One thing that has become obvious this week is that the young people who have come with us have been a huge part of what we have been able to accomplish. There is little substitute for youthful energy and drive. Additionally, the young people of Christ Church continue to show (as they do back in Katy) that they are willing to take initiative on work (not waiting to be told what they must do) and when direction is needed they follow instructions well. It has been a great blessing to me as their pastor to see their joy both at the construction site, and in the evenings at English Camp. It seems that every evening each teen has one or two children hanging (literally) off them – backs, arms, legs! I am not sure who is having more fun, the children in Juarez or the teens from Katy!

Report on Construction from Ken Nesteroff:

On Thursday, the Christ PCA Missions team got an early start at the Mission Torre Fuerte construction site in Juarez. There were no HSE (Health, Safety, & Environmental) injuries or issues. There was plenty of sunshine and a high of 102 deg-F with winds ESE at 5-10 mph. We opened our day with prayer thanking God for allowing us all to server here in Juarez this week. Our safety moment today was on Executing Stop Work Authority which is the ability to right safety wrongs and catch potential unsafe action before it actually happens. This is not only responsible, it’s also effective. In fact, in the oil and gas industry, it’s been one of the most successful approaches to safety in the last decade. The team was encouraged to empower the people around you, encourage them to watch for unsafe conditions or processes, and when it’s necessary, stop the job until it can be done safely. The team completed a lot of work activities today including shoveling and backfilling the left 6-inch drain pipe with dirt, completing the removal of re-bar tower formers, cutting and placing new 16 x 46 inch plywood formers onto installed re-bar towers, and shoveling back fill earth to secure them. There was also new re-bar cut, straightened, and formed into squares. The women’s re-bar tower team used these to build two more towers today. Many cinder blocks were carried to trenches for the brick layers who laid brick for the interior walls of the church. In addition to the professional brick layers, our own quick study, Mark Husband, mortared and laid an interior wall expanding his internship into multiple disciplines!