The Gran Hotel Ancira provided a delicious, hot breakfast every morning, with the richest, most flavorful coffee I've had since Louisiana.
We were up, fed, and in our work clothes in time to leave the hotel at 8:00. Everyone loaded up and began the hour drive to Santa Monica, where we would be working on the construction of a church building. Edgar, one of the locals from Santa Monica, was wisely loaned to us as a guide, just in case we got separated from Ft. Gibson's bus--because we didn't have a clue how to get there. Have I mentioned the traffic and crazy drivers in Monterrey? Apparently there are no traffic laws in Mexico...no speed limits, at least none that are enforced. If the road you're driving on has 3 paved lanes, there may be 5 lanes of cars, as they use medians, shoulders, etc. Ted tried to stay glued to the back of the bus, but whenever he would allow more than 24 inches of space, a little car would squeeze in between us. The bus driver seemed to forget that we were trying to follow, 'cause he would veer off at the last second to exit, leaving us on a road going "who knows where." But Edgar got us there in one piece and we got the first look at our mission. Holy guacamole! This building is gonna be HUGE! The land had been purchased by the church at Ft. Gibson, as well as a few other private donors. This building will be the largest so far, and will be 2 stories. Much residential construction has begun in close proximity to the property, so it is believed that once the building is complete, it will fill up fast and another will be needed a few short miles away. It is still in the beginning stages and we will be working on the foundation.Okay, time to go to work. Somehow, I had envisioned myself in the role of "chaperone," "supervisor," "water-girl." So why are they handing me a shovel? It soon became apparent that they expected everyone to really "WORK." I was put on boundary or stem wall ditch-
digging detail right away and found myself constantly hitting rock. Time for the "pickers" to come in. Some of the big, strong, young guys picked the rocky soil and we came in behind them digging the trenches. By noon the temperature was above 100 degrees and I had drank more water than I usually do in a week. Someone had been smart and brought towels that we soaked in our ice chest then wrapped around our necks. Ahhhhhh. Feels so goooood. At 12:00 it was time for lunch. The local women (and men) had prepared a wonderful meal for us and we didn't even care what the meat was.....we ate like we 
hadn't eaten in days. Homemade tortillas, refried beans, noodles and sauce and of course, the mystery meat. Also homemade salsa (mui picante) that burned my lips right off, but I kept going back for more. In the afternoon, I worked on stabilizing the forms for cement around the piers (more shovel work) and donned the rubber gloves to help scoop cement into the forms. Throughout the day I became acquainted with several of my brothers and sisters from Dewey and Ft. Gibson and also met Loddy (sp?) the preacher at Santa Monica, George (Loddy's little boy), and our cooks, Hilda, Elizabeth, Benny, and Rosa.
Finally, quitting time. On the drive back to the hotel Edgar (who does not speak English) worked hard to communicate and interact with us (mostly with the young girls!). Then we started singing some songs and when he recognized the tune, he would sing the song in Spanish.Back at the hotel, I collapsed on the floor (way too dirty to get on the bed of white linens) and waited for my turn to shower. Oh, it felt so good to get the shoes off. How do toenails get dirty with socks and shoes on????
We walked across the street for a lovely dinner before meeting with Ft. Gibson and Dewey for our evening devotional. The Spanish word for today is "PODER" which conveys the idea of "power." "...according to His power that is at work within us..." Eph. 3:20
After devo, seven of us decided to take an adventure and try to find a Walmart. We had gotten directions, but when we had traveled awhile and still didn't see it, we stopped to ask directions from a motorcycle "policia". He began trying to direct us, then said "Follow me." We had a police escort to Walmart. Bueno.
Back to the hotel where we all slept like babies.
3 comments:
This topic have a tendency to become boring but with your creativeness its great.
I usually delete comments by individuals I don't know, but I thought the one from "national lottery" was pretty funny...so it stays.
that's hilarious!
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