Casa 3 is based on a Habitat for Humanity plan...
...and built of hand moulded local brick.
I saw this wildflower in the yard before we started work.
We don't know who the house is being built for when we start work. There are many deserving people here. Sammy drops the ladies off in his green Toyota Sprinter and the guys are dropped off by Fernando in his white van. There is much to accomplish. We set to work staining, painting and hanging doors.
A young man named Tepe helps out. We notice that he works hardest when placed alongside the pretty girls on our team. His curly hair and engaging personality remind me of my own son. It is hard NOT to like Tepe!
The house is located in a walled compound bordered by streets that translate as "Heaven's Way" and "Paradise Way." How fitting! Last year, along with another artist, I painted an interpretation of the New Heaven and New Earth from Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21 on the walls of a church in Staunton. The rendering is finished. Now I am in another hemisphere working on actual construction. Last year Laney and I took photos of real children in difficult places of the world and recast them as princes and princesses of the New Heaven and the New Earth. Here Cindy is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to real families in Santa Cruz! This is the Lord's work and it is exciting to be a part of it. It is all about redeemed lives!
The streets are unpaved... literally dirt! The fall rains have turned them into quagmires! Getting us to the site takes some pretty skillful driving! Sammy got mired once. Inside the walls are three beautiful houses. Two are complete and one is taking shape.
GH, a Staunton builder, and Gary, my roommate are the most experienced builders. Martha, an RN who has made many trips with surgery teams, transitions easily into installing door hardware. She chisels out the insets for latchplates and hinges like a German Zimmerman! Big Jeff and Little Jeff, both from our church, install tile to complete the laundry room. A young brother and sister from Charlottesville are on the team. They paint well. The sister is a natural at cutting edges. She will leave Bolivia with the offer of a Summer job from GH!
We have a really great team. After a couple of days some of us will more on to repairs on the older houses and then to the clinic to repaint rooms in the recovery area.
Windows awaiting stain and glass.
Doors to be hung.
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