Anticipation again ran high on the third day as we prepared to finish and furnish the three houses. Six people from each house build team met the three families and escorted them to our bus for a trip to Walmart. Those who remained behind hammered, finished up electrical work, painted, put together furniture and made up beds. We raced to finish everything before lunch and just about accomplished this goal.
Toval Morales Group ready to head to the bus to go shopping.
Ready to check out at Walmart.
Carrying the appliances into the Aguirre Baltodano house.
Making up beds at the Utrecho Dominguez house (aka the Christmas house!).
Group photo of house build team #2 (Aguirre Baltodano Family).
Heading back from the bus with all of the groceries picked out by each family. At the Toval Morales house, there was a big scramble to finish up, but eventually everything was ready.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hall's team finished early and had time to learn a song from Carlos ("Te alabaré").
It was so rewarding to see everything come together, including all of the household items that had been donated ahead of time. We only wished that we had brought more with us.
After lunch each house build team gathered with their family for a key ceremony. The keys to the new houses were passed to each person in the circle and words of encouragement and blessings were given. After the key ceremony, the families unlocked their front doors and entered their houses. A few minutes later the teams knocked on the doors and entered as well. Many tears flowed in the Toval Morales house as we entered and had a time of prayer, and I suspect the same happened in the other houses as well.
Post ceremony photo for the Utrecho Dominguez Family.
Celebration with the Toval Morales Family.
Saying our final good-byes was tough, as we realized that most of us were not likely to see our families again. Our Joshua Expedition guides Gherson and Elise promised to stay in touch and to send letters and photos at some point in the future.
Liliam and Yinissi from the Aguirre Baltodano family.
One final photo, this time with the two ladies who run the shop across the street from the Aguirre Baltodano Family and who keep an eye on the children in the street. A thunderstorm with heavy rain accompanied us on the bus ride back to the hotel, where we had planned to celebrate with a pizza pool party. We moved the pizza indoors, but several students still managed to swim. Once again our evening ended with worship and a debrief session where students and adults shared their experiences and reflected on what they had learned during the week and where they had seen God at work.
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