Mission with Mexico ~ 2014 Day Seven (the last one!)

The Final Work Day…Mission Accomplished…SIGH!!!
Back to the hotel at 12:00 with our work complete. Lunch at 1:00 and then a number of folks are headed to a beach. 80 degree, sunny and a slight breeze.

Yesterday we poured 21.5 110 lb. bags of Portland cement. A batch was a half bag of Portland, 2 buckets of gravel, 3 buckets of sand and about 1.5 buckets of water, so 43 of these batches. Then of course, the mixture was all scooped into buckets (about a third full), down a bucket line, to the scaffolds, and up to the roof. We took about a 15 minute break twice. We started about 8:30 and finished at 12:00 right on time for a downpour. So we had to clean the buckets in the rain. We were drenched rats.

This morning we put a “topping” over what we poured yesterday. This was two mixers batches, each with a full bag of Portland and some sand. This was broomed on top of the rough concrete (especially after the downpour). Then we started on the second roof. I think it took another 11.5 bags of Portland with the gravel and sand recipe. We finished with this by 10:30. Then the cleaning began: all of the form boards, buckets, and the mixer. The scaffolding, boards, and mixer were onto the truck—about a 2 ton truck with the bed about 4 foot off the ground.

This year we have videos that will show the work a lot better than the previous trip in 2012.

The 3 teenagers did well. All worked hard! They have as many sore muscles as the rest of us. Friday during moving the 12 ton of gravel and sand, I was taking a break with Vince. I told him I needed to grow younger to do this again. Vince said, “It doesn’t help!”————-enough said.

We leave the hotel about 8:00 tomorrow for a 11:30 flight. We stop in Cleveland, then Chicago, and back to Moline about 11:00 PM. ~ Roger

Please pray for a good night’s sleep, easier airport experiences, and a safe drive home from the Moline airport.