Hope Mountain continued...

Please forgive the long delay since posting our last photos.  Internet access has been difficult.  This last Tuesday we landscaped all day.  By landscaping we mean mowing super-sized lawn, hedge trimming, hauling old cut vegetation, weed whacking and planter preparation.

Our women at Hope Mtn entrance

That evening we spent some time with the boys at a hot dog roast. After finding the perfect hot dog cooking stick, we proceeded to blacken the oblong meat over the wood coals of a barbeque.  Potato chips and fresh cut papaya completed the meal.  We also played a dice game called Tenzi.  It is similar to Yahtzee except every player keeps playing until all ten dice show the same number.  The boys really enjoyed that game as excited shouts echoed off the corridor walls..

We started Wednesday off at Hope Mountain with worship services in the auditorium.  We did our best to sing two songs in Portuguese with Earl, Joyce and Dianna at the french horn, flute and piano, respectively.  Delany and a teen boy read scripture alternating between English and Portuguese and Suzi gave her testimony as Earl translated along the way.

A church group from Mississippi and Tennessee also appeared for the morning service and performed several step dancing routines. Afterward there was a time of voluntary step dance instruction for anyone in the audience.

Phil Smith, the son of the founder of Hope Unlimited was there on Wednesday and our landscaping work changed to visiting a nearby father and his teen sons who have endured tremendous family pain.  All of the team visited the family at one time or another and several of us helped by cleaning up the property and starting a room addition that would allow them to eat indoors. 

We also took on washing walls and painting two large rooms at the Hope center as well as revitalizing three planter areas and reupholstering several sofas.

Thursday we continued the painting, patched broken floor tiles, washed floors, replanted planters, continued reupholstering work and visited the nearby family to start the groundwork for the room addition with the help of Hope Mountain staff.

By mid-afternoon Friday, the painting and planters were finished, some sofas were completed along with patterns to finish the work, and the foundation and roof of the room addition were in place.  The Hope Mountain staff celebrated by honoring our work through a photo presentation set to music.  They also prepared a special cake and we spent some time relaxing.  That night we met the boys one more time at a shopping mall  for dinner before we went our separate ways, the FOPC team back to the hotel and the boys to a rare opportunity to watch a movie.

It's time for a few days off now before heading to Campinas on Monday for a week.  Stay tuned for photo updates!