Work Projects

We did a lot of different projects while we were in the village. The only constant one was bricks. In the picture below you can see the press that we used. Each brick was made entirely by hand. We dug the clay and sand, sifted them, mixed them with water in cement in the large bucket and measured and pressed them into bricks. The most we made in a day was about 225.

Nearly everyone spent some time at this project. It was ongoing. Right now, there are several temporary classrooms that have been created for the fourth through sixth graders until their final building is built. It will need close to 30,000 bricks. The contracter began pouring cement while we were there. This project was hard, tiring work, but so needed, and very satisfying. How many people can claim that they know how to make bricks from scratch? By the end of our time we had all of the measurements memorized. 

They recently opened  a youth hostel for the children who were walking 2 or more hours each day to school where they can spend the week and go home to their families on the weekend. We extended the floor of the house out and constructed squat toilets. 

The team also did some construction projects such as building workbenches for ITDP staff and shelves and counters in the kitchen.

Part of the team also worked on agricultural projects, such as planting and building a pig pen; unfortunately I don't have pictures of that. They even got to peel bark of branches using machetes. Jungle-style construction.

The only other major project was VBS. Our theme was trusting God in everything, from trials to salvation. It was so fun. We had a lot of kids, and we did all sorts of crafts including tie-die. 

Our Wall of Jericho

There were several miscellaneous projects - painting, organization, trenching, etc. But for most of the trip, the team worked on these things. 

Home Again

Our flight landed at around 9 pm tonight, and we arrived here in San Diego at around 1:30 this morning...I will share more stories over the next few days. :)

City Time

Hello! We arrived safely back in Chiang Mai yesterday evening without incident. After a whole bunch of nonstop rain on Wednesday afternoon, we were afraid that the mud might make it hard to get out of the villages, but the Lord was gracious and we were blessed with clear skies and sun for the time that we needed to leave.

The team is doing well...it was really hard to leave our friends in the villages. Roberto is also still struggling with illness, so please continue keeping him in your prayers. Today, we are taking an easy day to rest and recuperate. People are running a few errands, we have a team debrief, and then a traditional Thai dinner tonight, but for the most part, we are just chilling and resting. Tomorrow, we have plans to visit the tigers, snakes and elephants and spend more time at the ITDP offices debriefing.

There are so many stories to tell...we will try to share some of them over the next few days. Please keep praying for endurance for these next few days. Additionally, please pray for our time processing the trip and what we have learning. Thank you all!