Cutting cement block is dusty work

Daily devotions under the big tent before work begins each day.

More photos from El Salvador

Volunteers waiting for the bus to go to the build site


Our hotel was right on the Pacific Ocean

Photos from El Salvador

Local Fishing Boats on the beach outside our hotel Estero Y Mar.

Day 5 of the Build

Well Friday was our last day on the build site. We worked until about 3 pm and then had the individual house dedications. Each of the homeowners was presented with a bible and a cross and asked to say a few words. As is typical for house dedications, there were lots of tears of joy from everyone.

House no 14 was sponsored by the bike ride we did this summer for the Fuller Center. Millard asked me on behalf of the riders to present the cross to the homeowners which was for me an honor and a privilege.

Last nite we had come jumbo shrimp at the hotel that one of the volunteers bought from a local fisherman and shared with the rest of us. They were truly delicious. Hard to believe that the week is over. Like most blitz builds the week flies by really fast. It was so satisfying to see that 16 families will now have a simple decent place to live.

I´ll be posting some pictures once I get home and download them.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Day 4 of the Build

We had a surf-side meeting with the Fuller Center last nite and Millard explained that they have between 40-50 Fuller Center convent partners (chapters) in the US and 14 outside the US. David Snell VP of Programs mentioned that Armenia and Nigeria will be very interesting countires to watch. The FCH looks like it will get somehting going in North Korea as well which is pretty amazing.

I meant to post this blog last nite but the computer in the hotel reception area was just tooo busy with other users. So I went to my room to lie down and never made it back to the lobby. I woke up fully dressed with the key lanyard still around my neck and all my clothes on. It made getting dressed this morning pretty easy. Anyway Dot Frank one of the volunteers who lives down the shore in NJ lent me her laptop to do this blog. The hotel has a good wireless signal - thank goodness for technology.

Still no rooves on the houses. They say we'll be doing that today and dedicating the houses at around 3 pm. It's hard to believe that this is the last day of the build. Time has flown by as it usually does on these blitz builds. Tomorrow I get the 10:30 am bus to the airport for a 1:30 flight back to NJ.

We went to see some of the homes where the new homeowners are presently living. One shack was made up of wooden poles covered with all types of plastic material and a dirt floor with an outhouse. I can't imagine what they do when it rains. Outside was a boy who they tell me was 5 years old taking care of his 2 younger siblings, one of which was an infant. Both parents work so these 3 kids are home alone pretty much alll day. This was a real eye opener when you think that this is how people are living in grinding poverty. Wow the next time I complain about some petty annoyance in the US, I'm going to think of what life here is like every day for these folks. I'm told that somehting like 28 families control 80% of the wealth in this country and that there is virtually no middle class. Very sad - but 16 families will have new homes this week. The site we are building on has room for an additional 40 houses which will be built in the future. Some there is some hope for the future.

There was a women at the site selling cloth bags she makes for $5 each. Thanks to Leroy Troyer the chairlan of the FCH who spread the word, she sold all her bags and was so delighted and grateful. She is deaf and her son helps her communicate.

Weel that's it for now - time to get ready for the bus. More later.

Day 3 of the Build

Still working on interior walls and gables so no roof today. It was a spectacular day with blue sky, lots of balmy sun and a pleasant breeze blowing thru the site. Our homeowner brought in some pics of her and her family to show us.

We had an interesting bus ride home. HThe driver took a corner too sharply and the rear wheels went into ta culvert and the bus was stuck at an angle. Noone was hurt and a tractor pulled the bus out of the ditch and we went on our way to the hotel.

I met this man Joel Stern who lives on a sailboat and who is sailing around the world. He came out to our work site and was impressed with the work he saw. Quite a charachter he is and an interesting person. I had a chance to speak with him tonite and introduced him to Linda and Millard. Joel´s round the world sailboat tour will take 1 year to complete.

David and Tamara Danel of Hamoond LA who are here as volunteers invited a bunch of us to celelbrate their 20th wedding anniversary with them here at the hotel. We had a delicious cake and champagne and Millard and Linda Fuller were there as well. What an honor to share such a beautiful event. Thank you Tamara and Daniel.

Day 2 of the Build

I thought we were going to work on the roof but we were finishing interior walls and gables today. Suny and warm with a good breeze at the iste. Met the homeowner who lives nearby and walks to the site. Her name is Mercedes. She is 27 and she has two girls ages 3 and 8. She worked on the house with us today.

I tried to use a piece of re-bar as a q-tip. Actually I walked into a pice of rebar sticking out of a cement block and knicked my ear. Nothing serious thank goodness.

The cocomut that the mason gave me yesterday is in our mini-bar - not sure what I am going to do with it.

Today we had some cows run through our work site chased by barking street dogs which seem to be everywhere. Roosters started crowing at our hotel around 4 am and don´t seem to stop. somebody needs to get then an alarm clock!

I am told that the roof, windows and doors will be installed by tradesmen so I am not sure what the volunteers will do the rest of the time. That´s ok - we´re having fun and all is well here in El Salvador.

Build - Day 1

Ok so today finally arrived and we arrived at the site at 8 and after a brief devotion we went to work on the houses. I was supposed to be assigned to house no. 13, but they asked me be a translator between the local masons working on the house and the volunteers. Turns out very few volunteers speak Spanish. We put up cinder block walls and it looks like we may get to put the roof on tomorrow.

Millard announced that the next Blitz Build will be held in Sept 2009 in Lannett AL in the Chatahoochie Valley where 6 houses will be built. It will also be the Fuller´s 50th wedding anniversary so it will indeed be a very special ocassion.

Eating luch and dinner on the site proved to be very workable and the food was very good. The meals were catered and brought into the site by truck.

One of the masons Jose Ricardo and I struck up a conversation and he asked me what I was doing here and if I was getting paid to work on the site. I told him I was here to build with the Fuller Center and he said why did I come all the way from the US to spend a week in El Salvador to build without getting paid. Not sure what to say, I responded that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and that we must do what we can to help each other. He seemed very moved by the response. After lunch when he returned he opened his bag and said this is for you, producing a coconut as a gift for me. I´m not sure what to do with it but we are no longer strangers.

Sunday T-1 and Counting

Went to the Union Church in San Salvador to hear Millard Fuller, the founder of the Fuller Center for Housing, give the homily. He spoke about several things. One was that we muct work harder as we get older because in his words "we need to wear out, not rust out." He also talked mentioned that the the Bible says, amongst other things, that we should invite strangers into our homes. Strangers are people we don´t know , but once we get to know them they are no longer strangers. He encouraged us to get to know each other-volunteers and partner families.

At the reception tonite before dinner we met the 16 partner families we will be building the houses with. We were also told not to be surprised tomorrow when we arrive at the site as the houses are quite advanced, but there is plenty of work to go around. Not that I am superstitious - I´m not) but I was assinged to work on house number 13. The mayor of San Luis Talpa where will be building was also at the reception and thanked us for the work we are doing this week.

Well tomorrow breakfast will be at the hotel starting at 6 am with buses leaving for the work site at 7:30. We arrive there at 8 have a brief devotion and begin work. We will have lunch and dinner at the site and then return to the hotel.

For those of you into ping-pong, there is a table here but I haven´t found anyone to pay with. I miss my biking budding Josh who I would regularly pay ping-pong each time we stayed at a church which had a table on our cross country bike trip. We miss you Josh!

Well that´s it for now. 5 am wil be here before you know it. Later.

Arrived Safely

Arrived almost 2 hours late but safe to San Salvador airport due to rain in NJ. It was a 20 minute bus ride from the airport to the Hotel on the Pacific shore. Hotel is quaint and clean with not too much going on around it. Lots of volunteers arriving today and more arriving on Sunday. Sunday morning I plan to go hear Millard Fuller Speak at the Union Church in San Salvador. Not sure I´m going to be able to download any photos while I´m here since I did no bring my laptop. Oh well, hasta manana. Doug

If you'd like to read about the families we will be building homes for in El Salvador please click here.

A Prayer from my sister Sandy

I wanted to make the first post a prayer that my sister sent me to help sustain us in our work. Here it is:

May you awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
May you respond to the call of your gifts and find courage to follow its path.
May the flame of anger free you from falsity.
May the warmth of heart keep your presence aflame and may anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of you soul.
May you experience each day a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

Thanks to my sister Sandy.

Doug