The plans for this week

Saturday we spent a good deal of time discussing the scope and sequence of the projects we are going to be working on while we are here. So far, the list is looking something like this:

Home Construction
We are planning to build one new community kitchen, and add on to another home in the village of Cinco Senores (literal translation, "five men"), which is a very small village near Hualahuises (wall-a-wee-sis). The community kitchen is for an elderly couple (Felix and Teresa) and their extended family that lives around them. The addition is for a somewhat younger man, Alexander, whose wife has diabetes and is on kidney dialysis. They are too poor to pay doctors to do the dialysis, so they have some equipment at home. The addition to their home is to have a dedicated area for doing the dialysis that is clean, etc.

Church Building Modifications
The church building in Vista Hermosa that Alfredo is now in charge of is getting a number of things done to make it more usable for its intended purpose. The top priority is to complete the bathrooms, which involves installing the toilets and completing the plumbing to and from them (where is Larry when you need him). In addition to the bathrooms, we are going to be putting drop ceilings into two of the smaller rooms to provide some sound proofing. Right now the noise from the children in these rooms spills over into the main meeting area. Curtains are also going to be installed to provide privacy and reduce the distraction to the church attendees. As time permits we will also be fixing and painting the benches and painting the floor.

Today, Sunday, we are going to be worshipping with the believers that meet at the DeHoyos home. Jerry and Dane Gunn will be preaching, and there may be some special music as well. After the service, an "American Lunch" will be provided to the people of the church. The menu of the meal includes hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad, and chocolate chip cookies.

Kerry Mendenhall is struggling with nausea. I believe it started yesterday afternoon... she gracefully filled a plastic bag with the contents of her stomach while we drove back to the hotel last night. She is still not feeling very well this morning, so Phil is going to stay at the hotel with her while we go to church. Please pray for a quick recovery.