San Ramon

San Ramon

My first day of construction work began on May 5, 2009 and my initial thought was what in the world did I get myself into! It is probably the hardest work I have ever done in my life! I am now starting my third week and although at times it is very challenging, I love every second of it. It is very rewarding to see the progress we have made and witness the excitement shown in the faces of the family we are building for.

The family we are building for consists of three family members. A mother named Jeanette and two sons, Andres and David. Andres suffers from autism. Although his speech is almost nonexistent he is extremely intelligent and is now a computer engineer. David has cerebral palsy and is constricted to a wheelchair. Jeanette has dedicated her life to taking care of her boys. She is truly amazing! Her heart is huge and I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this house than she is.

The builders include....

Cezar and Edgar

and the team includes.....

Brian, Caroline, Mika, and Me....

We start are day everyday at 7:30 by walking to work.....

and we usually do not get off until 5.

The First week we dug, and we dug, and we dug....

and by the end of each day...I usually looked something like this...

The second week we mixed cement and poured the floors..and yes it was all done by hand!

and by the end of each day...our pants usually looked something like this...

Throughout the two weeks we all worked together and made significant progress!

Unfortunately it is only me left on the project. Brian, Caroline, and Mika all left on Friday. We were all very touched when Jeanette asked us to leave our handprints on the wall of her new house. We would be remembered and be a part of this house and this family forever.

I was nicked name "she"....for some reason Shannon is very hard for Costa Rican's to pronounce.....

Of course we all had some fun at lunch....Futbol!

....and just to give you a feel of the electric we were working with....

(WOW)