What's going on at Dulce Refugio
I know that many people have passed through this orphanage and left their mark at Dulce Refugio. I want to keep all of you informed about what is going on with the kids and the construction process. Please remember to keep us in your thoughts and prayers; I hope you continue to help us out here at Casa Hogar Dulce Refugio. Gracias amigos!
August has been a great month and so much has gotten done! Most of this update will be construction because we have been finishing up all of the final jobs and I am proud to announce that our school is now open for business! It's really cool to see our construction project finally turn into a real life functioning school. Thank you so much to the Horizon team that came down and helped with one of the biggest projects so far. And there were no hellos or goodbyes this month...our kid roster stayed the same.
The tile art on the 2nd floor is done. One of the girls on the Ohio team last month made some really cool artwork with broken pieces of tile. I had to cut the tiles that went around the shapes and it was a little tricky. It was a lot of detail work but definitely worth it. I think it looks great. Thanks Erika Osborn!
Nick and I finished the window coverings. One of our rooms has windows that are underground so there are big holes in front of them. We had to make covers for the 2 holes and I had to crawl into a really tight place to install them. You know that with so many kids running around one is bound to fall in...no more risk of that.
A team from my home church, Horizon, came down for a week and helped with a couple of big projects. We set up the big rocks that go around our center tree; we finished pulling weeds and leveling the ground for the fake grass...the wheel barrows of dirt can finally stop!! And we installed fake grass in 2 different areas in front of the school. It was a big project...180m2 (approx. 200yd2) of fake grass installed!
This was a special project for me and added the "cherry on top" to the school. The front courtyard was a design of mine and to see it all come together is awesome. The green "grass" pulls everything together beautifully and I am very happy with the final touches. Thank you so much to the Horizon team for everything! It's truly a blessing.
I tiled the sinks on the 1st floor and Nick helped me grout. This area is still not finished and is currently off limits to the kids. We will be painting and putting in some more tile art...should be done in early September.
Jose painted a mural at the side entrance of the school. Jose goes to the same church that I do and has been coming regularly to help out. He is a really talented artist and he blessed us with his painting. It adds a really nice touch to the school.
I hired a team of guys to do our stairs. This was a big job. We have 4 flights of stairs and 2 flat walkways. Also the design that we chose was a design that I've never done so I wanted to get people with experience. We chose a concrete with exposed rock finish because it is very anti-slip. Some parts of the stairs are outside and during the rainy season it can be dangerous.
The bathrooms are installed. We had a plumbing problem due to a broken pipe in the wall but thank God it is now fixed and ready to go. We have 4 toilets and 2 sinks.
We finished the last guardrail on the side of the school. I helped set up the project and then let Nick take over. He finished it in a couple of days and is becoming a good welder. Also Michelle, a volunteer from Canada, did the painting. It was a blessing having all of the extra hands.
I hired a guy to cut the glass for the doors and the mirrors that go in front of the 1st floor sinks. Glass cutting is a pretty impressive skill and has to be done very delicately. They make it look so simple but it takes a lot of practice. It's better that I leave this one to the professionals. Now it's all installed and ready to go.
School is now in session!! The official 1st day was Monday, August 26th, 2019. We prayed and asked God to bless this building and the education that will be going on inside of it. We also had a ribbon cutting ceremony before we entered. Once inside, we had a dedicating of the flag, an official Mexican ceremony, before classes started.
It is a great privilege to have this day come and to see all of the hard work pay off. Now, after 3 1/2 years, it is no longer an empty building under construction but it is a fully operational school. We have big plans for this education center and hope to use it for God's glory for many years to come. Although there are still some more details to finish up in the school and still a ton of work to do at Dulce Refugio, this is definitely one of our historic days. Thank you to everybody who has been a part of this process and may this be the start of many more great things at Dulce Refugio!