Construction Update

The remodel of the hospital room moves along. The new tile in the bathroom is completed. Next will be the new linoleum tile in the main room.

The two small home being built continue to progress. One is in the finishing stages: they are finishing the block walls and concrete ceilings. The detail work on the outside edge is interesting. They mold a small groove just on the underside of the overhang to prevent water from running back to the house wall. The second home is being prepared to have the concrete roof poured: you can see the supports in place to hold up the concrete until it sets.

There is also a another new home being built. They have graded the land and put down the limestone base that the home will rest on.

The roadwork down Broadway also continues. The second section is almost complete and they have planted trees and bushes in the planters.

We hope to get our new furniture today. It is a sunny day, so it would be a good day for delivery. I guess we will see...nope. Delivered to island tomorrow and to me the next day.

Our friend and fellow church member, Ramon, is leaving this week to visit his family in the Philippines. His daughter is graduating from High School, so he is going to join the festivities. Ramon has been on Tinian for ten years--all that time away from his wife and children! He has made this sacrifice to provide for a better life for his family. He has put one daughter through college, and soon his second daughter will be going to college also. It has been 3-4 years since he has been home to see his family...It is hard for someone coming from the states to understand this kind of decision--to leave one's family, for years at a time. But in the Philippines, it seems to be a way of life for many. Earning minimum wage--$3.50 an hour here in the CNMI--as small as that may seem to many, is still double or triple what they might make at home. It just brings back to mind how greatly blessed Terri and I are, and encourages us to do more for other.