Sorry for the short posts, but I want to get some pics to you sooner than later…
The Roof Trusses are coming!
The walls are coming up!
We are making progress and the walls are going up. This is hard work, punctuated by lots of standing around. I think we will be tacking up the drywall tomorrow.
Whoo Hoo!!!!
We are in Colombia working hard to build a large dormitory restroom. Today we finished 90% building the framing. Tomorrow we will be erecting walls and ceiling.
Monday is in the bag!
Look what we accomplished! We put together about 30 framing members and 2 trusses before the rain hit us at about 3pm. All we have left is to put one more truss together and we will start standing up the walls. You will see some serious progress tomorrow. The goal tomorrow will be to get all of the walls up so we can concentrate on the trusses and roof on Wednesday.
Where it all begins
This is the foundation that we will begin building upon tomorrow morning. Over the next seven days we will post updates often so please check back here often. This is going to be a wild ride!
Of Manual Labor, Joy and Switchfoot…
Why do we say things like “we want to make a difference”? What is actually being desired? It’s not merely recognition, it’s deeper than that. It’s not happiness, happy is a shallow word, isn’t it? In the words of a Switchfoot song “happy” is a yuppy word. There’s something much more profound that gets generated when you help someone who is incapable of helping you back. I think that something is Joy. It is hard to pinpoint, but somewhere in there is a mechanism that converts Manual Labor into Joy. So, as it says in the song from Switchfoot, I went looking for an Orphanage.
Looking for an orphanage
I’m looking for a bridge I can’t burn down
I don’t believe the emptiness
I’m looking for the kingdom coming down
Everything is meaningless
I want more than simple cash can buy
And we found The Emiliani Project, and we fell in love with the kids in Medellin, Colombia, and we found our well of Joy. Here’s the best part, you can join us by helping us raise funds to build a dormitory bathroom. We started a GoFundMe Fundraiser with the express goal of purchasing the materials necessary to build this building, so we can put it together when we get to Colombia on July 27th. Here are my top 5 reasons for why I recommend donating to this campaign!
- The cause ultimately benefits orphans. These are kids that do not have a home, and don’t have the means to live and grow without the aid of others.
- It is tax deductible. The Emiliani Project is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations go directly to them.
- 100% of the donations go towards the construction materials for this building. GoFundMe does not charge a platform fee. Emiliani does not take any off of the top. My team is already paying their own way to Colombia, so 100% of all donations go right where we are saying they go.
- All donations (up to $10,000) are matched. If you donate $25, you’ll really be giving $50, so every little bit helps AND counts for double.
- You will have a front row seat to watch the construction of this building. You’ll be able to follow first hand accounts of where your money went and how it was put to use by seeing and reading about our progress as we are blogging about it on our site https://thetxproject.com.
Find out more from our GoFundMe page!
Please consider giving to our campaign. Please consider sharing the campaign link with your friends. Most importantly, please consider following our trip from July 27th to August 4th as we build this building with the funds you helped us raise!
The attached image is our work site being prepared for us. This is where, from July 27th to August 4th, we hope to transform Manual Labor to Joy. Please check back here during that week to see the progress in action!