Eastwood Mission Trip 2010

Day 9 (Friday, 02/19/2010)

2010-02-20T10:20:00.001-05:00

This morning was our one day that nothing was planned...yet most of us woke up before the alarm. Breakfast was at the same time as the other days. After breakfast, we went in search of our "normal" trip items...small country flag, small patch that either has country flag, or country name, and flag pins (hat pin type). We also looked through some other artisian shops. After lunch, a little more shopping, the spent some time in/around the pool. It was nice and sunny. The iguanas were out and intertained us some. We also made a short video to offset Brent's video on Facebook.

We went into the local "Wal-Mart"...can't remember the actual name, but they actually carried Wal-Mart brand products and had signs to sign up for Wal-Mart credit card. I found some Kinder-Surprise eggs...yea!!! I had to take pictures of the cereal we ate to give us energy for breakfast. Be sure to pay close attention to all the words on the boxes.

After dinner same as most other nights...some went to the meetings and others stayed here to relax.

Tomorrow we will have Sabbath School at the new church, then go to another church for a "short" (what ever that means with a spanish preacher) sermon and baptisms. We were informed this morning that our group is in charge of the whole sabbath school service. Pastor "delegated' the duties, but the plans are not all finalized. We will finish them in a couple minutes now that everyone is back.

VBS said that there were more kids tonight than any other night...about 160.

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Day 8 (Thursday, 02/18/2010)

2010-02-20T10:18:00.001-05:00

Thursday morning we went to the Palenque Ruins and the Jungle. The ruins are reported to be the best in Mexico. We then walked through the jungle to see other yet uncovered ruins. Unfortunately it chose to rain lightly most all morning. Since we only had one bus and we didn't all fit, the first group did a little shopping near the ruins waiting on the second group. The ruins were interesting. Brenda tried out a Myan bed. The jungle was not worth the cost. It was interesting, but expected to see more jungle animals...birds, snakes, and four legged critters. We did see a monkey...way up in a tree...looked like a big black ball. We also saw a toucan very far away. The guide told us interesting information about the plant used to give the US money the green color. He also pointed out the rubber tree, and other interesting plants and trees. It was interesting to see the yet uncovered ruins...if you were not looking you would walk over and beside them and likely never notice. There was too much slippery mud which made it hard to enjoy your surroundings because you were constantly having to watch where you stepped so you didn't fall. We then cleaned off our shoes and looked around the museum...very interesting.

We were back to the hotel around 2 and some ate lunch here and some went to get pizza. Most then did some shopping the rest of the day. After supper...the usual, some went to the meetings and some stayed to play games.

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Day 7 (Wednesday, 02/17/2010)

2010-02-18T00:14:00.001-05:00

We are as done as we are going to be on the Job. When we got there the Maranatha group had finished welding in the windows and were starting on the doors. We only worked 2.5 hours today. The group shoveled out rocks/dirt and formed the sidewalk. We also poured half the sidewalk and cleaned off the mud boards, and boards for scaffolding. We only poured half the sidewalk because the Maranatha group insisted that it could not be poured as one piece of concrete...but rather every other square had to be different material. So...we are done...but we don't feel it is done...the cap is not on the roof and the sidewalk was not finished. We left the jop by about 10:30 and by noon we were all cleaned up and had eaten lunch. Most of the group waled downtown and did some shopping.

In the evangelism meeting last night, Pastor Oswaldo made an alter call -- about half the visitors responded. They still had about 80 or so visitors and VBS has about 80 or so kids.

Pastor Oswaldo spent today in prision ministry...there are a handful of Adventists in prisions down here.

Tonight several people went to the meetings and/or VBS. A few stayed behind to play games and/or relax.

Tomorrow we will take a jungle tour (Stacey hopes to see large kitties), then tour the ruins.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click here

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Day 6 (Tuesday, 02/16/2010)

2010-02-17T20:54:00.004-05:00

We finished the block today and got on the sheeting...YEA! We also got the majority of the job site cleaned up...got rid of the trash, swept out the inside, and removed all the excess mortor around the wall left behind by Melvin and his crew.

When we left the job site, the Maranatha workers were starting to weld the windows. The cap and steeple still need to go on the roof, the sidewalk needs to be poured, and some window frames may still need to be installed. We plan on getting this all done on Wednesday. It should go quickly. From the pictures, it is obvious that Melvin does not understand the meaning of supervising. Today was his second day of no pain pills. Praise God, he managed to survive all day.

Everyone is tying their own rebar, and complaining about it. Karen asked to borrow a pair of Pop's pliers. She handed them off to Melvin, who proceeded to say, "Oops, there they go." The look on Pop's face was priceless.

The meetings are going great. There has been about 175 attending throughout the week, mostly non-members/ visitors. Pastor Oswaldo made a call for baptism today, and about 75-80 people responded. How AWESOME is that!

Vacation bible school had about the same number of kids. Bill and Joshua helped with crafts on Monday night, which was the parrot. Pastor Larry told the children the Creation story.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click here

-Provided by Stacey Hatch, James Fortner, and Bill Antle

Day 5 (Monday, 02/15/2010)

2010-02-17T20:42:00.001-05:00

Monday we finished the two side walls. We only have the ends to finish. There were a few more bumps and scrapes. Karen now has tiger stripes on her leg to hold the bandaids to cover the holes/scratches in her leg from falling over a block. A few people went to visit vacation bible school from our group. Most of the rest played skunk and farkle.

The evangelism meetings started on Sunday night, along with Vacation Bible School. The evangelism meetings had approximately 85 non-members/visitors attending. VBS had approximately 85 children. They all seemed to have had a good time.

Monday night there were a few less members at the evangelism meetings but about the same, possibly a few more visitors. Vacation bible school had around 85 kids again.

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Days 3 & 4 (Sabbath 02/13/2010 & Sunday 02/14/2010)

2010-02-15T19:29:00.003-05:00

Sabbath we had a nice day with no rain. We went to church, then ate at a nice resteraunt with LOTS of food. We had soup, rice drink, and enchiladas with black beans, guacamole, and cheese (some did not have cheese). The enchiladas looked more like tacos on their side with two tortillas folded in half. Very good...too much food, we were all full. Then came desert -- we had the choice of ice cream (which tasted like caramel) or flan. We then went for a short walk. Some took a siesta, others hung out by the pool and visited. After dinner we played the annual Pig Game. We all had a good time. We decided it was the best pig game ever....of course the WOMEN won. The men of course said they let the women win because it was so close to Valentine's Day.

Sunday, on the job, we had to set up scaffolding and extend the rebar (where is Kathy when you need her). We had a nice day again, no rain. Several of the local church members came over to help. We finished the 10th course and started on the 11th. We also extended the rebar again on one side wall and the back wall. Melvin spent all day lamenting that he had two girls. If he had had boys, he would have been more than one course ahead of Jim. Since we were on scaffolding, we had a few more scrapes, cuts and bruises, but all injuries were minor and easily cared for.

I don't have pictures from Sabbath or Sunday uploaded yet. I will send pictures to post later...likely on Monday.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click Here

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Day 2 (Friday, 02/12/2010)

2010-02-12T19:17:00.006-05:00

We had a productive day today. We laid four courses, poured the bond beam, and got the fifth row of block set ... except for Bill's wall. Jim had to help him get the block layed on each side of the window. We were rained on and off for half the day. The light rain was not a big deal, but the heavy rain caused some to seek shelter. We had a first for laying block ... all the bond beam was ready to be poured at the same time. On a personal note ... in spite of what Melvin says ... Stephanie and I did a good job laying block. We are laying one side and the back wall and managing to keep up with Jim laying the front wall, and Bill laying the other side.

Kathy is not with us on this trip, and our bus ride to and from the job site is much shorter -- only 5-10 minutes. Not sure if that means the long bus trips are because Kathy is with us, or if she is missing out on the short ride.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click here

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

Day One on the Job Site (Thursday 02/11/2010)

2010-02-11T21:00:00.008-05:00

The trip started out snowy...Melvin & Karen Hatch, Jim & Brenda Fortner, Ken & Drew "No One Can Pronounce Their Last Name", and Stacey Hatch left Columbus under approximately 22 inches of snow. We got to the airport a little in pleanty of time. There was no one else checking in when we were, so check-in was pretty quick and painless.

We had around a two hour lay over in Houston. Greg Hatch came to the airport to see the group,and we had a nice visit. We went back through security, quickly found food, and got to the gate. At the gate, we found out that the flight would be delayed while the pilot determined the weather conditions between Houston and Villahermosa. We left approximately a 1/2 hour late. We landed in Villahermosa around 9:15pm, and experienced no trouble getting through immigration or customs. Customs did question our cans of veggie food,but there were really no issues in getting the food through. Transportation was there waiting for us. We got loaded and headed to the hotel in Palenque. We finally arrived at the hotel around 11:30pm CT/12:30am ET. Our rooms are on the third floor, but the room numbers are labeled 200+. Once we got there, most of the group just went to bed...I couldn't sleep, so I got unpacked and was in bed by 1:30am CT/2:30am ET.

Today, we separated into two groups. Melvin, Jim, Ken, and Stacey went to the construction site. Karen, Brenda, and Drew got settled in, purchased groceries, water, and took care of other arrangements. Once the primary errands were done, they came out to the job around 2pm. Pastor Oswaldo spent the day with the local pastor working out the details of the evangelism meetings that start on Sunday. Although our crew was small, we were able to get the framework for the church up. The Maranatha Crew were very helpful. They don't speak English and we don't speak Spanish, but we managed to get along without any problems.

After dinner, the group talked and/or were on the computers; while Karen, Brenda, and Drew sliced the lunch meat for sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

The rest of the crew should get here late tonight, although there was a point this afternoon where we were not sure. We got a call saying that the flight out of Columbus was canceled because the crew was illegal and they wouldn't have a flight out for them until Sunday. Apparently that got worked out, but they were very late in getting to Houston. Last we heard, they were running to catch their connection. Hope they make it without any further problems. Hopefully, we will have a full crew tomorrow to start laying block.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click here

-Provided by Stacey Hatch

We Are On Our Way (Thursday 02/11/2010)

2010-02-11T17:13:00.005-05:00

As of 11:30am:
The gang (Pastor Larry & Carolyn Grahn, Murray & Stephanie Holmes, Sue & Anne Bolen, Bill & Joshua Antle, and Marilynn Kline) were all at CMH and checked in all their luggage without any problems.

As of 4:00pm:
I got a call from Bill saying that the flight from CMH to Houston had been canceled (according to Stacey, the pilots would be flying illegally, i.e. too many hours), but that Continental changed its mind and decided to go ahead and fly out--only with one catch ... the flight would be rerouted to Memphis, TN before heading to Houston, TX.

They were on the plane in Memphis as the plane is being refueled, and will soon head to Houston. As I was talking with Joshua, I heard the pilot on the intercom indicating that there was a non-life threatening mechanical problem and that the flight was going to be delayed. The pilot indicated that they were waiting for a mechanic to arrive, which would take approximately 10-15 minutes; and then another 10-15 minutes to fix the plane. IF successful, the plane will leave 10-15 minutes after that.

Translation: IF all goes as unplanned, the gang will arrive in Houston with approximately 45-60 minutes to make the connecting flight to Mexico. (Mind you, they were supposed to have a 3-hour lay over in Houston originally.) Gotta love, ESDA Mission Trips!!! Never without excitement.

As of 8:00pm:
Bill called to say that they all made it to Houston and that the group had to do an O.J. Simpson (hit and run). They had approximately 10 minutes to make their connecting flight. All is good, and they are now on their way to Villahermosa, Mexico, and should be there in approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Photos can be found on Facebook --> Click here

-Provided by Kathy Antle