Success! Well mostly.

This morning was our last chance to complete our projects around the Ranch, and we made the most of it. Jan and Steve did some major cleaning of Casa Bondad while Carla and the rest of the boys finished up the Rancho Ebenezer sign. And that's where the 'mostly' comes in. 

We used the front-end loader to move the rest of the letters to the bottom of the hillside where the sign is located and that worked well. But two of the E's broke as we were trying to take them out of the forms and one of them was particularly badly broken. So, after massaging all the letters into place we did a temporary patch on the bad E. Then we set up the formwork for the next team to cast a new E to replace our broken one. As you can see from the photos, you can't really tell from a distance that there is a broken E. Carla planted the flowers accenting the sign which gives it a nice finishing touch. 

The kids and staff all told us how much they liked the new sign, and we hope it adds to their sense of identity as a part of the Ranch family. The cross was a new addition, and we hope it reminds them of Jesus' love for them.

Meanwhile, Jan and Steve were busy cleaning at Casa Bondad, which is where we baked cookies back on Tuesday. They tried to do as much deep cleaning in the bathroom and kitchen as they could in a few hours.

After lunch we had another game time with the kids. The younger kids tend to play board games and do coloring. The older kids like to play card games, chess and checkers. No video games today.

It was a beautiful day, so the kids were all out on the Campo in the late afternoon to play American football and various other games. Some of us watched them and others rested or walked around the campus to enjoy the nice weather while we can. We know what awaits us back home.

By 5:30 it was time to get organized for the much-anticipated weenie roast and closing of our week. Steve and Kris Nelson have this down to a science, which is a good thing when you have 25 kids that can't wait to eat hot dogs. Oh, and of course they are really anxious for their cookies. 

After the kids roasted their hot dogs, our team served the kids their buns, condiments, chips and drinks in assembly line fashion. Some of them come back for thirds and fourths if they can get it.

After we had a chance to eat, we started off a time of sharing with a little ditty that Jan made up. It was set to the tune of 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' and included 5 verses that touched on everything that we did with the kids this week. They seemed to appreciate it. Thank you Jan!

Once the kids and their Counselors left for home, Steve and Kris Nelson sat around the fire with us and we all shared our Pow - most difficult thing, Wow - most impactful thing, and Chow - our favorite food from the week. Steve and Kris have poured themselves into the Ranch and the surrounding community so we greatly appreciate all that they did for us this week. Their four years at the Ranch will end in September and we wish them well. They will be missed.

Tonight, we are starting to pack and get ready for the long trip home. Thank you for reading our blog this week. We look forward to seeing you and telling you more about it.

Cleaning Casa Bondad

Working on the Sign

The Final Product

Game Time With the Kids.

The Weenie Roast.

And a good time was had by all.

Not long after we posted the blog last night the power went out and stayed out until late in the afternoon on Thursday. There is an emergency generator for the Kitchen and Comedor, but not for Casa Grande. So, our morning routine was a little different. 

Today was our day to do projects off the Ranch. Half of us went to the home of Franklin, a former Ranch employee who is now working for another ministry that sometimes houses its mission teams at the Ranch. Our job was to do a concrete floor in an open-air portion of their son Jermis' home. The area will eventually be another enclosed room. The family has a nice large garden with red beans, squash, corn, bananas, avocados, plantains, coffee and rotating crops. They also have chickens for eggs and food. 

We mixed the concrete by hand on the ground that they had already prepared to receive the floor. It was a big job made more difficult by the fact that we are at about 5,000 above sea level. But we had lots of help. Two of the Ranch kids came along to assist us and Franklin and Jermis also did a lot of the work. Also, Martin drove the front-end loader to and from the Ranch multiple times to bring the sand, gravel and cement that we needed. Naturally, as soon as the floor was complete a rooster walked across it and left his footprints.

The other half of our team delivered water filters at the homes of three people. They met all of the people at a local church and instructed them on how to use and clean the filters. Then they went to the homes and set up the filters. Everyone was very appreciative of the filters. They provide a significant health benefit as well as saving money. If maintained well, the filters will last ten years. 

As it was with the medical team last week, the filters provided an object lesson about Jesus being the living water in our lives. Also, the dirty water represents the sin in our lives and the filter represents Jesus purifying us by dying on the cross to pay for our sins. 

The water filter team finished their work before noon and met up with the concrete floor team. Once we finished the floor and the clean up of the tools was done we all sat together and ate the lunch that the Ranch provided. We donated the extra food to the family and they were very appreciative. In fact, they were very thankful for all the blessings God provided today. Before we left, we prayed with them and then we headed the short distance back to the Ranch. 

After recuperating from the day's heavy labors, Martin and Tom decided to test out how to move the letters for the Rancho Ebenezer sign. They used the front-end loader to haul the first three letters to the base of the hill and then carried them up in the wooden drawers that were used for the formwork. To their delight, the letters were strong and easy enough to walk up the hill to the sign's location. Of course, for now the sign says RAN, but that will change tomorrow morning. 

The Water Filter Team

 The Concrete Project for Jermis, Natalia and Mateo

Interesting Blue Beetles

Silliness at the Ranch

A Test Run for the Sign