When we left the site yesterday, three walls were up.  The dry wall was going up on the walls, the electric is in place.  The storage room and laundry room insulation is completed and drywall is beginning in the laundry room ceiling.  The tile is finished and grouted in both rooms.  The all house fan is up and the exhaust fans are installed in the bathrooms.  The front and back stoops are poured, ready to be tiled.

We still have no electricity, which has been a constant source of irritation.  But the city keeps promising that it will be here “tomorrow”.  We are thankful for the neighbors who have let us run drop cords across the street and fields to run our power tools. 

We hired Jaimie to help Deanne (she has been amazing!) with the taping and mudding of all the dry wall.  Pray for him.  He is a Christian brother from Nueva Vida who helped us a lot at the nursing home many years ago.  He has not had work recently and has had many heartaches with his son.  He needs encouragement as much or more than he needs physical work.  Pray that we can be both for him as he works along side us.

Socorro, ”Coco” is also working with us.  She is a “Ruiz” and told us that yesterday was her Father’s Birthday.  On the way to lunch, we stopped by their house and surprised him, singing “Happy Birthday” first in Spanish and then in English.  We then had circle prayer for him and for his family.  He is a man who has walked away from “Church” and God because of deep hurts.  Each year we are here we have seen a softening in his heart.  Pray for him that God will continue to use his dear wife and daughters to lead him back to Christ.

Eliel and his brother Manuell have also worked every day with us.  They do tiling and cement work and have been a great blessing to us.  Amy (who they have nick-named “cameron” - which means ’shrimp’ -  because her skin is pink) has had many deep conversations with them and their “view” of Christianity.  Pray for them that they will truly know the love of Christ in their lives.

This morning in our devotions we looked at Matthew 4:17 and then the fifth chapter.  Wow, what a great example we are given on how we are to live in this world.  “The great reversal” as Pastor David has reminded us each day.

My favorite part of the week is to hear how this time has had an impact on the team members.  You will hear this from them when they return but as Amy said, “It is almost too difficult to put into words.”

Today we hope to have all the inside walls up with drywall, the bars put on all the windows, the taping and mudding completed on all ceilings.  A note about the bars.  It is a MUST to have steel bars on all windows and doors here.  If not you will be robbed.  The bars must be custom made to fit and the cost for this was $1,000.00 dollars, not pesos.  Nueva Vida made this their project and paid for them!  For this we are thankful.  It means safety for Mikruts and for our many tools we will leave in the storage room.

We will stop a little early today so that the team leaving tomorrow can get tools packed to go home.  After dinner we are invited to go to the Youth Meeting at Nueva Vida where they will perform a drama for us.

The first team leaves early tomorrow, Sue and I will take them to Harlingen.  While there we will pick up the sinks and toilets at Home Depot and return to VH.  Pray for a green light!  We will then return at 3:30 to pick up the next team and begin a new week.

Thank you for your prayers!  Watch the web site as Don will be taking our pictures from this first week home to be put on the web site. (Becky, he will get them to you).

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a personal note:

To my family & friends (Mom & Dad)

Thank you for praying for us.  I am well and God is good!  Lou will be joining me on Saturday.  I miss you.  God Bless you.         –Sue

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We are Blessed,

Darla