Day 13

Thursday... ahhh, Thursday!!!

Time to complete the projects we've begun. Here's a brief rundown of them... Makes me tired just to think about it all --

5 construction projects, including 2 builds from the "ground up," and a new sign for the Progreso Community Center
6 Vacation Bible Schools
9 painting projects, including the entire inside of the Progreso Community Center
1 Youth Rally
3 Block Parties



Even with the weather, our volunteers accomplished a lot this week. The planned work on Hilda's house is complete. Her home has now gone from a pier-and-beam foundation to a two-bedroom home. It is completely dried in, and just needs another group to come and finish the inside.

The "Bird House" still has birds -- but not on the inside anymore! The pigeons are still roosting on top of the house, but they can't get in to the attic now... Bad for the pigeons, GREAT for Mr. and Mrs. Varela.


Thursday night is always the night we have our closing celebration in Harlingen. First Baptist Church in Harlingen hosted a wonderful evening for us all. Rick gave a report of the activities for the week, and offered a challenge for how churches should continue the missional reform that has taken root in the Valley. Richard Buerkle and a group of teenagers from FBC, Gatesville led the music, a Buckner intern, and a current CBF missionary spoke during the service. It was a good time to reflect on who we are, what we're doing, and why we do what we do...


Friday, it's time to tie up all the loose ends and prepare to go home. We're looking forward to being home again...



Grace and Peace,
Ken and Brandie

Day 12

Rain and Parties!

Ok, y'all, I'm not sure who decided this week was the week for rain in the RGV, but... :)

It rained all morning long on Wednesday, halting work on Hilda's house completely. Thankfully enough, the rain subsided long enough in the afternoon to allow our crew to work on the house some. By the end of the day, the crew had completed the felt on the roof, and had most of the shingles in place. So, in spite of the rain, the work went quite well.

While I'm thinking about that, I need to honor our workers. These folks were out in the rain and mud, many with improvised parkas and ponchos on, working in the elements. Their hearts are so focused on helping this community, that rain, sleet, hail or lightning could not keep them from their jobs. They just won't give up! And that's one reason I love these folks so much. They're so intent on finishing the job they came here to do...

And so work on "The Bird House" continues. It's not as glamorous, to be honest, as the new construction is, but it's at least as important. The ceiling in the second story is walled in, the second story balcony is almost completely rebuilt, and the bad side of the roof is repaired.

Last night, we had about 400 people at the Progreso city park for a block party. In conjunction with Pastor Ishmael Gaspar and the Igelsia Bautista Sublime Gracia, we gave out fruit, food, and almost 200 backpacks for the children. Some of our teenagers hung a pinata for the kids, and boy were they excited!!

And all of this, in the middle of a field that was being flooded more as each minute passed. By the time we left, it was like we were on an island in the middle of a lake. Trucks were trying to leave, getting stuck deeper and deeper in mud. It was a wet mess!!!

Continue praying! Things are going well... Let's ask God to continue to allow progress!

Grace and Peace,
Ken and Brandie

Day 11

Rio Grande Valley Rally!

This morning started out with an early morning trip to the lumber yard to buy materials. We bought lots of windows, roofing materials, etc. for Hilda's house, and more plywood for "the bird house."

The work is really going amazingly well. By the end of the day, Hilda's house had a completely dried-in roof, and the house was wrapped in black insulating felt. So, tomorrow, the crew will be ready to put shingles on the house, and begin finishing the interior. The bird house looks a TON better! Half of the roofing material is new, and there's no more danger of falling through the second story balcony!

This evening, I loaded up our crew from Huntsville, and we went to dinner in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico at Arturo's. Dinner was great as always, and we shopped after dinner. I bought an ugly cowboy hat, the kids all got new sweaters, and we bought two silver crosses and a colorful bell maraca for Cooper...

Needless to say, we are ALL tired. It's time to go to sleep and prepare for another early morning tomorrow.

Grace and Peace,
Ken and Brandie

Day 10

It was like magic!

When I got to Hilda Perez's "house" this morning, all that it consisted of was a cinder block foundation and a floor... nothing else. Well, as the saying goes, what a difference a day makes!

This evening, when made the final delivery to Hilda's house, all of the exterior walls were nailed into place, and the ceiling trusses were being lifted up on top of the house. The 20 or so workers at the home were working with incredible teamwork. Everyone seemed to have a job, and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. It was truly a masterpiece of cooperation!

At the other site in Progreso -- affectionately known as "the bird house" -- work was equally astonishing. Aside from the fact that Troy fell off of the roof, and that I stepped completely through the floor of the second story balcony, and that everyone on the job seemed to need a band-aid, the construction was going along very smoothly.

To be completely honest, I have never seen anything so disgusting in my life, though. An entire flock of pigeons has roosted and is building nests in the ceiling of the second story. It is not an exaggeration to say that you can smell the home long before you can see the home. So, the first job was to clean out all the pigeon droppings from the attic. What a disgusting job! As the sweepers donned breathing masks and began to sweep the droppings from the attic out onto the ground below, it looked like an avalanche pouring from the second story. What was most disgusting to me, though, was the two complete pigeon skeletons that the crew swept from the attic. yuck! But, by the afternoon, doors were being hung, and things were definitely looking up!

After the work was complete, we invited the lead volunteers over to our condominium for dinner. I barbecued brisket and sausage, Brandie made beans and potato salad, others brought bread, drinks, and dessert. We had a wonderful time of unwinding from the busyness of the day. As the evening drew to a close, we all stopped and prayed that what God has begun will continue throughout the week. We prayed against the evil that wants this work to cease. We came together and supported one another in the Lord. And we all left refreshed!

I can't wait to see what God does on Tuesday!

Grace and Peace,
Ken and Brandie

Day 9

Thank God for delivery people!

On Saturday, much of the day is spent waiting. This Saturday of KidsHeart was no different. After breakfast, we got a call from ACP -- A Clean Portico -- telling us that the portable toilets were ready to be delivered (I know it's not a pleasant topic, but our crews will be thankful for them by the end of the week!). So Rick and I drove to Progreso to meet the delivery driver and get the toilets delivered.

The next delivery was more construction materials. One of the four sites we are working on had already had walls and roof trusses delivered to the location. This delivery, however, was siding and sheetrock, a LOT of nails, and 7 brand new doors for one site where we are doing some remodeling and repair.

Then it was off to Harlingen for the group's first meeting. Ken Hall from Buckner was the guest speaker for the night, and from all accounts, it was a wonderful time of teambuilding and organization.

One bit of interesting news to come out of the evening was the fact that the officials in the City of Progreso want to meet with us to discuss a proposal whereby we would partner with them to build some houses or other community structures in the city. The partnership could very well be a good one. We have plenty of volunteers, but a limited amount of funds. The city, on the other hand, has substantial monetary resources, but lacks the manpower to complete some of the projects they would like to complete. A meeting will happen later this week between CBF, Buckner, and the City of Progreso to discuss the details.

Pray for cooperation, partnership, and for a productive week of work, beginning Monday morning!

Grace and Peace,
Ken and Brandie

Day 8

The calm before the storm :)

We got to Weslaco and our hotel room at about 1:00pm today. After lunch at the Blue Onion, Brandie finished some work for our volunteers, and Rick and I drove to Monte Alto to deliver paint and supplies to the church where one of our groups will be working. our timing could not have been better, because we pulled up at about the time the pastor of the church arrived. Pastor Bill Hart is a nice gentleman who has been a pastor for 50 years. While we were visiting with him, the supplier for the roofing materials began surveying what the church roof will need. The supplier agreed to get the materials to the church at cost, thus greatly reducing the cost to the church. That, coupled with the volunteer labor that some of our group will provide, will take care of the aging roof on that church. Rick and I estimated that the current roof has been in place for almost 20 years. With the painting on the inside, this church will get a nice facelift.

Friends, here are some things you can pray for...

1. Weather. The forecast calls for rain next week. Much of our work is outdoors, and we need the weather to cooperate.

2. Travel. Many of our people are traveling right now, from all over Texas and Oklahoma.

3. Peace. There's a lot to do, and really a week is not enough time to get it all done. This can make for some difficult days. Pray that we all realize we can't solve everything in one week...

I miss you already, friends!

Ken

Preparing for Round 2

As I type, it's almost 11pm, and Brandie and I are getting ready for another trip. On Friday, we take the whole family to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) for 8 days of meeting needs.
Pray for us. I'll try to update this page as much as possible during the week next week...