The Work in Sierra Bullones

Signing up to go into a foreign country to help construct a church was something I really had never considered doing. I'm not a construction worker.  Yes, I have a garage full of woodworking tools, and I enjoy working on "projects", but actual construction is not one of my strengths.  As a home owner, I've learned how to do many tasks that are related to construction. I remodeled a bathroom for my wheelchair-bound father-in-law so that he could have access to the shower and such.  I moved a couple of interior walls at my daughter's house when she first moved in -- I had seen it done on television remodeling programs, but had actually never done it myself.  But an experienced construction worker, I'm not.

None the less, helping to construct a building was the task at hand as I arrived in Sierra Bullones.  We arrived around lunch time.  The van ride had left me full of thoughts and questions and an eagerness to learn more.  To say that my appetite had been whetted was an understatement.  We took a few minutes to drop our bags at our new "home" and did a quick change of clothing and then returned to the work site.

A little rain didn't slow the construction

The concrete slab foundation had been finished in the days before our arrival, and a single course of concrete block had been set in place.  I was a little surprised by the number of Filipino workers on the site -- I had thought that it was the Americans who would be doing most of the work.  I quickly found out that, although there was work for me to do, the majority of the labor was being accomplished by this group of Filipino men who had gathered the day before.  What I didn't know at first, is that his group of workers was actually comprised of the pastors of the churches in our fellowship there on Bohol.  Some were even from as far as Bataan near Manila.  These men had committed to help build this church for the Sierra Bullones congregation, and they were determined to make it happen in just a few days time.

I had pictured in my mind that maybe I would be helping mix mortar or would be "buttering" some block to put in place as the wall took shape.  I did very little of either.  It's not that I was being lazy, but the brotherhood of Filipino pastors had all done this type of project before, and so were immediately on task to get things accomplished.

Mixing mortar . . . the Filipino way

So what about mixing mortar?  That's a simple enough job.  I've mixed enough bags of ready-mix concrete for fence posts and concrete slabs that I should be able to manage preparing mortar.  Just give me a hoe and either a wheelbarrow or a trough to mix it in and I will get to work.  But . . . there weren't any wheelbarrows or mixing troughs for working the mortar.  There were a couple of shovels.  And what about ready mix mortar?  None.  Then I noticed in the middle of the concrete slab were a couple of Filipino men who were busy with shovels, scooping some "muck" into buckets.  I quickly realized that this was the "mortar crew".  They were combining sand, cement,  and water right on the concrete floor of the church to make the mortar.  I soon learned that things in the Philippines were done differently.  Not wrong . . . just different.

They had a recipe in their heads for mixing the mortar.  So many bags of sand to so many bags of concrete, and then add water as needed until the right consistency was obtained.  I never did learn the formula, although I don't think it was any secret.

Sifting sand  . .  . even I could do this!

The sand was sifted on site.  Two man managed the sifting frame while a third shoveled sand onto the screen. A plastic tarp collected the sifted sand, which was then shoveled into bags to be carried to the mortar crew.  While I didn't spend much time mixing mortar, I did find myself manning the sifting frame a few times.  Nothing difficult . . . even the kids were able to do that job.  I also carried block to the workers.  I don't know how many block I moved . . . it was a lot.  Doing those tasks, plus the occasional odd job, was the bulk of my "construction" work.  The rest of the time on the site was spent encouraging the workers, learning about their culture and their families, and the work they were doing as pastors.  I also reached into my wallet a few times . . . gas for tricycle, gloves for the workers, produce for the kitchen workers.

During the first week of construction, there were as many as 22 Filipino pastors who were working on this building.  The walls started going up on Tuesday.  By Friday, welding had begun on the rafters and purlins for the roof.  The work stopped for the weekend.  The pastors needed to return to their homes so that they could prepare for church on Sunday.   By Monday evening, the roof was in place.  A lectern and and communion table had been built from simple materials and were getting stained and a coat of varnish.  By the end of Tuesday, the baptistry and changing areas had been finished, and the walls had all been painted.  Wednesday saw the first glass put into some of the windows, and the doors were prepared and hung in place.

Pastor Jose welding the roof of his new church

On Wednesday evening, we held a dedication service.  In just over a week, the team of volunteer workers had erected a 30 by 60 church building, from foundation to roof.  Although this was the end of the project for the American and Filipino visitors, the work had just begun for the pastor and his congregation there.  It was their building . . . and their choices on how to personalize their church building.  Tile for the floors and in the baptistry, some type of ceiling to cover the steel rafters, improved lighting and electrical connections . . . whatever they deemed fit to do.

At the dedication service, I was a little surprised by the number of people I saw coming into the church.  I don't know what the normal attendance is, but that night, there were around 150 people inside the building, and 30 or more outside the building looking in through the windows.  Ten people were baptized that night.  I think that many more lives will be impacted as this church continues to grow and influence the Sierra Bullones community.  I was glad to have been a small part in this project.