Today was our first day working with concrete. We spent all day Tuesday digging the footer for the Phase 1 foundation and putting rebar assemblies in about half of it. The guys also put the forms up around the Pastor House, so that all it would need is the remesh we ordered from the Dominican Republic.
The rented cement mixer was there when we got there this morning. What a blessing it is not to have to mix the cement on the ground like the Haitians do!
We have an awesome combined team from several churches in Kentucky and one from Florida. Everyone pitched in, and under the skillful guidance of Brad, our foreman, began shoveling 5-gallon buckets of sand and gravel and lugging 96-lb bags of cement to feed the mixer. Then a line of wheelbarrows took it to the footer trench and poured it in to be smoothed out by our Haitian volunteer partners.
We poured between 12 and 14 cubic yards of cement in 6 hours, and finished over half of the foundation.
In addition, we dug out the bottom of the septic tank for the Phase 1 bathroom, and put large gravel from the fill in the bottom. It is ready to pour.
Tomorrow the team plans to finish the entire Phase 1 foundation and pour the slab for the septic tank. Friday the plan is to install the rebar posts and remesh for the Pastor House slab floor, making it ready for the next team to start pouring on Sunday or Monday. It should be done next week as well.
During the week we have had several men go with the ladies each day to visit the orphanage children and those of another orphanage close by. They always come back all charged up and wanting to work so much harder for the kids there, so we can get them out of their miserable huts and into a decent place to live before the rainy season.
We all feel extremely humbled and grateful that the Lord has let us be His hands and feet in this work here in Haiti.
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