Cristo es el cimiento (Christ is the Foundation)

This is the report on the Men's Mexico Mission trip to Monterrey Mexico in April 2008. Each year the Senior High Youth go to Mexico to build houses in some very poor sections of Monterrey. In April, a mens team goes and pours the slabs and lays the first row of blocks in preparation for the Senior High trip.

Every trip to Monterrey for the mens team is its own unique adventure. This year we were building in a new location for the first time in 9 years, so we knew from the beginning that it would be challenging. Our trust, however, is in God to lead us through the trials and difficulties that we knew we would face.

Our team of 12 (Rem Bennett, Erroll Eckford, Sam Henderson, Allen Hirons, Bryan Musolf, Rolando Perez, Bob Petersen, Bob Sabin, Tom Steele, Howard Swinford, Mark Thompson, and Brian Wright)was all set to go. Mostly hardened veterans of many trips to pour slabs, but with two rookies to initiate(Sam and Bryan). We had our tools, our work clothes, our passports, our Spanish/English dictionaries, and our sunscreen.

As always, our good friend of many years and many mission trips, Marcos Diaz was there to help us in ways too numerous to mention and to be our guardian angel in Monterrey. We literally could not do this trip without him.

The first challenge was that two of our men discovered at the last minute that their passports had expired. If we had been driving across the border we think they could have gone with just a birth certificate, but if you are flying you can't even board the airplane unless you have a passport that is valid for six months beyond your trip. So. our team of 12 suddenly became a team of 10.

Howard and Brian left on Friday morning to get a head start. Saturday morning they went out to Garcia and located a lumber yard to buy the lumber for the forms. Once it was delivered, they needed a safe place to store it until Monday. We ended up storing it on the roof of Veronica's store. She is our contact in Garcia and helped us select the families we are building for. Once the the lumber was stored, they went by each site to see the progress in tearing down and moving the existing structures. Although some were ready, others still needed a little help in getting ready.




The weather was a very nice 100 degrees ( or in that vicinity). April in Monterrey can be very changeable. Some years it is very pleasant and some years it is downright hot. Dry heat or not, 100 is brutal. We know that when the kids go in June it is just as hot or hotter, but they are a lot younger than we are!

The location where we were pouring the six slabs is on the outskirts of Garcia, which is northwest of Monterrey. It takes about an hour to drive from the Hotel 88, but the traffic is not too bad if you go early enough so the drive is not too stressful.

Each morning we have a devotion at the job site before we start to work.


Errol Eckford did Monday's devotion and he chose the story of Gideon defeating the Midianites from Judges Chapter 7. Basically, God tells Gideon that he has too many men ( 'In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength saved her') and to send some home. Well, Gideon goes from 32,000 down to 300. We didn't have that big a reduction in numbers, but we certainly understood the message that it is through God's power that we accomplish his purpose, not through our own.

Before we started work, there was one more task to accomplish. One of our rookies forgot to bring his work gloves, so we had bought some very attractive pink gloves at Home Depot on Sunday and we made the presentation to him.


We split into two teams and started the work of preparing the form boards for the slabs.


Sometimes we get some help from the homeowners!



In the past, we have built on lots that were considerably wider than the 6 meter width of these ( 19' 6" or so). We had resized the house size to fit on the narrower lots, but because we were building right up to the lot lines ( and in most cases right up to existing walls), the job was definitely more difficult. Also, several of the lots had considerable slope to them which makes for a much deeper slab on one side than the approximate 4" depth we like. We solved that by buying several loads of gravel/sand mix. It is much cheaper that concrete and allowed us to even out the slabs.

Another problem that we have not encountered before was that several of the homeowners wanted indoor toilets so plumbing drain lines had to put in before the slab was poured. Installing these pipes is the responsibility of the homeowner and some of them put them too high which would have made the slab even deeper. So, we had to get them to lower the pipe.



We actually only worked a half day on Monday. Of course, a half day is from 7:30 in the morning till 7:30 in the evening! We were beat, but everybody worked hard and had a great attitude and the forms were ready. We usually go out for dinner, but since we didn't even get back to the hotel until 8:30 we opted for pizza delivery from Domino's. Actually, pretty good and we saved the leftovers for lunch on Tuesday.

Mark Thompson did Tuesday morning's devotion. He based it on the idea that when life is hectic and full of monumental challenges ( like,how are we going to get these slabs poured with only 10 men?) that we should 'simply' lean on God. These are the simplicities of God that Mark shared with us. I believe in God. I believe He loves me. I believe He has a perfect plan. I believe He is righteous, pure, and good. I believe that I have no clue what tomorrow will bring, but thank goodness I believe in a God that does. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in Heaven. I believe in God's angels. I believe in the Bible. I believe in prayer. and I believe, at times, that is all God wants us to do -- simply believe. It was a great reminder of what our faith should be.

Tuesday is concrete day and the question of the day is whether the concrete trucks will show up on time. Although they were supposed to start at 8:00 am and they didn't start arriving until 9:00 am (this is Mexico after all) nobody complained.







They came pretty regularly for the first five trucks (about 1 truck per slab), but there was about a two hour break between trucks 5 and 6.

We took this opportunity to rest and to play.






Since we had started the sixth slab with truck 5, we had a real problem. We normally pour the back of the slab first and get it up to its finished height and then move forward. If the next truck comes within 20 minutes of so, it is no problem to merge the old pour and the new pour, but in two hours concrete has pretty much set and pouring fresh concrete next to two hour old concrete doesn't work very well. So, before the first concrete set, the guys pulled all the concrete down to about 2" and then we poured the fresh stuff on top of the old stuff.

One of the difficulties that the new lots presented was in finishing the concrete. We used a combination of a screed board and bull float to get the slabs as smooth as possible. Because most of the lots had one or two existing walls bounding them, we were not able to work from the sides and this makes it hard to get smooth slabs.





Tuesday was a short day. We only worked till about 4:30 pm.

Tom Steele did Wednesday's devotion based on two elements of the Lord's prayer. The first is the petition to '.. give us this day our daily bread'. In our affluence we don't often think of this, but for these people living in the dust with a packing box as a roof, give us this day our daily bread is deeply significant. Look at this picture and think about living there.



The second element is ' ..thy will be done' a reminder to us to do the will of God, to feed the sheep. By providing basic, yet suitable, shelter we are vastly improving the lives of those we touch, not for our own sake but to glorify God. A copy of the Spanish language Lord's prayer was given to each team to place in the foundation blocks of each home to symbolize that we are doing this work to fulfill the will of God.

Wednesday is block day. We lay the first row of blocks for the house so that when the Senior Highs come in June, they are ready to start building walls. The challenge of the day is getting the block lines square and level. Although it sounds easy, it always seems to take longer than we expect. Since none of us are professional masons, we have to be retrained each year to understand the difference between 'perfect' and 'good enough' when it comes to block walls.




During the course of the day we got two loads of block delivered which had to be unloaded by hand at each job site.



We laid the last blocks about 5:30 PM. A great feeling to be finished!

This year we had our own T-shirts for the team and we brought extras to give to the homeowners. The T-shirt design (which was wonderfully done by Jason Laiche who is on staff with the Youth Ministry) was based on the concept that Christ is the foundation of our lives and that we were building foundations for these homes. We each signed each shirt and presented it to the homeowner and took a bunch of pictures. As you can see, a lot of smiling faces!









We flew home on Thursday with a great feeling of accomplishment and a renewed understanding of the fact that God is with us at all times and it is through His power that we are able to glorify Him in all that we do.

Unlike other blogs, the next several postings are done in sequential order.  Start here and read down for subsequent days and postings.

Mission AnyWHERE?

Three church vans, two trailers, 2 mini vans, 15 cases of water, six jars of peanut butter, eight bags of salad, 24 loaves of bread, three laptops, 37 sleeping bags, four weeks of preparation, three meetings, two notebooks filled with menus, medical releases forms, insurance information and much, a Commissioning, a load-up and (finally) departure.

For mission work.

In Cartersville.

It didn't seem quite right to me as we loaded our car yesterday. I was grumpy and whiny and a general grouch to my beloved family. It took me most of the morning to realize that my poor attitude was due to one thing: there would be no road trip to New Orleans. Instead, there would be a "short jaunt" to Cartersville. Camp Cherokee, to be exact. It hardly felt like a "real mission trip."

I was frustrated that things had not gone smoothly for our group in our Mission Trip pre-planning. I was angry that God had closed the doors for us to go to New Orleans. Our family had already missed one trip to New Orleans (at Thanksgiving) and now, we were having to change our plans again! Even though I whole heartedly voted for this change - at the time, thinking how nice it would be to save all that gas money and potentially avoid the pitfalls of eight hours in a car with my children - the reality of the disappointment hit me as we loaded the car. All this work, all this effort for (seemingly) very little payoff.

But then I heard myself -- as I would imagine God hears me. Whine, whine, whine. Complain. Moan. Hurrumph. And I started thinking about the Howington family. The folks who live and maintain Camp Cherokee, with their two kids, and all the needs that they must have. I tried to imagine what they were thinking when Dan Valentine (Captain, My Captain) called to say: "hey, I got thirty seven people who wanna come up there and help you for a week. What d'ya say?" I tried to imagine how - in that moment - they must have felt their prayers were answered. I tried to imagine the joy that must have surrounded their dinner table as they began to believe that Help was coming.

What does it matter where we go? Does God care that we aren't in New Orleans?

The call is to "Go." To "feed my lambs." To "shine the light."

God says nothing about where. He expects us just to Go.

So, here we are:

Camp Cherokee/Cherokee Retreat Center.

In Cartersville.

Becky Jordan
Blogging for CRCSBFPCMT
(Cherokee Retreat Center Spring Break First Presbyterian Church Mission Trip).

Lessons Learned

Officially Day One of our Mission trip began with a task that set my heart a-twitter (organizing a walk-in pantry) and ended with little ones barely able to climb into bed. In the middle, we had more fun than anyone can predict when you're trying to figure out what it means to be a "Missionary."

This (see photos right) is an example of a team building exercise. The Floor Crew was tasked to climb aboard a 2 foot square platform and sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat before falling. Creatively, they decided to put our two Kitchen Crew Standbys (Miss. Ann and Miss. Judy) in the center with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. Then, Trevor and Joe lifted Katie and Dria to their shoulders and darn, if they didn't actually do it! Of course, it was the fastest Row, Row, Row Your Boat rendition in the history of the song, but that's not really the point, now is it?

And this (see photo below) is an example of what happens when the bossy ones don't shut up!
The day was full of team building and learning to listen. We learned the value of planning and then the necessity of re-evaluating those plans.


We learned how to make beignets for 50 and that 70 cups of flour can make a real, real thick batter. Lily-Kate and Jessica learned how much fun it was to get their hands dirty (literally).

In the end, we learned that best laid plans tend to go astray ;

that God's plan is always better (and sometimes more fun) than what we can think up on our own ;

And that the seeds we plant this week will be harvested for many, many months to come. We hope that our love spread here will resound in the hearts of all that come to visit and that more than just carrots (being planted by Judy at right) get tilled up on this soil.

Tomorrow, we work.


Becky Jordan
Blogging for CRCSBFPCMT
(Cherokee Retreat Center Spring Break First Presbyterian Church Mission Trip).

On Our Way to Completion

Official business starts today. And our fearless leaders met to decide project assignment and teams. You can see that the list is quite long! Our Cherokee Retreat Center Director (Kelly) and Site Guy (Andy) say they "have thrown in a lot and are hoping for some."

Teams are divided almost right off the bat and quickly begin... except there are snags. And they hit us right between the thumbs.

Trevor Jordan, Debbie Peterson and Richard Hunter have the enormous task of learning how to install Pergo flooring across the ancient Retreat Center carpet. Learning - in Mission work - is frequently done by doing. And un-doing, re-doing and even sometimes un-doing AGAIN! (Remember last year's fence project?) It takes this terrific trio nearly half a day to discover, perfect and commence to flooring. Hammers swing high in the air, thigh muscles are worked over and over, knees begin to beg for relief and by the end of the day this group has only covered about 50 SF. In addition, our youth on this project are waning. It's hard to wait for inclusion as the adults try to ascertain the challenges. Jessica Gamble presses through the frustration, learns how to operate a Table Saw and earns the first Outstanding Worker (OW) Award.

Meanwhile, our Landscape Lads have taken on a mammoth yet critical project. In order to prevent further erosion of the pathways around the camp, we need to install about a hundred landscape timbers (rebar-red into the ground, levelled and filled with mulch. Nate Shelton and Chris Nix lead the youth on this team with pick ax thrown into solid red clay. Dave Griffith directs, shovels, digs, saws and drives the team who work quietly and well. We are thankful for the cool breezes under the big pine trees as the pollen count and progress soar!

Then the Paint Team decides all the Parker lodge trim has to go (which was not on the first task list). A committee of two is called from the Presbytery, color samples arrive at camp and a decision has to be made about whether to go with Vanillan or Napery. It seems ridiculous, I know, but trust me: it will make a difference!

Our Kitchen is full of two teams - both the ReModel team and the Food Team - covering 900 SF of space as meals are planned, snacks are served, strawberries are sliced, coffee is made, appliances are removed, pans are scattered, a dishwasher is dismantled and a stove is discovered to be less than efficient. Dinner is 45 minutes late.

Worn and weary bodies emerge from the cocoons of their projects and we gather in partially floored great room for reflection. Many are too exhausted to speak out but Dan Valentine reminds us why we're here: to shine God's light for all those who will pass through the Retreat Center entrance, to work together as teams out in this place by God.

There is an ire of frustration that more hasn't been accomplished on this first day and yet, when Debbie Peterson looks down at the floor that has stumped she and her team for the last ten hours, she realizes that the nicks and cracks and smudges of imperfection have disappeared across the area of the floor. "Do you think that's how God sees us?" she asks me. "I think that it's just us who see the mistakes. I think God sees the whole floor - and how beautiful it looks...even on it's way to completion."

Becky Jordan

Blogging for CRCSBFPCMT(Cherokee Retreat Center Spring Break First Presbyterian Church Mission Trip).

Re-Encouragements

Nate Shelton said just this morning, during our Devotion, that we were all there for a purpose. That our Floor Crew was laying "a foundation for God," that our Paint Team was "covering light across the dark walls," that our Landscapers were "spreading seeds of beauty" in God's world.

But in my head, I am thinking Praise God that more people will arrive today... and where is the trim paint? Once the decision is made (we went with Napery, for those who were wondering), we are anxious to take over the transformation of the current Mocha Trim. Andy (our Site Guy) explains that this Mocha trim has been in place for many generations. I agree it does add a certain "institutional" affect to the place.

Change is coming, and we are determined to bring this retreat center into a place nearing the current century. But where, oh where, is the paint? How much more time do we have? Now we're adding landscaping? Rachel, Judy and Ann are running out of food! We start flooring on the second room and are - way off schedule. Work is hard and the pollen count continues to rise. I am worried. Dan keeps smiling.

Flooring gets in the groove (no pun intended); Tom Rocca, Mission First-Timer, takes Mac, Dria, Jackson and Katie to Lydia Cottage where a mean and high pressure Ceiling Fan Assembly Competition is put in place. Losing team has to put together the last one on their own... no one wants to lose.

Andy (Site Guy Extraordinnaire) brings us a 5 gallon can of Primer and "un-intended task item number 6" finally gets going. I do not know if we can make it around this trim three times (1 primer, two coats of paint). Quietly, I count the number of doors that have to be removed, the number of windows that have to be scraped and the number of 2" brushes on site. I will confess, I am not encouraged. It feels a gigantic task, our bodies are exhausted and it is only Day Two.

Then I look around and find that Joe, Mason, Jessica and Tyler are the ones slamming hammers while Trevor, Debbie and Richard stand teaching. I think of Tom as he reminds the fan competitors to "read through the directions carefully." (What a Renaissance Man Tom is!) Rose(from our former New Orleans team), Karen, Abigail, Mason & Logan have brought fresh energy with their additions to our teams; Keith Thomas has a relatively large group of kids who are working - as one - in the Kitchen Re-Model; Jim Miller is coming to help Debbie lay down the corner round; Dave, Nate and Chris continue to drive the path through the woods and hard soil; the Gambles arrive with a smoking grill and dogs, burgers, beans and salad for everyone; Andy (Super Site Guy) arrives with the Trim Paint; Kelly's family comes by for dinner. I know that the MacPherson Paint Crew, Loyce (aka: Nanna), the Landscaper, and the Humphreys (Mission Experts) are coming tomorrow. Rumor has it that even Sam Henderson may be headed our way to also lend a hand. Suddenly, our little group is adding to its numbers.

Some would call these folks re-inforcements.

I call them re-encouragement.

We are getting things done.

Becky Jordan
Blogging for CRCSBFPCMT(Cherokee Retreat Center Spring Break First Presbyterian Church Mission Trip).

It All Comes Down to Jesus

I have to add one more post today.

After the kids' swim in the lake, we made our way to the Large Field for a campfire. While most of us (all but three to be exact) sat about the fire, singing to Dave Griffith and Andy (Site Guy Wonderful)'s guitars, Richard, Trevor and Debbie remained behind. They were determined to finish the Great Room flooring.
Long after dark, the fire was doused and the kids were rounded up for bed.
Tom Rocca, Rachel Hunter and I wandered back to Parker Lodge to check on our crew. We found them all ... in the corner.

Over the past two hours, this team had completed 99% of the remaining floor. What remained was one small board - which would have to be cut on two different angles - and laid to fit the two side trim pieces. It would not be easy and, as the materials dwindled, they feared there would be more waste.

I came upon them sitting in the corner in deep discussion about how to best approach the final piece. I glanced at my watch. It was well past 10pm and they, with their teammates, had been at this project since 8am. I could not fathom their exhaustion.

Suddenly, they heard my arrival and smiled broadly at some secret humor they had obviously all shared. "Look," Trevor said as he pointed to a painting over his head that I had not noticed before. He spread his arms in a sweeping gesture across the finished floor and then brought them back to the painting - hung over the final six inches of nasty carpet to be covered. "It all comes down to Jesus."

Debbie and Richard laughed at the irony of this project which had stumped them all for the better part of two days. I could tell they were punchy and finding almost anything hilarious and yet, it was absolutely true. Tom cracked up, I cracked up, Rachel cracked up.

It. All. Comes. Down. to. Jesus.

Becky Jordan
Blogging for CRCSBFPCMT(Cherokee Retreat Center Spring Break First Presbyterian Church Mission Trip).

This Ain't Yo Mama's Mission Trip

Let it never be said that Mission work isn't for everyone...

Contributing on this trip, one would think that we had all burly, muscled men 

laying hardwood floor like pros.  Or that we had workers with thighs of steel due to all the up and down paint work.  Or that we had young folks decked out in hiking/mountain boots with degrees in Civil Engineering.

Trust me, friends.

It's not like that.

Mission work - while formerly believed to only be 

performed by extraordinary men and women of stature, strength, build and character... wait a minute...  

These are people of extraordiantory stature, strength, builld and character.   

Don't be fooled by age.  We are all called to mission.  It's a verb, folks.  It requires doing.   

This particular Mission was performed not only by "yo mama" but also "by yo grandparents" and "yo kids." 

Think about it.  

Everyone can do some

thing.

A Day in the Life

6:00am  My alarm sounds.  My first thought is about the ache still lingering in my feet.  There is very little time for sitting during the day... unless you are a trim painter.  I wonder how Katie will feel this morning.  She has injured herself and we've got to ice down her foot.  That should be fun (NOT).  She doesn't want to go home.  I have to get up.  Everyone likes to have the coffee ready when they arrive.  I wonder whether we're out of bagels and think that next year, it would be nice to have a hot breakfast for one morning.  I shuffle out of bed while all else are still asleep.  I like being in the kitchen by myself.  Still in my pjs.

7:30am.  Most everyone is here.  Devotional starts.  Some of us are massaging our muscles into shape.  Our kitchen crew still needs to be in the kitchen.  I think we can get the BBQ cooked today but not so sure.  There seems to be endless miles of trim.  

8:00am.  Clean up.  Rachel, Ann and Judy start to remove the breakfast stuff.  Team 2 heads for the front beds with Landscaper Loyce.  There's massive clearing to do.  Someone needs Ibuprofen from me.  Kelly arrives.  Sick with exhaustion, pollen and fever.  Debbie Peterson can hardly talk.  Patsy starts to cough.  Still in my pjs.  The Trim Crew needs to be rotated and start painting the doors.  Keith has Rose back for ceiling trim.  Kelly thinks he can take six youth and lay the floor down in Lydia.  He wants me to find the best 6 for him in about an hour.  It's a secret.  I'm not to tell anyone.  I must get dressed.

10:30am  Everyone wants snack.  The Lunch Wagon crew begins their snack rounds with drinks.  This is the time I can escape to put on some jeans!  YAY!  Our sick/sore people need more water.  I go to the Walk In Refrigerator and find... Nate Shelton.  Cooling off.  In. the. Walk-in. Refrigerator.  

I start a new Grocery/Home Depot/WalMart list.  We need soaker hoses with timers, 45 bags of mulch, 27 bags of garden soil, more cereal, etc.  Jessica is wearing my shoes (because all she brought were flip-flops).  If I can, I'll pick up some tennis shoes for her.  Katie's foot is better.  Debbie needs more Tylenol.  Trevor's having a low blood sugar.  We need more trim paint.  Keith is starting to put the kitchen back together.  The meat is needing to be chopped.  Patsy almost has the while media center catalogued, organized, labelled, shelved and usable!  

Does anyone know which hardware matches which door?  Four ceiling fans are up.

12:30pm.  Kelly and his new Floor Crew are making great headway as they pass the halfway point in Lydia.  Loyce, Dave, Chris, Nate and Dria have transformed the back of the cottage from an overgrown after-thought to a beautiful ornamental garden with flowers, trees and juniper (oh my!).  The Parker Lodge crew begins putting the floor down in the final room.  It's not going well.  

3:00pm  I hide out in the Retreat Center office to work on the slide show.  (Talent night is tomorrow!)  I check the church site for the other mission trip.  WOW!  They are having some God filled adventures!!!  It's inspirational to read how far their journeys have taken them.

Judy brings down loads of old laundry that has been found on the floor.  The machines are cranked up.  Music blasts from the lodge as the kids paint, paint, paint.  Tyler appears with hair covered in paint... but he is laughing (sigh).  Someone asks for more snack.  I decide to run errands and collect final lists from all crews.  

3:10pm.  A Starbucks run is suggested.

3:15pm.  20 people have given me Starbucks' orders!

6:00pm  The dinner bell rings.  Patsy and the Kitchen crew bring out massive BBQ, Corn on the cob, Coleslaw, Baked beans... everything is so yummy and we are all starving.  Sam leads the Reflection and talks about the hope that we are bringing to this retreat.  The place is literally lighter... floors and new trim reflecting God's sunlight.  We sing Our God is an Awesome God. I look around and wonder how in the world we, as a Presbytery, have let this place go so far.  I imagine what could be, if all of the churches in this group sent one Mission Crew here.  I am so thankful that we are not in New Orleans.  

7:00pm.  Dinner break is over.  The youth want to watch I Am Legend in the basement of Lydia. We move the younger kids to the Great Room, set up a DVD for them.  Tom Rocca agrees to chaperone the Youth.  I start moving furniture out of the fireplace room.  Debbie sets up the massive outdoor light so we can all see.  More painting gets done.  

10:00pm  Lights out.  One by one the cabins and cottages go dark.  I am not fooled, though.  I know those kids are still texting each other.  Dan shuts them down.  Threatens to take all the cell phones.  The littlest kids say their prayers with Karen.  

11:00pm.  Trevor and I go into the office again.  I download the photos of the day.  I work on the movie finalizing song selections, adding text slides, trying to choose and remember all the best points of the day.  I make a list for the things that must get addressed tomorrow.  

12:35am We say goodnight to Andy (Site Guy Magnificent) and head to bed.  

12:45am  Cherokee Retreat Center is silent and dark.  It feels great to be so tired.

Unfinished Business

The title of this blog should have been "We're DONE!"

But it's not.

We didn't finish.  

Dan told us all we'd cut off on Friday at 2 so that we could start to pack and load the vans.  But at 2, only four or five of our crew stopped.  

We had decided to add flooring and paint to the Lydia Cottage at the last minute!  And those two crews were slammin' and slappin' like crazy people.  

The doors which had been removed - each weighing a little under 200 pounds each - took nearly all day to re-install... with teens standing at the ready to begin painting as soon as the door crew (Richard, Trevor, Andy and Tom) gave them permission.  Except missing hardware and painted over labels gave these guys fits and what seemed to be another two hour job turned into six and 1/2 hours.  

The fireplace room ran out of wood and a quick design change was made but there just weren't enough hours is Friday to make it happen.

I have to tell you that a gloom came over me.  In case you didn't know, I am Martha.  I'm not like Martha.  I'm don't have Martha characteristics.  It's quite possible that my personal lineage descends from Martha and that I embody everything about her.  On a good day, I can get a taste of Mary... but it's Martha all the way for me, friend.  Leaving with unfinished business just rubbed me every which way.  It physically hurt.  

Even as I watched us desperately trying to finish, I heard Patsy say to Kelly H. (Super Program Director) "It seems like we got a lot of stuff started but not very much done, Kelly.  I'm sorry."

And you know what he said?  I didn't hear it at the time because my Martha brain was only focused on what we had not gotten accomplished that week.  But Patsy came and told me later.

He smiled and said: "Good.  Because that means you'll have to come back."

Finally at ten after 5, Dan says we must stop.  Andy (Site Guy Marvelous) pulled out that white board that he'd shown our leaders when we first arrived.  You remember?  The one upon which he and Kelly had literally thrown everything they had "hoped" for?  As we sat exhausted on the Parker porch (which still needs work, I might add) Andy showed us that board.  He'd been marking things off as we'd accomplished them.  There were only six things (of perhaps 40) that were not marked off.  A cheer went through the crowd.  Andy got choked up.  

The thing is, Cherokee Retreat Center and Camp has largely been unsupported for many years. Sure we donate our cast-offs, we send a check, we have a few committees that do a weekend here and there.  But that's like sitting in the ocean and seeing if you can raise the water level! It takes an oil tanker to do that!

We left CRC with unfinished business.  So some of us are going back.  But I can guarantee you that we'll leave again with unfinished business.  Because there is so much that needs to be done.

Our greatest commandment is to love our neighbor.  For many of us, that means a passport, an international flight, disease fighting shots, foreign soil and lots of money.  But here's our neighbor:  CRC, Kelly, Jean and the kids, Andy, your children who will go to camp, my children who will go to camp, church staff who use this place for retreat, God-seekers who will come to learn what it means to be in relationship with Jesus, wives who will tear away for a scrapbooking weekend, husbands who will continue to grow in faith.  And making a trip to Cartersville is an easy thing to do.

We are a large and wealthy Presbytery and we do many great and good things.  Next time you think about ways that you can help, think about CRC and whether or not you have loved this neighbor well.

Shortly, I'll post a slide show somewhere and try to remember to let everyone know where.  You can also get to a link with multiple photos by visiting CRC's website.  (Click here.)

Becky Jordan (aka:  Martha)

Blogging for the FPCSBCRCM08

(First Presbyterian Church Spring Break Cherokee Retreat Center Mission 08)

New Orleans - January 2008

SUNDAY, JAN 27
After being commissioned at the 0830 service, we left FPC at 1000 hours. Our team members are: Doug Allen, John Bretch, John Brookes, George Buller, Bill Callaway, Jerry Silvers and Harrison Williams. After an easy trip to New Orleans (hereinafter written as NO) we arrived at FPCNO and unpacked. Since we were the only mission group there this week, we were able to bunk in three different rooms (we have level 1, 2 and 3 snorers). We had a nice meal at the New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Place. We thanked God for a safe journey and asked for his blessing on our work this week. After dinner we met Leroy Harbauer, the construction coordinator at FPCNO. He filled us in on the work we would be doing at a house in Old Gentilly on N. Tonti St. The house is owned by Dora Peters. It was built in the 1920’s and is a classic ‘double shotgun’ house. The house is gutted, but is needing a lot of internal shoring to stabilize it prior to putting in new floor joists. Leroy will provide supplies and enough direction to get us started tomorrow.

MONDAY, JAN 28
We arrived at 2451 N. Tonti at 0830 and began assessing the work to be done. Leroy had previously shored up part of the roof rafters and installed a load bearing shear wall down the middle of the house. We began nesting new studs and headers in the outside walls, and started putting in new floor joist support beams. By day’s end we had the floor supports installed on one side, ready for floor joist installation. The house is in a very depressed and distressed part of old Gentilly, and not much work has been done on most of the houses in the area. There is no power or water, so we have to use a generator and provide our own necessities. We cannot lock up the house, so we have to remove all tools and equipment at the end of each day. We board up the doors and windows before we leave.

TUESDAY, JAN 29
John Bretch cooked pancakes for breakfast. We were all a bit sore and stiff, but after the devotional we were energized and on our way. We are fortunate to have enough skill sets to help us do our work as efficiently as possible. We have two pairs of carpenters and three jacks of all trades. We got the floor joists installed on one side of the front of the house, and built another nested stud wall on the opposite side. It was warm this morning, and the 3 jacks spent some time clearing away a pile of debris that had accumulated in front of the house. As we secured the site for the night, we all felt good about our progress. After dinner we reflected on our day, and thanked God for keeping us healthy and safe.

WEDNESDAY, JAN 30
Doug cooked Cajun grits for breakfast, with enough left over for the next 2 days. It had rained during the night, which settled some of the dust at the house. Work continued on installing support beams for more floor joists, and by days end we had installed floor joists across the entire front end of the house. There is strong comradere’ amongst the group as we help each other with varied tasks. We had jambalaya, salad, rolls and king cake for dinner, prepared by FPCNO members Henry Kleinfeldt and his wife and sister. Rev. Cliff Nunn and his wife also had dinner with us. Dora Peters, owner of the N. Tonti house, had planned to dine with us. Sadly, she was comforting her sister, whose son had been killed the previous day. We said a prayer for Dora and her family. After dinner, we presented Rev. Cliff Nunn with a check for $8,200.00 for the final installment of the 2007 Mission Benevolence for FPCNO Katrina Aid.
A total of $31,200.00 was given to FPCNO in 2007. Leroy noted that about one-third of the $8200 would be used on the N. Tonti house.

THURSDAY, JAN 31
The team got into high gear this morning, and finished stabilizing the roof trusses to allow further work on floor support beams. Although this stabilization work took some time, it allows follow-on groups to continue with floor joists and stud walls in a safe manner. At the end of the day, about 60% of the floor area had joists installed. The next group will be able to complete the floor joists and stud walls on the front and back of the house. After dinner, we reflected on the amount of work that had been done at the N. Tonti house, and once again thanked God for keeping us safe and healthy throughout the week.

FRIDAY, FEB 1
We got up early, loaded the vehicles, and went to Café’ du Monde for coffee and benets.
We arrived safely at FPC Marietta at about 2030 hours. We hope others who read this blog will consider joining a mission team to NO in the future. There are a lot of people in NO who are still grieving, still discouraged, still needing our help. We guarantee that if you do go, you will be changed and you will want to get others to go with you the next time.

Building the Kingdom one block at a time

Our last day began with a devotion by Brian on one of our newly poured slabs that focused on the question "Why are we here?" using selected passages from Romans. It is easy for us to fall back into thinking that our good works are the basis of our salvation and that if we just go on enough mission trips and help enough people that God will surely see us as good people. Of course, Paul's letter to the Romans makes it very clear that that is not the case at all. So, if we are not saved by our works, why do we go and help these people? Paul's answer is that in response to God's love for us, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices and that we are under a constant obligation to love our neighbors. Our prayer is that through our work we have shown God's love to the people of Escobedo in a very tangible way.

The last day of work is to lay the first row of blocks on each foundation with input from the homeowner about the placement of the doors. A simple task if you have concrete blocks. Since construction materials have a way of sometimes disappearing from the job sites (just like in the U.S.), we don't have them delivered in advance. The plant that makes the block we use is not very close to the job site so it takes a while for the delivery truck to get to us. So we waited. And we waited.

Unlike Tuesday, Wednesday was a very clear day and getting hotter by the minute. Providentially we had some blocks left over from last year's construction that were stored at the site of one of this year's houses. So, we put the pickup truck to good use and started moving block to the other sites so the teams could get started. Our theory was that once we started to actually move the block that our block delivery truck would show up. Well, it did, but not till after we had moved enough blocks to get started on two sites. These are heavy blocks and it takes about sixty to do each house. That doesn't sound like many unless you are the one actually moving them.









It takes two trips for the delivery truck to bring us all the blocks for the seven houses. We urged the driver to hurry back with the second load and he said he could be back in about two hours. Of course, that turned into about three hours and we ended up moving block for the last two slabs with the pickup truck. It didn't appear that it was the driver's fault for the delay and we gave him a tip that was graciously received. None of us who moved the block will need to do any bicep curls at the gym for a while. :)

By about 3:30 PM we had finished all seven houses and started cleaning up to go home. We took pictures with the future homeowners. There were many heartfelt expressions of gratitude from them, and some tears of happiness as they realized that their promised house was one step closer to becoming a reality. The father of Alberto ( who has MS and is in the wheelchair in the photo) was particularly expressive in his gratitude for our work. We now understand better the message of Genesis 12:2 where God tells Abram that he will be blessed and that he is to be a blessing. It was a very humbling and spiritual experience.











Well, we packed up all the tools ( or most of them anyway - a few got left behind) and loaded up into the van and pickup truck and headed back to our home away from home, Hotel 88. Everybody was in good spirits, hot and tired, but with a great sense of satisfaction. Twelve of the guys were in the van, and Brian and Howard in the pickup truck. Brian had just turned on the main road back to town ( a four lane affair) when one of the local transito policmen waved Brian over. Despite Brian's and Howard's excellent command of Spanish ( in other words almost none) and the policeman's excellent command of English ( in other words none) it quickly became apparent that Brian had been going too fast through a school zone. The policeman didn't have a radar gun, he just judged that Brian was over the speed limit. Now understand that Brian has driven that road a lot of times and never noticed it was a school zone much less ever seen a school anywhere in the surrounding area.

After Brian gave the policeman his drivers license (wondering if he would ever see it again), the policeman proceeded to explain that the fine for speeding in a school zone is $ 70 USD. Brian quickly considered his options. 1. make a run for it and get out of the country as quickly as possible, 2. pay the $ 70 fine, 3. try bribing the policeman - when in Rome do as the Romans do, or 4. call his lifeline Marcos. Just as Brian was frantically dialing Marcos' number and the policeman was preparing to write the ticket, Brian's phone rang. It was the rest of the guys in the van. They had stopped in a nearby service station to buy gas and witnessed the pullover. Brian quickly hung up on them so he could call Marcos.

Thankfully Marcos answered his phone and Brian handed the phone to the policeman and said to the policeman ' Mi amigo' while pointing at the phone. After what seemed like an eternity, the policeman closed the phone, handed Brian his license back and said he could go. Marcos had explained to the policeman that we were doing social work and told the policeman that we were probably dressed in dirty work clothes and had a truck full of construction tools. That description fit us to a 'T'. Marcos is definitely our guardian angel.

Meanwhile the guys in the van had been trying to decide what to do. Apparently there was some division as to whether to stop and offer help or to get as far away as fast as possible. Reports have it that six wanted to stop and help and six wanted to flee the scene. Since they quickly left Brian and Howard to fend for themselves, is is obvious who yelled the loudest. So, after the policeman let Brian go, Howard called the guys in the van and told them that Brian had been handcuffed and taken to jail. They actually seemed to believe it for a while. Later interviews with the twelve in the van revealed that each claimed to have been one of the ones that wanted to stop and offer assistance and that none would admit to abandoning Brian and Howard. :)
It was very funny. (at least after it was over)



We had a fun dinner at Chili's on Wedneday night and all flew home on Thursday.

We appreciate your prayers for our work. Please support the Mexico Mission in any way that you can and buy as many blocks ($ 10 each) as you can. Keep the Senior High Youth and their advisors in your prayers as they prepare to finish the work that we have begun.

The Mens Monterrey Mexico Mission team: Rolando Perez, Howard Swinford, Allen Hirons, Mark Thompson, Bill Claxton, Tom Steele, Bob Petersen, Bob Sabin, Rem Bennett, Jan Milligan, Phil Brand, George Childress, John Wells and Brian Wright

Concrete Assurance

Today's devotional, "Born Again", was inspirational in that we all could connect with the message that Jan Milligan was making about the desire we have from within to be live out our lives for Him. To love and assist those less fortunate, to stand up for the rights of those that are different and to help others by introducing them to scripture for special circumstances. We are all here with special talents that only we possess. It is like Christ is painting a masterpiece and each of us is a shade or color. When we interact appropriately with others the vision is clear and magnificent. It feels good to be here doing what the Lord has placed before us to complete.

Today was a perfect day to pour concrete. Overcast and no wind. The first truck was supposed to be at the job site by 8 am, but it finally arrived about 9 am.
After that the trucks came pretty regularly except for one break in the early afternoon. We worked today as one team and moved from site to site.

When the trucks arrived, everyone was anxious to put on their rubber boots and get in the 'mud' (concrete). Most of the time, the truck could get close enough to drop the concrete at least close to all four corners. On one lot, however, the truck could only get to the front of the slab, so we had to 'pull' the concrete to the back of the form. Very tiring work, but with fourteen guys it makes it much easier because we can take turns.















We started using a new method for finishing the slabs. In the past we have used bull floats, which work fine, but leave some small ridges in the slab. This year we used a screed board (a long board that stretches across the entire width of the slab) to level and smooth the slab. It worked very well and our slabs were the best we have ever poured (at least in our humble opinion).



Another first for this trip was that Rem Bennett actually convinced a couple of the concrete truck drivers to let him drive the truck. Fortunately he didn't run into any walls, cars or power lines!



It is very rewarding to see the smiles on the faces of the future homeowners. For some of them, I think that up until the slab is poured, they are really not sure that they are getting a house. When they see the concrete being poured, they really begin to believe. We had a lot of smiling faces today and when they smile, it makes us smile. It makes all the planning, expense and hard work worthwhile. From our perspective, what we are giving them seems so much less than our standard of living, but from their perspective a home like this is a huge improvement in their standard of living and will have impacts beyond what we can imagine.



We finished about 2 pm and everybody was hot and tired, but very satisfied with the work we had accomplished. Back to the hotel for a hot shower, a little rest and then dinner. We ate at El Papalote and everyone seemed to enjoy another dinner of Mexican cuisine. Allen, the designated 15-passenger van driver, has really taken to the local driving protocols. If we didn't know better we would think he spent all his vacations here.

Tomorrow will be our last day. We will lay the first row of block on each house and that will be the end of our part of the construction process. In just about six weeks, the Senior High youth and advisers will be here to build these homes.

Foundations

We began Monday with a devotion by Howard Swinford based on scripture from Matthew and emphasizing the spiritual foundations we are building through this mission trip. These foundations are for the people who will live in the houses that we are helping to build, for the Senior High youth and advisors that will come in June and for ourselves. These spiritual foundations are just as important (and actually are more important than the physical foundations we are building out of concrete).



Rem Bennett, our lead construction guy, split us into four teams and we started work. Since most of us only do this work once a year, we need some retraining to get back up to speed and to remember the little things about building the forms. Although it is not rocket surgery as the saying goes, it is still important that we build a good foundation. After a somewhat slow start, we got rolling and by lunchtime we had finished four of the seven sites. Having the pickup truck to deliver materials and tools to the teams worked very well. Here are some pictures which illustrate the work being done. Fortunately, although it was hot, it was also overcast most of the day which helped keep it bearable.
















One of the houses we are building is for a grandmother who is raising her two grandchildren who were apparently abandoned by their mother. Her new house will be at the back of her lot. To get the concrete truck to the back of the lot required that her existing outhouse be demolished. To call it an outhouse is actually a stretch, because it was merely some old pallets that had been nailed together. The walls were covered with various pieces of cloth and it had a flimsy tin roof. Although we thought we had explained that it had to be demolished on Friday night, apparently she had not understood it like we thought. After some careful measurements and explanation of the situation, she accepted the fact that it had to be done, smiled and proceeded to start tearing it down by herself. We tried several times to get her to let us do it, but each time she would come back and join in the demolition. She is a woman of small stature, but her determination was amazing. It was readily apparent that getting a new house was very important for her. Although we were hot and tired by this time of the day, her spirit lifted ours and her lot is now ready.

It was a great day of construction. Everyone pitched in to get the work done and everyone had a well earned sense of satisfaction with what we had done.