In May we began work on the construction of a new house for Mama Agnes. Mama Agnes is one of the ladies in the community that we work with who helps reach out to orphans in her area. She feeds between 80-100 kids every day from the porch of her mother’s house. Agnes has her own plot of land, but she has never been able to build a house there.
Last year missionary friends of ours, Chris and Amy Stubbs, hosted a team of college students from Arizona. They built a playground on Agnes’ property. This year the same team returned to build a house for Agnes.
We started the project a week before the team came. Two other missionary friends joined me along with 2 local guys to help dig the foundation. We had to hand dig the foundation, and of course, the ideal location on the site was also the rockiest location. Despite the massive amount of boulders on site, we managed to dig the foundation within the first 3 days.
Even though the college students were not professional construction workers, they learned quickly how to lay bricks and did a great job. Each day they pushed harder and harder to get the job done by the time they left.
Within one week they built all the walls for this nearly 900 square foot home and put the roof on. They also dug the trench for the plumbing pipe to the septic tank, and poured the foundation for a fence along the back of the property. Mama Agnes and a few of her family members came out and worked with us most days.
The project is being funded partially by the Arizona team and also by a group of high school students from California who visited here a few months ago and returned home to put on a fund raiser for Mama Agnes. It’s great to see so many different people and groups come together to make Agnes’ dream a reality.
Madison and Kyler scraping mortar off the window frames
Kyler and Madison painting
There is still a long way to go to complete the house. The speed of construction slows down greatly when it’s just a few people doing it, instead of a team of 14 people. We still need to finish the brick line to fill in the gaps around the roof beams. Then we will plaster the inside of the house, then paint, then pour the concrete floor, then install doors and security gates, then glass in the windows, then kitchen cabinets, then plumbing and electrical, closets, then the septic tank. There’s still a looooong way to go, but we’ll get there eventually.
We are so grateful for God’s provision for Mama Agnes.
Amy Stubbs, Jenny, Mama Agnes and Lincoln in front of Agnes' house
~Lincoln
It's looking like you are making great progress. May God bless your work, Jenny and Lincoln!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan, it's amazing how fast the team worked!
ReplyDelete~Jenny