Build Day 2 - Work, Worship, and the Women's Co-Op

Work today began with two basic jobs:  make more rebar for the top of the house, and complete the whitewashing of all walls, inside and out.  It rained overnight, and that made wetting the walls in advance a little easier.  The whitewash is actually a wet coat of white cement intended to fills the pores of the blocks for painting.

Julio, the head mason, and a local, looks on as Angela and Bob whitewash.

 

Habitat always hires local masons to supervise the work and volunteers.  They complete a house in 6 - 8 weeks, and get paid by the job, not the hour.

Meanwhile, the rebar table, fashioned from sections of nearby bamboo, merely needs to hold long rods horizontal.  The rebar task is tedious and hard on the hands, but it is vital for earthquake resistance in the structure of the house.  Alex and his Mom, Deb, are on task below.

Jim wore his tape measure suspenders again this year.  He wants to make sure everyone's work measures up, and that no one stretches the truth.

Marilyn has worn her sun hat all over the world, but this is the first time either of them have been to El Salvador.  Below, Oscar, Mason #3, seems pleased with the work of the volunteers.

A load of cinder blocks arrive via pick-up truck on a muddy dirt road.  They are brought up to the work site by a human chain.  The scenery out the front door of the new house provides a "buena vista".  It did not rain all morning, and only sprinkled a little in the afternoon.  The altitude of our work site is about 2600 feet, and that helps with the humidity and temperatures (about 85 F).

We had a nice break about 10 a.m. consisting of bananas, papaya and pineapple.  Jaquline sliced and served the fruit. Lunch was grilled chicken, spiced rice, steamed veggies, and the vegetarian substitute was an egg souffle with greens.

  

After lunch, we went to pick up Francis at the Habitat office in Santa Ana.  They just finished a remodeling project, and the place is bright and new looking - and now has air conditioning!  Francis is pictured at her desk, and the sign behind her reads, "A world where everyone has a decent place to live."  Below, we greet Anna Maria, a driving force behind the Santa Ana office, and a person we have met here before.  She is always very kind and welcoming to us.

Meanwhile, Dean and Francis practice their El Salvador driving skills with the newest Habitat minivan.

Our worship plans at Cristo Rey Lutheran Church in Santa Ana, about 60 east of here, were changed to Tuesday afternoon.   The event was not at all what we expected.  Later, back at the hotel, we met with 4 ladies from the Women's co-op, named Gethsemane.  I'll get some of those photos posted as soon as possible.