Because we left early Thursday for the turtle release, the paid workers continued after we left and did the horizontal concrete piers across the tops of the front wall of the three rows of bricks used to raise the height of the roof (higher ceilings allow the homes to be cooler in the heat here in Nicaragua).
After moving lumber and roofing, I took a break and had a friend take a photo of me resting.
Both the paid workers and volunteers continued to work on Alpha team's house.
Omega team got the walls built for the addition on their house.
After lunch, we had the hardest work of the week. The paid workers were putting the concrete on the tops of the highest parts of the side walls. The next two photos show the difference in height of the scaffolding, the first at 2/3 of the way up, the second at the top. Getting the wet concrete up to them was the hard task. Carrying the heavy buckets while on the level is hard work - being tall, I was one of the tall people tasked with hoisting them up to the Benito, the mason who was up at the top of the wall.
Today's work finished the concrete piers on top of the side walls and a couple of the vertical piers in the middle, a monumental amount of lifting.
Around 3:30, Fuller Center had dedication ceremonies. The Omega Team had put on the addition and the new roof. There were many tears shed, as the homeowners now had a roof that did not leak and a new room. Jill had brought bibles in Spanish, inscribed them and then had all of us volunteers sign them - these made great gifts for the families.
Then there was the ceremony at the Alpha team's house. Again, much thanks and many tears.
Once the ceremonies ended, we went back to the hotel. Several of us chose to relax in the pool and drink cold beers - Robin and I discussed our time in the Air Force and discovered that she was a student in MIMSO when I was an instructor at the USAF School of Health Sciences.
We had our last dinner, and after dinner Conner and Meaghan had sea shell awards for all of us and all of the Fuller Staff. We also went around the circle allowing everyone a chance to highlight their time in Nicaragua. It has been a wonderful week - I am always amazed at the people who choose to give their time, money and energy to helping others. We always get far more than we give.
After moving lumber and roofing, I took a break and had a friend take a photo of me resting.
Both the paid workers and volunteers continued to work on Alpha team's house.
Omega team got the walls built for the addition on their house.
After lunch, we had the hardest work of the week. The paid workers were putting the concrete on the tops of the highest parts of the side walls. The next two photos show the difference in height of the scaffolding, the first at 2/3 of the way up, the second at the top. Getting the wet concrete up to them was the hard task. Carrying the heavy buckets while on the level is hard work - being tall, I was one of the tall people tasked with hoisting them up to the Benito, the mason who was up at the top of the wall.
Today's work finished the concrete piers on top of the side walls and a couple of the vertical piers in the middle, a monumental amount of lifting.
Around 3:30, Fuller Center had dedication ceremonies. The Omega Team had put on the addition and the new roof. There were many tears shed, as the homeowners now had a roof that did not leak and a new room. Jill had brought bibles in Spanish, inscribed them and then had all of us volunteers sign them - these made great gifts for the families.
Then there was the ceremony at the Alpha team's house. Again, much thanks and many tears.
Once the ceremonies ended, we went back to the hotel. Several of us chose to relax in the pool and drink cold beers - Robin and I discussed our time in the Air Force and discovered that she was a student in MIMSO when I was an instructor at the USAF School of Health Sciences.
We had our last dinner, and after dinner Conner and Meaghan had sea shell awards for all of us and all of the Fuller Staff. We also went around the circle allowing everyone a chance to highlight their time in Nicaragua. It has been a wonderful week - I am always amazed at the people who choose to give their time, money and energy to helping others. We always get far more than we give.
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