Tici Truly
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A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,
but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Estimated Time of Arrival
Hello to All! We are well on our way home! We had planned on making one more stop on the way, however, all 71 of us voted to press on and get home sooner. If all goes well and we do not have to stop, we should pull into the church parking lot at approximately 4:45pm! We are a little tired but excited to share our adventures with you. Don't forget to come to tomorrow morning's worship service at 9:30 am at the church to hear all about the trip and what we learned.
Tici Truly
Tici Truly
Friday, June 20, 2008
Arrival in Pasadena
Hey folks,
Thanks for checking in on us. We have arrived at Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, where we will be spending the night. Prior to bunking down on a hard floor, we head out for a little dinner and some "rock & roll bowling."
We had a good day of driving, a couple of little diversions coming out of Mexico - two of the vans got separated from the rest and crossed at a different border crossing. Three of the vans and the truck with the trailer got pulled into secondary screening at the border. Van 1, with all of the bags for everyone on the trip (stacked floor to ceiling) was not favorable to the border folks. However after looking at it (and us) for a while, they decided that we were probably not drug or weapons smugglers and they just didn't have the enthusiasm to empty it out. They let us pass.
One of the vans had mechanical issues after crossing the border. Well maybe it had issues prior to that, but we just didn't feel inclined to worry about it until it started that irritating beeping and the air conditioner quit working. Anyway, we traded it in for another van. It turns out the new one only holds eight people instead of twelve. So, we're a little more cozy and friendly now.
Everyone is doing great and having a good time. We look forward to seeing you all.
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Thanks for checking in on us. We have arrived at Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, where we will be spending the night. Prior to bunking down on a hard floor, we head out for a little dinner and some "rock & roll bowling."
We had a good day of driving, a couple of little diversions coming out of Mexico - two of the vans got separated from the rest and crossed at a different border crossing. Three of the vans and the truck with the trailer got pulled into secondary screening at the border. Van 1, with all of the bags for everyone on the trip (stacked floor to ceiling) was not favorable to the border folks. However after looking at it (and us) for a while, they decided that we were probably not drug or weapons smugglers and they just didn't have the enthusiasm to empty it out. They let us pass.
One of the vans had mechanical issues after crossing the border. Well maybe it had issues prior to that, but we just didn't feel inclined to worry about it until it started that irritating beeping and the air conditioner quit working. Anyway, we traded it in for another van. It turns out the new one only holds eight people instead of twelve. So, we're a little more cozy and friendly now.
Everyone is doing great and having a good time. We look forward to seeing you all.
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You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
- Mark Twain
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Building Complete
house, the double wide house and the school room all got
completed. By the end of the day everyone was tired, but feeling
great about our accomplishments. Each site had a ceremony to turn
the keys over to the families or, in the case of the school, the
school superintendent. Congratulations to all the teams who so hard
to create a better life for these families and children.
Two of our sites got a visit from the mayor of Rosarito today. He
wanted to thank our people for their hard work (it may have also been
election time).
Today's work consisted of roofing, stucco and trim. By the end of the
day, most of us were covered with stucco (cement & sand). The
roofing crews had to work on the hot roof nailing down asphalt and
sealing it with tar.
Again, we made it through another with no serious
injuries. Everyone, of course, had the scrapes and prick of chicken wire.
Tomorrow, we will begin our long journey home. We, of course, look
forward to seeing all of you.
Jim
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday -- We Think
What an amazing day we had today.
Site 1, our single home, is looking like a "real" house! We affixed all the tar paper, added the bailing wire, chicken wire (picked up a few handy tricks with PVC pipe to make our walls smooth and flat), installed two of the windows (complete with hand cranks and screens), and started mixing and applying stucco to the front of the house. It's really coming together.
Site 2, our "double-wide" has also progressed pretty rapidly. While we have not started applying stucco, we did finish the rest of the house and got two windows installed.
Site 3, our school, has nearly completed our roof -- but has all the chicken wire in place and ready for stucco tomorrow.
Everyone is working very hard, and it's very hot. The sun beats down relentlessly from 7:30am - 5:30pm (that's our L-O-N-G work day). Our campsite, which is closer to the ocean, enjoys cooler temperatures and right now the fog has rolled in and it feels a little like San Francisco. Thank goodness for big bonfires to keep us toasty!
Everyone has settled into a routine and has figured out how to get themselves up in the morning (6:30 am!), fix their lunch (and get it into the right cooler), eat breakfast, apply sunscreen, and get their tools together before our 7:30 departure. We count off and have only ONCE had to wrestle someone from their tent who seemed to have slept through the entire wake up process.
To keep clean, the sun shower process is a bit of an ordeal... imagine walking across a large field covered with tents to a wooden structure. The front of the structure has about 8 barrels of water for you to fill your sun shower. It only took one time to figure out you couldn't just "dunk" your bag in the barrel and it would fill with water. Instead, we now work as a team to bring used water bottles or juice containers to pour water into the sun shower. You then have to walk behind the showers to the muddy area and drop your sun shower in an easy-to-find spot and hope for the best. At the end of the day, you change into your swimsuit and towel, shudder across the field (it's a little nippy at 7:30pm), retrieve your sunshower and enter the "boys" or "girls" area. Inside is a large open space with nails in the walls at intervals and plastic mats for you to kneel on while you shower. AAAHHHHH. Luke warm water trickles over your head as you pray you can shampoo, condition and rinse before the trickle of water runs out. Brrrrrrr.....
Equally pleasurable are the "facilities". Luckily our group of tents are upwind of the collection of "houses". We continue to have to stand
Evenings around the campfire are the best. Lots of laughter, music (at least 2 kids playing guitar and 2 on drums), some light and some deep conversations. Friends bonding; new friendships being formed; kids and adults hanging out together. It's a relaxing way to wind down the day before taking a few Advil for some creaky bones and hitting the sleeping bag.
Tomorrow we stucco!!
Submitted by Carolyn (who really in Rosarito working alongside Tici, and NOT in a Mexican Spa).
Site 1, our single home, is looking like a "real" house! We affixed all the tar paper, added the bailing wire, chicken wire (picked up a few handy tricks with PVC pipe to make our walls smooth and flat), installed two of the windows (complete with hand cranks and screens), and started mixing and applying stucco to the front of the house. It's really coming together.
Site 2, our "double-wide" has also progressed pretty rapidly. While we have not started applying stucco, we did finish the rest of the house and got two windows installed.
Site 3, our school, has nearly completed our roof -- but has all the chicken wire in place and ready for stucco tomorrow.
Everyone is working very hard, and it's very hot. The sun beats down relentlessly from 7:30am - 5:30pm (that's our L-O-N-G work day). Our campsite, which is closer to the ocean, enjoys cooler temperatures and right now the fog has rolled in and it feels a little like San Francisco. Thank goodness for big bonfires to keep us toasty!
Everyone has settled into a routine and has figured out how to get themselves up in the morning (6:30 am!), fix their lunch (and get it into the right cooler), eat breakfast, apply sunscreen, and get their tools together before our 7:30 departure. We count off and have only ONCE had to wrestle someone from their tent who seemed to have slept through the entire wake up process.
To keep clean, the sun shower process is a bit of an ordeal... imagine walking across a large field covered with tents to a wooden structure. The front of the structure has about 8 barrels of water for you to fill your sun shower. It only took one time to figure out you couldn't just "dunk" your bag in the barrel and it would fill with water. Instead, we now work as a team to bring used water bottles or juice containers to pour water into the sun shower. You then have to walk behind the showers to the muddy area and drop your sun shower in an easy-to-find spot and hope for the best. At the end of the day, you change into your swimsuit and towel, shudder across the field (it's a little nippy at 7:30pm), retrieve your sunshower and enter the "boys" or "girls" area. Inside is a large open space with nails in the walls at intervals and plastic mats for you to kneel on while you shower. AAAHHHHH. Luke warm water trickles over your head as you pray you can shampoo, condition and rinse before the trickle of water runs out. Brrrrrrr.....
Equally pleasurable are the "facilities". Luckily our group of tents are upwind of the collection of "houses". We continue to have to stand
Evenings around the campfire are the best. Lots of laughter, music (at least 2 kids playing guitar and 2 on drums), some light and some deep conversations. Friends bonding; new friendships being formed; kids and adults hanging out together. It's a relaxing way to wind down the day before taking a few Advil for some creaky bones and hitting the sleeping bag.
Tomorrow we stucco!!
Submitted by Carolyn (who really in Rosarito working alongside Tici, and NOT in a Mexican Spa).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,
but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day two of building
The second day is done. We had a very productive day. Site 1 (single
house) has all their walls up and the roof framing on. Site 2
(double-wide house) has all of their wall up and site 3 (classroom)
has the foundation finished and the walls built and ready to be
tilted up. Everyone is doing well, no injuries and no illnesses.
house) has all their walls up and the roof framing on. Site 2
(double-wide house) has all of their wall up and site 3 (classroom)
has the foundation finished and the walls built and ready to be
tilted up. Everyone is doing well, no injuries and no illnesses.
Camp life is great, good camaraderie, lots of music, food is good and
cold showers are great. The camp population has grown to over a
thousand and we have 14 wonderfully rustic pit toilets - you do the math.
Your kids are awesome!
Jim
classroom foundation finished
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sleepy Hollow Kicks Butt
So ends our first day… Building site #1 (Single house) has completed their foundation and has build the roof framing. Building site #2 (the double wide) has also completed their foundation and roof framing Building site #3 (the school classroom) ran into some problem. A late start because we had to wait for some officials from the State to approve the location of the classroom. Once they arrived, the location turned out to on the opposite side of the school from we had placed our building materials. With assistance from members of team 1 and 2, we were able to complete half of the foundation and all of the roof framing.
Everyone worked hard. No injuries. Lots of tired folks at the end of the day. Spirits are high and the camaraderie is great. Wish you were here
Everyone worked hard. No injuries. Lots of tired folks at the end of the day. Spirits are high and the camaraderie is great. Wish you were here
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A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,
but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Arrival at Camp
Hey Everyone,
We have arrived at our camp in Rosarito. We're not to far from the ocean, so we have a nice cool breeze. There's about 400-500 people in the camp with us. We have plenty of room in the tents.
We visited the job sites after unloading all of our camping supplies. All three sites are very close to each other. We will be building a single house up a very steep hill (similar to "Top Shelf" last year). About a hundred yards up the street, we are building a double-wide home that will be attached to a small existing home. About a quarter mile away, we will be building a new classroom for an existing school. The classroom will be the same same as a double-wide house.
Everyone is doing well. Spirits are high. We are preparing tools and supplies for our first day of work tomorrow. Wheel barrow building competition is under way.
We have arrived at our camp in Rosarito. We're not to far from the ocean, so we have a nice cool breeze. There's about 400-500 people in the camp with us. We have plenty of room in the tents.
We visited the job sites after unloading all of our camping supplies. All three sites are very close to each other. We will be building a single house up a very steep hill (similar to "Top Shelf" last year). About a hundred yards up the street, we are building a double-wide home that will be attached to a small existing home. About a quarter mile away, we will be building a new classroom for an existing school. The classroom will be the same same as a double-wide house.
Everyone is doing well. Spirits are high. We are preparing tools and supplies for our first day of work tomorrow. Wheel barrow building competition is under way.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,
but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
Saturday, June 14, 2008
FW: Mexico Mission Day 1 Update!
Hello everyone!
Our group has arrived at Mission Hills Church safety after a long day of driving and are now heading now out for dinner. The relief drivers are flying back, all students have been picked up from the airport. All is well. Their spirits are good.
Love to all,
Mair
On the Road
Interstate 5 with its golden wheat fields laid out beside us. We
have food, friends, and fuel. The road is long, but not
winding. Our spirits are high, well except for those who are asleep
(Grad Nite last night). Next stop Colinga.
Monday, June 9, 2008
School Building Project
The Jardin de Niños Octavio Paz located in the community of Ampliacion Plan Libertador in Rosarito is awating your arrival. They currently have 128 students enrolled and are in need of your support to build them a room. Thank you for your support in this project that will benefit the children of our community.
SHPC Mission blessing
On Sunday June 8th, the SHPC service included the blessing of the Mexico Mission. Most mission members were on hand for the service.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Introduction
On June 14th, 2008, the Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church's Mexico Mission will depart for Mexico. This year's group includes 65 people including 10 adults, 5 college aged team leaders and 50 high school students. This group includes many experienced builders as well as a large number of first timers. The group will travel by van leaving at approximately 7:00 am on the 14th and will arrived in San Diego around 6:00 pm.
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