Building Updates

Here are a few more pictures of the progress. Unfortunately rainy season started a little bit early this year and it has slowed us down a bit, but other than that there have been no other major concerns yet! (i'm not sure why its underlining all of my typing, but I can't figure out how to make it stop...sorry).

Here the guys are working on the roof and beginning to build the outer walls.

As rain comes and goes the guys hide under the roof to try to stay dry.

Bayanihan. Neighbors and friends come by to help put up a new bamboo fence.

Outside walls and window jambs are up and in place.

A view from the other side

Here we see the plywood walls that face towards the inside of the compound.

Pastor Mon putting together a door for the new rooms!

Here we can see the concrete has been laid for the new floors

A masonry guy works to smooth over the walls so they look nice. (tough to see it in this dark picture, but to the right is nice and finished while to the left is still exposed hollow block)

All in all everything is looking good. Still have a ways to go with putting in the electrical stuff, tiles, interior walls, and others....but no complaints. I've been doing my best to help out, but find it has been much easier for them to do what they do best and stay out of the way. They did let me stack a few hollow blocks for the walls, but later when we went back and check it out we noticed I had laid one a little off line with the others. Although I was able to fix it I pretty much banned myself after that....

The center recently hosted a "medical mission" in which doctors from metro manila and around the Philippines gave a free two day medical consultation to those who cannot afford a doctor. At the mission the doctors did eye checkups and gave out free glasses with prescriptions, did dental check-ups and pulled lots of teeth (not sure if they did anything besides that with the dental), checked basic health and gave advice or free medicines, and also...my favorite, gave free circumcisions to all the local boys (if they wanted it of course). Boys here don't get circumcised until their teenage years or "as a right of passage" to manhood...as they would say. I don't quite get it, but I really felt for the line of 13 and 14 year old boys who fearfully sat outside the door where the procedure was performed. Ouch! The nurses even asked me if I wanted to watch a procedure, but unfortunately I had to go to soon...They said it takes nearly 30 minutes!!! How on earth is that?? Just get it over with already! Apparently, back in the day (or even sometimes for those who still aren't lucky enough to run into a free medical mission) this procedure was done by local person with a VERY sharp Bolo or Machete. The person gave it one quick slice then the boy ran into the ocean while sucking on some kind of leaf. When they get out of the water they spit their saliva in the leaf and use it as a bandage for their recently chopped manhood....Ouch.

Really though, it was great to see Filipinos doing this kind of service (the overall medical mission...not just the circumcision) for their own country.