Greetings!
It’s been roughly two months since I’ve arrived here at CMTS, looking for a new chapter in life… skills to be learned, fun to be had, and new experiences to discover. And boy, did I find it. Since each vocational trade has me working there for 4 weeks, I’ve nearly reached the end of my time in my second vocational trade: the Body Shop. The first one I spent time in was Maintenance, where I learned a lot about electrical work, plumbing, and flooring… lots of flooring. Nevertheless, I had fun with Ray Pete, and I learned a lot… accidentally shocking myself in the process. That’s one way to learn how to properly ground a wire.
Since then, this month has been weird. I’ve been working with Jesse from Holland, who’s staying with us for a couple months to get credits back home. We’ve been getting along really well, and its amazing to see how well he can fit in with such a rowdy group of American guys here. We’re really only on our second week of working with Doug Sylva, and it will be our last this semester before the next one where we’ll have another 4 weeks. For 4 weeks our schedule was messed up, so we made do with 2 weeks with Doug, having to take a week from our next vocation in order to have more time with him.
One of those 4 weeks was a “mission trip” to a camp to get some work done for Pastor Bob. We took all the plywood and insulation out of a cabin… it was a pain but satisfying to get done. Additionally, we took down the old, rotted bridge, and rebuilt a new one in its place, fresh and sturdy. We spent plenty of time there, roasting delicious meals over an open fire, playing poker or games like ultimate frisbee, or roughhousing on the pushing dock over the lake whenever we weren’t working or sleeping. The last 3 weeks, though, we’ve been working on redoing our roof entirely, working with some amazing volunteers from Mexico or around town, and every available hand that can help here at CMTS. We originally planned for one week, and that turned to a couple more than expected. Still, through weather conditions, achy bodies, and hopeful spirits, we completed the roof with fairly high quality. Some time will have to be put in this week into some finishing touches and cleanup, but thankfully most of it is behind us. Thankfully, the Lord help us pull through and keep leakage to a minimum during the time we worked!
Its been a great time here so far, and I’ve really enjoyed my time here with everyone I’ve worked with, all my roommates and friends I’ve made here, and Jesse. Though he’ll be leaving soon, I wish him the best. We’ve still got so much ahead of us, so please pray that the rest of the year will go just as smoothly!
Much love,
Logan
