Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A Mission, Texas Construction Team Update

2014 Mission Construction Projects


Los Naranjos Mission Patio & Bathroom
The local church community meets under a patio deck of one of the parishioners.  The patio cover was flapping in the wind and sagging very badly.  It needed more support rafters and the metal roof to be fastened down better.  However, the only time we could work on it was in the afternoon as the kids played on the site during the morning VBS time.  So, the team worked extra hard each day to pound out as much work as possible in the few hours they had each afternoon.  By the end of the three days, the patio had more than a dozen new rafters, significantly less sagging, and the roof was secure and safe.  The team also prepped their church bathroom for painting by mudding and taping all the drywall.
Before















Under Construction:















Los Naranjos Purple House
Last year our team had the privilege of helping one of the church families plumb and complete their bathroom, as well as complete one bedroom ceiling and texture/paint their walls.  We installed their toilet, bath/shower and sink/vanity for the bathroom.  This family is a single mother and her children who also support their grandmother and a disabled brother.  Apparently, this same house also had a 2nd bathroom (the brother’s) that had not yet been plumbed. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that at the time last year.  So this year we came back and finished off the 2nd bathroom for them.


Before:

After:




Los Naranjos Room Addition
What started as a small add-on project to help a church family build a small bedroom for their precious daughters turned into a much more ambitious endeavor.  Originally slated to be a 12 foot by 12 foot room, once on site, the project expanded into a 12 foot by 24 foot addition.  Complete with a laundry area, large bedroom, and space for a future bathroom the addition was completed in record time and stretched the entire team to the limits.  In 3 long days, with a ton of God’s help, we constructed the project from the ground up, including siding, roofing, electrical and even plumbing for the washing machine.  We brought a dream team of experienced construction tradesmen on this trip, and this one job tested everyone of their limits.  What a joy it was to watch them all serving Him by serving others on this job.  We should also note that God was so faithful for this job.  Early on we were afraid we wouldn’t have enough funding to support it.  That we had such an incredible team, but not enough to do.  But God blessed us with some additional funding at the last minute, and His glory was on full display as a result of it.

Before:


End of Day 1:

Nearly Done:



The girl whose room we were building:


Praying with the family inside the new addition:



Los Naranjos Pedro’s House
This house was built by another missions team, but still needed a ton of drywall, texture and paint work.  It also needed a lot of work on the one bathroom servicing their family of 7.  The parents and younger children were all gone working and at daycare during the day, but their oldest son, Eleu, jumped in to help however he could.  Developing a relationship with Eleu was by far the most lasting and most impactful part of this job.  Yes, we gave that house a life-long paint job and a functioning bathroom, but it’s the eternal relationship with the young man of the house that God smiled brightest about.  

Before:



















































After: