"How Firm A Foundation"

Buenos Tardes,
I couldn't resist posting this title!!! It has described our day perfectly!!! I will comment further about what progress we made today, but first I wanted to tell you a little about our trip to the dump yesterday. Our day began after breakfast and devotions. We jumped into two 15-passen-ger vans and headed back to Mexico City. Victor talked with his connections in order to gain en-trance into the dump. A tarp was set up just inside the entrance where all of the activities took place. There was a short skit put on by some characters (i.e. a bumble bee, an ape, and a bear). These characters were brought in by a friend of the Zaragozas. There were adults and children both present - all different ages - infant to senior citizens. Emy had put together speaking parts for all of us - done in pairs. Kyle and I spoke about how God is real. After that, we passed out candy to all of the children (and some adults too.) I was moved by all of the beautiful children and how they enjoyed all that was going on - giggling. The adults listened, some of them seemed kind of skeptical but still listened. We stood around afterward and tried to converse with those that we were able. After all that, we were given permission to enter into the actual section where people go to live and pick through the garbage. That is how they make their living. Just adjacent to this was a pretty nice soccer field where the leader of the dump was dressed in a soccer uniform and drinking a beer. It was an interesting contrast and a little puzzling. We were all moved at what we saw and I will leave our personal comments to share when we come back. Last evening at our group's devotional time, we all questioned why we are so blessed to live in Indiana and why all of those people live at the dump. For me, personally, it was heartbreaking.
I will speak more about that when we get back. But it was also challenging because people are not afraid to approach you and ask what your beliefs are. They want to know. As we were leaving, Julie shared that the mission was accomplished as they have been trying to get a foot in the door to minister. They were invited back to do a Medical Mission Crusade in March. That is awesome. Hopefully, that will lead to a weekly child-oriented ministry that they will call "RE-CYCLING SOULS." I'm not sure how much I will be able to post at a time, but hopefully, this will all go through. We started the day off with breakfast and devotions lead by Greg. Our work today focused on the basement addition. This is located just north of the main house. As you can see in the pictures, we started out with clearing rocks for the above-ground footers. There were many lava rocks to remove. Footers will be poured for the front and back of the building, along with 4 pads in the center that will be the base for columns. It was pretty slow going on the north side. That would be the picture with Ryan, Cory and others picking away with picks. You also can see Alijandro leveling the cement pads. Teena and Emy are now pro's at bending rebar - you can see them at the top of the hill in one of the pictures. As I type this, all 4 pads have been poured and they are starting to place rebar. Just one note....the cement is mixed extremely thick so it can just sit on the surface. They are still picking away at the rock on that north wall. I am amazed at the dirt. It is just like baby powder and we are all covered from head to toe, inside and out. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous...clear skies, sunshine all day - I'm guessing 75? The food has been amazing. There are 2 gracious cooks, Rosa and Pati (Victor's sister). We had ham and cheese quesidilla's (served with guacomole or green salsa), along with apple salad and watermelon juice. Everything is very fresh - fresh herbs, fresh fruit. Watermelon and oranges are in season so they try to eat as much as possible right now. Fresh o.j. put's our concentrate to shame. It is great!!! We pick it up on our way to the ranch every morning in a gallon size cooler. There are street vendors along the way in Tepa. It is a very busy household, and the children exude so much happiness and life. I had better wrap this up as dinner is about ready. We all share house chores when we can (i.e. setting the table, cleaning up, etc.). We are going to go to the market in shifts tomorrow and continue to work. We made some great progress today, but it has been a very physically challenging day for all of us. So please pray for restoration of our bodies tonight with a good night's sleep.
Hasta manana,
Teresa