Carmen’s Place; Part 3:
Carmen is a warm, energetic, athletic woman
who never stopped working in support of this project in her home the whole time
we were there. When she was not directly supporting the construction work, or
cleaning up, she was maneuvering all her household belongings to keep the way
clear. Her two daughters and her three, young grandsons live in this home with
Carmen.
Prior to our adopting this project, this home was one room. Part of our
construction project is to add additional inside walls which will divide the
space into two, tiny bedrooms and a small kitchen area. These new inside walls
are being built with concrete block because they will be load-bearing walls for
the new rafters and steel roof that is also part of this project. For Carmen’s
place, the four outside walls of her home will remain in place. Our project
includes the addition of significant concrete and block support around the
foundation of this home (remember that this home sits precariously on the side
of a steep ravine), the storm water system which will prevent the erosion of
her foundation in the future, the construction of the new inside walls, and the
complete replacement of her roof which includes replacing rotten wooden rafters
with new steel rafters and a new steel roof. From within the four walls that
already existed at Carmen’s place, a completely new home will rise.
This description of Carmen’s place gives
a hint at the way we have developed our home construction ministry in
partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras these past ten years.
Carmen’s place is the eleventh home we have built or remodeled as part of this
partnership. The congregations we work with in their Presbytery truly own this
mission work. Their mission committees recruit and identify families for new
projects. They interview and carefully vet each family and proposal. The family
is consulted concerning exactly what they want the project to include. Each
home is truly a custom construction job. No two projects are alike. Our
Presbytery has contributed to this ministry by providing the financial support.
We budget from our Honduras Designated Fund $3,000 for each new home project. We
support the organizational, administrative and accounting efforts which must be
the basis for a sustainable mission program. We send mission teams to
contribute to the construction of each home. The Hondurans do not need us to do
construction, but we believe our presence at each home for a week puts a face
on our commitment and enhances our partnership. After all these years working
together, while we are there the construction sites take on the tone of
festive, family reunions.
