Day 6
Last day of construction. I definitely had this strange sense of needing to accomplish our task today. we got a later start this morning but it was nice to have time around the house before getting to the work site.
Today on site we finished digging out all of the trenches as well as hauling away all of the dirt that accompanies that digging. The road we were building with all that dirt has turned out to be incredible. Definitely worthy of car traffic very soon!

A few of us ate lunch down the hill on the road we'd been working on all week. Here's a self portrait...

Here are a few pictures of the road we worked on - it's tough to tell the progress, but trust me, it was great and made us all appreciate concrete and machinery that can do this SO much better.


This afternoon we finished hauling away all of the dirt and got reassigned a new task: start clearing land that will soon become the administrative building.


As the day wrapped up, Nathan called us all together and told us to follow him. We went back down the same hill we'd been walking all week - this time without wheelbarrows (all of us commenting on how weird that felt).
Nathan led us to the very edge of the property - specifically where one day he and Claudia will build their own house. He began to paint a very specific, detailed picture for us as we looked out of the property and a beautiful ridge. Outlining where the first four homes will be placed for the boys.

Living with houseparents who are the best parents they have ever known - showing them love and what love really means. They come home from school to warm pie on the table and a fun tree house in this one specific tree on the property. There's a huge rock that he hopes to have the playground centered around so boys can be boys and throw stuff and just have fun. be full of joy.

These boys will grow up learning to love God and become "Oaks of Righteousness." Learning to be the fathers and husbands and men God intends for them to be.
He asked us to split up over the property and pray. It was such a powerful time - just thinking of all those boys whose lives will forever be changed by this one property. That my three days of construction - helping with the foundation of a guard shack, as menial as it may seem now - will have a forever hand print on the boys whose lives will be changed by this property.

Here's our view from the top of the property - absolutely stunning!



"Here I am. Humbled by the Love that You Give."

Forever changed by this week....

Here are some other pictures from the day:

Love this one: Remiggio and demonstrating their machete sharpening skills. I have a video also, but this one cracks me up because Remiggio is standing perfectly still while I take the picture. This sharpener is used by turning a handle to make the wheel spin, not an electric sharpener at all.
A group shot of the guys who worked in the trenches most of the week - picking and shoveling dirt.