Watching.

(This is Part Two, Part one is "Bleak" found below)
That first Monday we spent much of the morning getting ready to pour the cement floor. During this time Deborah was standoffish and seemingly shy. We worked and she watched as two distinct groups of people try to feel each other out as to whom would take which role. You see, for this build, and for the first time since the early days of coming to Juarez, we had another group join with us. Four people from Jonesborough, Georgia had already taken the time off of work when there churches plans to build a house in Mexico fell through. So one day, out of the blue I get a call from an obviously southern gentleman on my phone wondering about joining up with our group. Paul, was his name, and he offered to bring air tools and metal lath instead of the normal chicken wire that we use to get the stucco to adhere to the exterior of the home and some good old-fashioned southern hospitality. I was somewhat skeptical at first but we talked as a team and in our training time a quote from a book that said the “Quality of our love as a team and our ability to incorporate new members is our greatest witness.” Bingo Paul, Kevin, Jeff and Diane joined the build.

So this first morning while we are figuring out our roles, Deborah watched. She had no clue at this point that we hadn’t known each other for 24 hours yet. But she watched and her daughter Crystal watched. The grandkids came home from school and they watched.

Soon the cement truck arrived (yes we pay extra for them because they make life so much more bearable) and we had to wheel barrel the whole floor and men and women, southerners and Yankees all pitched in and it was the fasted and most efficient pour that we have ever had. Everyone worked real hard and Deborah watched us work most of the time with her hands over her mouth in disbelief. Then I was able to get to finish the concrete because that is what I want to do and have some skill at doing it from a previous job. And they all were watching.

The children played and everyone else built wall sections and roof sections and Deborah’s eyes sparkled and her smile appeared to be uncontrollable now in the afternoon sun. Then she started to laugh and smile and laugh some more. At just about the time the sunset was reflecting red off of the Franklin mountains to our north in Texas, we packet up the tools and said our goodbyes until tomorrow. As we left Deborah watched, not us mind you, but her new floor and the piles of sections that would assembled tomorrow. She watched and her eyes danced with excitement that comes from knowing a blessing is right around the corner.

To be continued…. (The picture really is Deborah in her “kitchen!”)