a point across to the men with waves, flails, pointing, patting and head-wagging. For a 50 something guy, I can safely say we were all impressed.
After four tiring mornings the task is complete. But not without its complications... We first had to wrestle with muddy waters getting it cleared from the new basketball court´s marked-out space. Then a tent was erected, though unusually rainy this month, we´re been enjoying sunny mornings and dry afternoons. A thousand pound tent was not an easy thing to erect and then move. Onli about 10 yards, but it took a whole ministry school of 28 students to move it, slowly.
The hurricane winds and rain blew through on Wednesday night. The poor guy staying the night as watchman called saying he couldn´t even seee the half-complete basketball court through the rain, and the massive tent had fallen. Soon after the news reached the team, several faces had fallen as well.
We arrived the next morning to find the rain had pelted a small section, not too bad though. A couple of gouges had to be patched, and there was a long scratch where the iron feet of the tent had been dragged along by the wind. These little things went wrong.
Candy has been hard at work, too. Not so much with construction as with preparing for the next benefit dinner and auction in Minessota. They took her downtown for some shopping pleasure to furnish the Mexican Marketpalce Auction this winter.
After only a few days work, the master Cement Head is thinking of a prompt return-trip.
-Emily Haase
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