Smokey and the Bandit?

Hi Everyone,
I will have to type as fast as I can as I don't have alot of time, but I do have alot to share . We just finished a supper of green enchilladas. Victor will be sharing his testimony soon and I don't want to miss that. We had something happen today that I especially wanted to post as it is funny and a reminder of God's awesome protection and provision for us while we are here. Victor and Julie have allowed us to take the burgandy 15-passenger van back and forth to the hotel. It is easier than having to pick us up and take us home each day. We started out this morning and our trip takes us through a local town nicknamed Tepa. In the morning, there is quite a police presence as the children are walking to school (cute as could be) and the road through town is a major highway. Policemen stand in the road and stop traffic so the children can cross. To cut down on the need for police, there are huge speedbumps scattered along the way. Our beloved driver, who we like to call Riggaberto (aka Ryan), was transporting us oh so safely. The road that we need to take, forks off to the right. Just as we forked, we noticed a police van behind us with his lights on. Uh oh....Riggaberto then said to me, what did I do? Just as we noticed the lights, the car approaching us was Victor!!!! He was able to stop and take care of Mr. Policeman. Oh, was he mad!!!! This would have been ugly for us had he not came. From what Victor shared with us, they saw us Americanos in the van and had hoped to extort some money from us for having some tinted windows in the van. Victor said that they know the van well and it was just an excuse to stop us. One thing that was neat about it was that all the way up to that point, we were rehearsing "God is Good, All the Time" in spanish "Dios es bueno, todos el tiempo." We had just said that when Victor appeared. God's sovereignty was amazing and His timing perfect in safeguarding us and placing Victor where we needed him at just the right time. GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!!! Victor was actually on his way to the bakery to pick up some sweet bread for breakfast. Needless to say, we didn't have the sweet bread. That's okay because all of us were reveling in how God had blessed us. I will try to share some information about what progress took place today. Jean, the scenery picture was taken on Julie's balcony in her office. It faces south. I didn't take it of Mt. PoPo as it was cloudy today and you can't see much of it. We got the cement mixer going again. As you can see, we poured the north wall, the column pads, the west wall. The chopsaw was going all day engineered by Mark. He is doing fine. The parametic from the clinic downtown came out to give him his second shot in the rear of antibiotic and looked at his wound. I saw his wound myself and it looks good (i.e. no redness, etc.). Okay, I'm typing so fast - I'm trying to remember everything. It seemed like today was a day where everyone had the opportunity to use a gift or experience that they've had. For example, Kyle worked on trim for the upstairs doors while the cement mixer was being fixed, Whitney and I embroidered the kids' initials on each of the towels that were sent down for them, Megan and Chelsey organized school materials for Julie. That was neat how God used that. It was a better day today and things are progressing. Everyone has worked together great and helps each other out. It rained a little last night, but not enough to settle the 5" dust bowl. HaHa. As you can see in one of the pictures, the columns are being formed up (wood is very expensive here). Tomorrow, the plan is to finish the foundation work and get the rest of the towers up and ready to be formed and poured. We will see as each new day has it's own path. To answer some of the questions, yes we eat every meal together. We have to put up extra tables and chairs. It is no easy undertaking and we have Pati and Rosa to thank. I don't know how many kilometers/miles the hotel is....it's about 10-15 minutes - de-pending upon who is driving. : ) It was cooler today, perhaps low 70's and partly cloudy, but people are getting sunburned. Jane, Cory is doing great! In fact, everyone is. It is such a happy and busy household with much joy. Oh, one other thing....Teena led devotions today and had everyone in tears. She shared letters that Lydia and the girls had sent each day for her and set up a slideshow of all the kids here - all to the song "Let Them Be Little." It was very moving. HOWEVER, I have devotions tomorrow and now I have to top that!!!! Mark follows me on Friday and he threatened to terminate our friendship if I didn't keep it simple. : ) I've got to go as everyone is waiting on me. (P.S. I will change the settings so hopefully more people can post comments if they want without any problems.)

Love & Prayers,
Teresa