Day 5

Tuesday, 6/10/2025 - Ollie Gu & Edward Chen

Que tranza compa amigos?

(What's up?) 

Folks, this is Ollie Gu and Edward Chen, the correspondent for writing day 5's blog. In order to keep the contents of today as organized as possible, I will be following a strict timeline as some of our previous bloggers have done before and include all the necessary photos at the end of the page. With that said, happy reading!

7 AM:  Wake up alarm in Room 205/206 (we were in different rooms), most were either sore or tired from the previous day nailing hammers (roof + wall crew) and painting(paint crew). 

7:30 AM: YWAM Breakfast - today's first meal consisted of authentic Mexican-style nacho chips simmered with other vegetables and condiments(whatever it was, it tasted amazing) and seasoned scrambled eggs. Strawberry yogurt and/or corn flakes were provided as well, along with orange/apple juice, and all types of milk. Overall, the breakfast was a solid 8/10. 

9:30-4:30 ish: Commuted to the Homes of Hope construction site (30 mins one way) to begin installing drywall on the interior of the home and installing the roof planes and trusses. Progress was significantly more effective than the day before, with everyone going to their respectful positions. Furthermore, everyone was much more cautious today with clothing and other means of sun protection after Elijah had the nastiest sunburn we had seen in our lives on his neck(it stung a lot). 

Both Ollie and I (Edward) were responsible for different tasks; here are some highlights from both of our perspectives:

Ollie - Since I was part of the roof crew, I had the well-sought after opportunity to traverse up to the view and take several videos and photos. I took a few POV footages of myself using the GoPro, but the footage is too large to be displayed on this blog and can be assessed through this link:[insert link] 

Edward - On the first day, I was on roof crew like Ollie, but I was later transferred over to the wall crew. Luckily for me, that meant I would be able to stay in the shade provided by the new roof. We took in many pieces of dry wall and nailed it straight into the frames of the house. Later on, we drilled spaces for the windows and installed them as well. Before we left, I was tasked (along with Ethan and Jessica Y) with screwing in the doorknob and lock to the door frame. Let's just say that this task should not have taken about 45 minutes, but it somehow did. 

5:30 PM: Came back to base for dinner, with Thanksgiving-style ham(pineapple and berry flavors), salad, and warm toast. Horchata was delicious as expected, and everyone gratefully consumed their meal. 

7 PM-10PM: Evening session. Game was Dr. Seuss rap battle, with OGOllie (Ollie's rapper name) placing 3rd, and RiceSpice (Elijah) placing 1st, allowing us to donate points to other teams since both are teams are currently in a four way tie for 1st place. In addition, our message for the night was centered towards maintaining a Christ-like image despite worldly desires, with corresponding reflection activities placed throughout the worship hall. These stations included group communion, painting praises on provided black canvases, and so many more. It was such a great change of pace after a hard day's work at the construction site! 

10 PM - 10:30 PM: All of us headed to OXXO for another snack haul, which was Uncle David's reward for us after sweating in the sun for so long. We had a bit of issues processing payment once again, but we all came back with more goodies to last us for the rest of the trip.

Bonus: collective activities that spanned the past few days of the trip that were overlooked in the past few days of the blog (from Ollie's perspective) 

6/9/2025: Lost my voice. The boys (pictured below) took a photo with our amazing server, who not only displayed enthusiasm, but also extreme precision. Dinner final bill was ~17,600 Mexican pesos, or a little over 800 USD for a combined total of ~30 diners.

6/8/2025: Green team and I visited Igselia de Roca Forte (Strong Rock Church), where Aaron, Jessica Y, and Samuel presented their testimonies, while I delivered a sermon about God's presence in choosing spiritually broken individuals in three biblical instances (David & Goliath, Abraham's Guidance, and Moses with the Red Sea). 

6/7/2025: 

6/6/2025: Took a photo with the Mexican police. Later learned we weren't supposed to, but because we were clearly tourists, the police reluctantly agreed.