Work Day 4 - Building, the Bakery, and the Co-Op Ladies Return

The day began with a bus trip to the gas station where we ran into Francisco - he and his family are the homeowners of the house we are building!  

What are the chances?  He was driving his three-wheeled Mototaxi #202, of course, which he had just given us rides on yesterday (photos later).  Francis says, "Small town".  Wikipedia lists the population of Ahuachapan as 110,500.  Como caiga.

Here is the group at the work site.  From left, Lorraine, Angela, Alex, Nicki, Jim, Bob, Jason, Marilyn, Dean, AJ, and Deb.  The Thrivent banner reminds us that several of us received $400 discounts on our trip fees, and Thrivent donated $8000 to Habitat El Salvador on behalf of our trip, something they do every year.

Nicki and Bob mix sand and cement the hard way.

Bob and Alex move piles of sand and cement back and forth to provide good mixing as Flor from Habitat "supervises" the activities.

Deb gets in on the mixing action.

The cement and sand once mixed will be combined with rocks to form concrete.  It is being put in place by the bucketfull to form an apron all around the house.

Flor's sunglasses reflect the worksite as Alex the Mason works behind her.

Ana Maria at left heads the Habitat office in Santa Ana, where the Cristo Rey church was built 3 years ago.  Francis and Jim join her as she visited us up at the house work site.  She brought a totally frozen ice cream cake desert.

Francisco, Jaquiline, and their son Josua at home where they live with Jackie's mother.

Jason enjoys the corn offered by a neighbor, and harvested the same day right next door.

The scenery from the work site, with Lorraine at left. 

Marilyn (left) and Lorraine sift sand from small gravel.  The fine sand product drops through a screen above a bucket of water.  It takes a long time to fill two buckets.  The product is used for a skim coat in the to attach tiles in the shower of the house, and it also will form the seal between tiles when mixed with white cement.

 We visited Francis's mother in Ahuachapan after the workday ended at 4 p.m.  She owns a bakery and adjacent seamstress business.  She has two open-air gardens in her home, where Francis grew up and still lives.  Francisca treated us with desserts and let us tour the house.  We don't feel too bad about having two desserts in one day due to the way we work on the build site.

Flor sites in a tiny chair and chats with Bob.

Jason takes a snooze on the rooftop terrace at Francis's house, while Alex enjoys the mountain scenery around him in nearly all directions. 

Francis and AJ up on the roof.

A look down into the open garden that Francisca maintains at her house.

Francisca's specialty is cakes, as seen in the display case in the bakery she runs out of the front of her home.  The seamstress business is next door.

The Gethsemane Co-Op ladies visit to deliver our coffee orders, jewelry, and soap.  Beti, pictured near the center next to Jim has met us before, and her daughter, Glenda is just in front of her.  Glenda is in school studying sustainable tourism, and would like to work in tourism promotion for the El Salvador government after she finishes her 2-year degree.  Monday, she starts teaching English to children, and her English has improved much since we saw her last year.  Adriana, at the lower left with the Beanie Babies, is Beti's niece.  We know Beti well because 2 years ago, she walked lunch over to us daily from the Co-Op to the work site - in a tub on her head.  You don't forget hot lunches served to you that way.  She is a major figure in the Co-Op.  She always remembers us, and we look forward to seeing her and her family every year and hearing what news they have.