Go tell it on the mountain

The whimsical high pitched calls of birds in animated discussion roused us from our bunks Saturday morning.  We lined up along the stainless steel counter to receive scrambled eggs, beans, and sausage, or in my case peanut butter, eager to begin the day. That meant carrying massive quantities of boxes prepared for the community of Los Pinos (the pines) to our bus. The ladies were excited to spend the day with women from the congregation discussing teaching techniques. Billy and Cisco were fresh out of coffee, (they have a saying. "We came here for two reasons: To drink coffee and to share Christ. And we're fresh out of coffee") and prepared to work hand in hand with the minister while sharing "The Story" and setting up Bible studies in the community. Everyone else? We were going to build a house.

Our 45 minute bus ride was permeated with repetitive mantra of Daniel Morphew's, "I'm not ok with this" as we swerved around vehicles and pedestrians alike. Each time he spoke our grins grew wider. Serpentine rail free mountain passes rank number two on his top ten list of fears so his nerves were completely shot by the time we reached the steep dirt road leading to Los Pinos. He looked out the bus window and over the edge of the chasm on his side of the bus just as we hit a huge gap in the road. He let out a sharp squeal and was on the other side of the bus and practically sitting in Mary Wilcox's (Ellen Mock's sister) lap before the vibrations from the impact had subsided.

After reaching the church our group went straight to work. Billy and Cisco set up a Bible study with a family Cisco has known for years and Edna's team began rounding up the ladies and sharing teaching ideas. The rest of us made a quarter mile trek to our build site. Both out of shape and unused to the altitude, we were all breathing hard by the time we reached the top. 

The view from our build site was a canvas of lush green mountain peaks. Some were topped with rows of windmills whose blades stretched 30 feet in length. From our vantage point they seemed small enough to hold in our hands like a child's pinwheel. That mountain rage so far away was the very one holding our mission house. As I stared at it a heartwarming thought entered my mind. Every day when the family who would live in this home opened their window they would be looking at the mountain we'd come to them from.

If you've ever tried to dig through rock with a plastic spoon then you can probably imagine how we felt after a couple hours pounding away with a heavy pointed bar in our attempts to pound two foot deep holes for the posts of our homes. Each of us took turns lifting the heavy bar above our heads and then driving it down onto the surface of the stone surrounding our build site. Inch by inch we chipped away while neighborhood kids and the family we were building for cheered us on. They really stared at us more than they cheered. 

Finally our posts were in and the clacking of hammers on nails filled the air. Before long (7hrs later) we were done. I can't really explain to you how overwhelmed the family was when we all gathered inside their 16x15 foot home to pray. We took photos with the family and then Maximo, the father, asked to lead us in another prayer. He was overcome with emotion and joy thanking God for providing the home as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. After saying our goodbyes we returned to the church just as the preacher finished baptizing one of the family members Billy and Cisco had studied with that day.

We got back on the bus eager to celebrate and share all that God allowed us to participate in and also ready for our first trip to a grocery store. After loading up on Dr Peppers, bread, chips, and other necessities we returned to the mission house eager for supper, warm showers and soft pillows.