It was Monday and our first work day at Guadalupe's house in San Isidro. After a breakfast of huevos rancheros, red beans, fresh melon and locally-grown coffee, the twenty-seven mission workers climbed into the back of a truck for the thirty minute ride along a rough, curvy, gravel road into San Isidro. San Isidro was not much more than a community of a few houses and a little store along the road. The Heart to Honduras compound was the hub of the community with its office and large, open shed for storing vehicles and supplies. We jumped out of the truck and loaded the bed with all the lumber needed to build two houses and the generator, known as "El Diablo" because of its massive size. Once loaded with materials, two of the four teams climbed up on top of the lumber for the short ride to our building sites. Guadalupe'
s block foundation and concrete floor were already in place when we arrived. It was situated on a narrow piece of land between a valley and a barbed wire fence along a dirt road. There was about three feet of clearance on each side of the house. A second house was being built down a path behind Guadalupe's house only assessable by squeezing along the barbed wire fence. All the lumber and El Diablo had to be unloaded from the truck. Half of the lumber was stacked for Guadalupe's house and the other half had to be carried down the path to the other location. It is amazing how quickly a simple 18' x 16' house can be constructed. Our team was made up of three men, five women and a Heart to Honduras construction leader. Since Gua
dalupe did not have electricity, El Diablo was fired up and the building commenced. I found a lightweight hammer and I hammered nails into the two-by-fours and siding. By lunch time, all the stud walls were up and the wood siding had been started. We climbed back into the truck and rode over to the office for a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while resting on the concrete paving of the compound. By the end of the second day, the simple house with two doors and windows was complete. To most Americans, we would consider it a shed or garage but to Guadalupe it was a mansion. Before sta
rting construction, our team was able to visit Guadalupe's house which was down a slight hill from the new house. I could not believe she and her husband along with their twins, Ande and Andre, were living in such conditions. It was basically a shed made of planks with a piece of tin leaning against it to keep out some of the rain. The floor was hard, packed dirt. We had immediately noticed a jagged, broken mirror leaning on the wall and decided to buy her a new one when we went into Santa Cruz on Wednesday to buy items for the house.
s block foundation and concrete floor were already in place when we arrived. It was situated on a narrow piece of land between a valley and a barbed wire fence along a dirt road. There was about three feet of clearance on each side of the house. A second house was being built down a path behind Guadalupe's house only assessable by squeezing along the barbed wire fence. All the lumber and El Diablo had to be unloaded from the truck. Half of the lumber was stacked for Guadalupe's house and the other half had to be carried down the path to the other location. It is amazing how quickly a simple 18' x 16' house can be constructed. Our team was made up of three men, five women and a Heart to Honduras construction leader. Since Gua
dalupe did not have electricity, El Diablo was fired up and the building commenced. I found a lightweight hammer and I hammered nails into the two-by-fours and siding. By lunch time, all the stud walls were up and the wood siding had been started. We climbed back into the truck and rode over to the office for a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while resting on the concrete paving of the compound. By the end of the second day, the simple house with two doors and windows was complete. To most Americans, we would consider it a shed or garage but to Guadalupe it was a mansion. Before sta
rting construction, our team was able to visit Guadalupe's house which was down a slight hill from the new house. I could not believe she and her husband along with their twins, Ande and Andre, were living in such conditions. It was basically a shed made of planks with a piece of tin leaning against it to keep out some of the rain. The floor was hard, packed dirt. We had immediately noticed a jagged, broken mirror leaning on the wall and decided to buy her a new one when we went into Santa Cruz on Wednesday to buy items for the house.
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