Christmas is right around the corner and we on Ometepe have been blessed by several early gifts already. Lance is my 19 yr. old cousin from up state N.Y. whom I´ve never met till he arrived here in early November for a 2 month stay.

It was arranged via email with his parents and I must admit we were a little apprehensive as to how this all would work out. Lance has been a real blessing and his talents are many but detailed painting is one I really appreciate. He is painting the whole school building while he is here and may extend his stay, he likes it here so much.

My 2 younger sons love having a big (6ft.2) brother to hang on and Lance doesn´t seem to mind either! Our visit to Fransisca´s house touched Lance´s heart and after I shared their need for a proper brick house he agreed to ask his family to help.

Looks like they may share this need with their own families, churches and friends to raise the estimated 4 grand to build a small brick home with a bedroom for the 7 girls and one for the 3 boys,...........yes 10 kids and no husband to help out, the bum deserted her! Running water will be brought in to a real cold water shower, (no more bucket showers) sink and kitchen. Also an outhouse will be dug and put in place as they use the neighbors and it´s filling in fast! Yuk,...........sorry.

Anyway,..........I have always wanted to build her a home since I met her two years ago even though she has never even hinted at that suggestion. I like that about this Christian women. Fransisca must pray a lot and God answers in His timing, Amen? So pray this all works out to the glory of God. This is just in the planning stages, not a for sure thing. This would be a very special Christmas present and we´re all for it! If it happens I will get a local builder to build the house and I will only act as a supervisor as not to take me away from finishing our Vocational school.

Talking about the school, I wanted you to see the difference in this shot from April 08 of the school waiting three years to be completed (many delays)

and how far we have come since restarting construction in June 08.

The stairs are made of a beautiful local hardwood. I always build solidly and as if we were using U.S. codes.

This way God is honored through my labors as I do it unto Him, Amen?

I also want my buildings to last generations and they will, if mantained.

Sooooooooo you can see we need that final touch of paint to bring it alive and wash away the grey! That´s where Lance comes in and he is doing a great job, detailed painting job. Thank you Lance.

Have a Merry Christmas and we sooooooo look forward to 2009 as our second floor classroom will be dedicated to Computer and English classes. We will keep you posted.