DENGE strikes again...

Jonathan is in the hospital with Denge fever (a tropical disease contracted from mosquitoes). He has been in the hospital for a few days without them knowing what was wrong. Yesterday the "infectious disease" specialist saw him and dignosed Denge. This is actually a good thing because now they know what they are dealing with and can treat it. The other good thing is that he is not contagious (good because my family visited him in the hospital a couple days ago :)) We will visit him again today on the way to the embassy to pick up Anzo's visa. Jonathan will be heading home in a few days instead of staying until the 23rd. I will be presenting our report to the leaders of Balcones regarding future improvements to the water system

Block home started...

Paul and I started the construction of our new block design home in San Pablo Atitlan for a widow and her two daughters who are Tzutujil Mayan and do not speak Spanish. The local pastor Tono was able to translate for us from Tzutujil into Spanish and she expressed her immense gratitude. She even helped where she could by carrying dirt in for fill using a 1 gallon pale. We carried in the sand and gravel using 1 Gal pales and potato sacks. We mixed the rock, sand and cement on the pad of the building using a couple shovels and hoes. (oh, to have a pumper truck).

With all prototype designs, it started slow. In our three days there we got the reinforcement placed and foundation laid. The Pastor Tono was previously a contractor and I was able to go over the plans and the construction process with him and he will finish the building with some other people from the church. Paul will return tomorrow to check on the process.

Her home will be the 4m x 6m home design. I anticipate that the final cost of the building will be less than $1500 with a water filter and high efficiency wood stove. All the materials are locally produced and/or sold so this will help bolster the economy as well.

Update on San Pablo

Remember the house we built for Jorge in San Pablo?(The Lake Houses Jan 22, 2007) Here it is finished. Jorge finished the door and window and the stucco on the outside and it looks great.

We have created a new design for a home using block. The design takes longer to build but is cheaper. Paul and I will be building the prototype this next week (may 6-8) for a widow and her children. Hopefully the construction will go well and we can build another in San Pablo and 9 more in other locations in July and August.

San Pablo is made primarily of adobe. some of which is not even made from adobe bricks but rather from corn stalks in a grid with mud on them. Many of these homes are barely standing but we still are limiting our construction for those recommended by the local church who have no home at all.

Balcones...

Finally I post on the work in Balcones. Jonathan has been with us since January and we have worked together in the refugee community of Balcones de Palin. His original task was to be the construction manager for the design and construction of a new water tank, a suspension bridge to anothe comunity, and a clinic. This has been shortened down to the design and construction of the tank and evaluation/reparation plans for the water system (welcome to Guatemalan timelines).

I feel like I have had a lot to contribute to this project in particular. Most of the eMi projects revolve around structural systems where I know the least. With this project I was able to really teach Jonathan about Hydraulics in pipes and come up with some creative ways to overcome some very difficult conditions.

We knew things were going to be tough when the people tore down the old tank without telling us and before the tank design was even finished. From the huge rock under the tank area that broke the backhoe and the neighbors slab, that was too big to remove from the site and is still sitting in the road; to the workers being accustomed to certain construction and not listening to Jonathan's advice, to undersized pipes broken all over with holes drilled in them "to let the air out". It has been quite a journey. At virtually every step there was a new obstacle. Solving one problem only seemed to uncover 5 more but God has given us the grace, patience and creativity to meet them head on and, I believe, come up with some great, creative solutions .

Jonathan has been able to grow professionally as well as personally by working and living in such a challenging environment. We have had some great times studying the word in how God relates to men and discussing how to bring these trues into daily life.

The tank is nearing completion and Jonathan will return home May 23. I consider it a privilage that I was able to work with him in the office, have so much fun having him the times he was living in our home, and approach new discoveries on site while living in Balcones.