We always start by assessing what projects we can do — at first, it always seems a little overwhelming (part of that is probably because we've had a long trip and we're tired).
After our assessment, we decided our primary focus this trip (in addition to fixing, feeding and cleaning up 3 meals a day) would be to work on kitchen plumbing issues, redo the baby room, and do a lot of general cleaning.
Everitt is working in the kitchen getting a layer of grime off the tiles.
Tim, Bernie and Steve are assessing the plumbing in the kitchen. When we arrived, none of the kitchen sinks were working.
A group went to work pulling out all the racks and pans in the dish room to clean and prepare a space for the new pots, plates, bowls, and silverware we brought.
Meanwhile, new friendships were formed and soccer games were played in the courtyard. Playing with the kids is one of the most important reasons we're there!
Finally towards the end of the afternoon, the drivers came back with our
big Sam's Club order which the kids helped unload and put away.
As the afternoon progressed, we began to see the fruits of our labor. Here is Britt in the cleaned up dish room complete with drying racks for the dishes.
In between our jobs, we took lots of breaks to just love and hug the kids!
All the kids love to have hugs and a lap to sit on if they are little.
Meanwhile, our really big project was redoing the baby room which had recently been flooded. Here is a group cleaning toys and preparing the walls for paint.
Ken spent a lot of time in the pantry cleaning and organizing the food that we brought for our cooking this week.
There is a wonderful new outside grill at Casa Hogar, so we are planning several grilling meals. Ken, our bus driver and member of our team, had a lot of helpers getting the coals ready for a grilled chicken dinner.
Waiting for the coals to get hot and cooking enough chicken for a 150 people takes a long time, so there was plenty of time to hold babies while they took naps.
Another group got all the plates and dishes unpacked that All Saints members donated. We have been using the new dishes this week and they work great!
The dinner crew was ready to serve a late dinner, "Mexican time," at about 9:00 p.m.
Paloma with one of the babies from the baby room.
Brett and Penny singing in the baby room before the painting began.
After a long day, we are all exhausted but glad we were able to get so much done!
One of our old friends, Juan, stopped by to see us and join us for dinner. Juan is one of the college students that All Saints supported. He graduated with a degree in industrial management and works for a utility company now. He, his wife, and newborn son live at the Volu, the other "casa" where the older boys live.
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