The Cross Country Trek

July 18th-Day 40
    Yesterday we built another house.  We built out at Cataluna again and my team had a decent work site.  We were able to get it square much quicker than on Saturday and as we started digging holes we realized that one of them was only going to be 4 inches deep because there was a boulder the size of a car right under the ground and in the front corner we had another rock the size of a V8 engine.  We were able to get the smaller one out after about 15 minutes of prying on it.  As we went to lift it out, a tarantula ran out from under the rock and we quickly took care of it.  After that we were able to get all the post in with a little convincing and we were off to the races.  The build went very smooth again and we were finished by about 2.  We then went over to the other house and a few of our team helped them for about an hour and a half as they finished and the rest of us chilled or played with kids.  Once we finished up we all loaded the bus and headed back to the mission house.  We got back about 4:30 and had some time to rest and shower before dinner at 6:30.  For some reason I was pretty sore after finishing the house.  It was the start of another round of getting worn down.  We kept the same build teams that we had on Saturday so my team worked great together again.
July 19th-Day 41
    Today we built a 2 houses out in the La Tigra rain forest out the backside of the mountain that the mission house is on.  Just like the last time we built at there, we had to build in a swamp like area.  We got to the site and Mark Connell was behind us with wood for both of the houses, they were both right next to each other.  When we realized we couldn't get the truck with wood up the hill to the sites, our hearts sank.  We had to carry the wood and tools for both houses what we think was just over a half a mile to the sites.  It was slippery and muddy the entire way.  When we made the first trip there with some wood and the tools, Mark Connell took a few guys and started squaring up the house for his team and I took a few guys and started squaring up the one for my team.  When we started digging the post holes, we realized we were digging more of a well.  The holes quickly filled up with water and unlike last time we didn't have any concrete to put around the post.  We packed them full of dirt and leveled them up and started up with the walls as a few of us started getting the floor ready.  We had two more really great builds and two more families now have a home to call their own.  Mark's team finished about 10 minutes before we did which was great.  We were finished with them both by 3 and were back at the mission house by 4.  So far on the 3 builds I've been able to get some fresh blood up on the roofs, both the Jensen girls, Erin, Ally, Jenna, and a few others.  The girls have done a great job getting up there and roofing.  Today we are all absolutely wore out.  Carrying wood and the semi tough sites have taken their toll on the group.  I know that I haven't been this wore out in a while.  I'm not sick, my body is just wore slap out and that's not just me but a lot of people in this group.  We've been playing spoons the last few nights and I'm sitting here at the table about to join in when I finish typing and it's easy to see that reactions times are fairly slow tonight.  Tomorrow we have another full day.  We have a team going to Mololoa to work in the daycare and kitchen as well as a group of 8 going to do some repair work and painting on the buildings out there.  We have a group going to the hospital in the morning and then coming back to the mission house to pack up three loads of food to be given out on Thursday.  I'll be leading another house build tomorrow out at the Valley of Angels, we are only building one tomorrow so hopefully some of these guys can have a light day to rest up a bit because I know most of them are completely worn out.  So tomorrow should be another great day.  The weather has co-operated with us fairly well, it's been a little warm but the rains haven't shown their face so far during the days we've been building.  But this game of spoons seems to be gaining life so it's time for me to jump in.  May the force be with you!