Independence Day

                   

Happy Independence Day! 

Today the Dominicans are celebrating independence from Haiti in 1844, 

ending 22 years of Haitian rule. 

No work is occurring at the clinic site today because of the holiday.

The timing of the holiday falls at a great time.
It is another string of holy-coincidences: 
1)     Current Work-   The only work being done at the site is by the surveyor who is re-staking the "platea" or site area for the next lift / layer of fill material. Once these stakes are in place, the fill/compaction process can continue. So until this re-staking is done there is no fill/compaction.
2)     We have a machine down-    There is a part on the bulldozer that is broken so it is idle resulting in no work at the mine. After a good bit of coordination, communication, help from Carter Machinery (a CAT dealer) in Salem, VA and help from Joe Miller a new part will be arriving with the Roanoke team tomorrow! We plan to remove the old part and prep the machine Saturday and then install the new part Sunday. So Monday we should be back to work with the Fill and Compaction. Great timing with the Roanoke team being able to bring the part - The Santo Domingo CAT did not have the needed part in the country and was planning to have the part shipped from the US and require at least 7 days. So we will be back in business very soon!!
3)     Death in the Family-    The father of Marco, the loader driver, passed away Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. So this would have caused some issues at the mine site and a conflict with Marco. Frank and I went to the families home Wednesday to pay our respects. They live about 20 km east of San Juan. Of course here in the DR, when you step into someones home you are required to sit, eat and visit. So during a very full plate of rice and chicken we had a nice visit with Marco's family. The fathers body was in a coffin with a viewing window on it.This home-visitation / reception takes place for 9 days. Every area in the home had multiple chairs set up, even outside there was a tarp over a sitting area. People were cooking and there was all sorts of food available.  Another unique DR experience.

The Fill & Compaction Process and Testing

Fill and compaction is continuing - here is a video showing the process and then the testing procedure. It is important that the fill material is compacted to a very hard amount because it will act as the foundation for the Clinic Building.

Fill and Compaction Process Over 2,160 truckloads of fill will be brought from a mine about 9 kilometers from the clinic site. A truckload is worth about $100 after it has been mined, loaded into a truck, hauled 9km, dumped, graded/leveled, culled for large rocks, watered, compacted several times with a vibrating compactor and then tested.

Testing Process
The fill will be checked using four different readings on the machine at each test to confirm that it is properly compacted. This will be done every 150 square meters or so, and with every lift or layer of material - so the entire site will be tested six more times over the next few weeks as this process continues building the elevation and thickness of this material.

Running down Goats

Yep, you read that title correctly.
What started off as another day with fill & compaction taking place and anticipating a rather typical day took a turn.
Ezikias (formerly referred to as Zachius, - I am narrowing in on the proper spelling and pronunciation of his name ...) as of two days ago became the proud owner of two young goats/lambs. He has had them tied up at the clinic site...
During lunch we talked, the best I can understand he has big plans for these goats, a way to make some additional income...
As I was sitting watching the day's work unfold in the afternoon, in the distance there appeared on our topsoil piles Ezikias' two goats - making their way quickly away from where they should have been. 
And we were off! Ezikias was not around, soon the goats were being pursued by three of the laborers - heading toward the back corner of the property, so I joined in, heading further south to cut the goats off. Sprinting across one field after another, crossing barbwire fences, down dirt roads, cornering but then pursuing, trying to flank them time after time (thinking of Tim's Marine tactics at this point), we ended up along the river - and so we continued along the river until finally the goats came to a creek coming into the bigger river. 
As we are running these animals down, I am replaying how proud Ezikias was of his new goats... and at the same time the Benny Hill theme music is playing somewhere in my head.
Finally, they were stopped in a corner, I was on the left, one of the guys worked his way around to the right, two more guys showed up to fill the area in between us (we are in the corner of a bean field at this point), I slowly approached them hoping to scoot them toward the other guys, they suddenly shot between us, I leaped and caught the bigger one's 6' rope and another guy grabbed the smaller one. Captured and returned! 

Well, I don't need to go for a run this afternoon - crossing fields and pursuing in my work boots was a good workout - and further than I usually run! If you ever want to run without focusing on your aches and pains - try running down some goats, there is a lot of strategy involved that keeps your mind off of your own aches and pains!

I can now check off 

running down goats 

on my list of 

Things I hope to do while in the DR

These guys were great offering to carry theses pesky critters back!

Yes, the proud owner met us on the way back - they are  tying the legs of the lamb on the ground so the guy on the moto can carry them both

A happy goat owner.

Fill/Compact - 2nd Lift

The second layer (Joe Miller would suggest "lift" as proper terminology) is in place. Thursday will be a day of compacting this lift while they will get ahead at the mine loosening and stockpiling fill material.

Had a wonderful lunch with Frank and Juanita at their house, and enjoyed visiting with their boys as well. 

Fill & Compaction is well under way

There was a lot of activity at the site today. At least 15 trucks were bringing in the Fill. Ended the work at 7pm tonight, will continue tomorrow and the next couple of weeks. Here is a video:

Fill & Compaction Phase

The site as of this weekend.
There is one layer of fill in place in this photo.
The full process of fill and compact is scheduled to start Monday the 16th. 

Monday the 16th we plan to start the fill and compaction phase, which will last approximately two weeks to complete. This will create the "Plateau" on which the Clinic will sit. This plateau will act as a very large footer. The dirt/fill is a sandy/gravel mix from a mine 9km west of the site. This fill will be spread in multiple layers (lifts) of less than 20cm (8") deep, with each layer then being thoroughly watered and then compacted - resulting in a very hard material, almost like concrete without the cement.  So because the building needs to be a certain height relative to the road and nearby canals, there will be at least 8 lifts resulting in the building being 1.5 to 2 meters higher than the starting point. We have to start this low in the ground due to needing to remove the thick layer of rich topsoil, which is great for plants but not for building on. So the bottom of our "hole" has a lighter color dirt that is good to use under the footer. 

Below is a video of the mine - where the fill will come from.

(you can see San Juan in the distance):

Time

Time - it is limited, taken for granted, wasted, treasured and much more complex than we can comprehend.
The past two weeks and a half weeks have furthered my appreciation of time, and timing.
  Is summary, two weeks ago today my Father-In-Law Doug Shivar went on to his Lord after an incident that was preceded by many years of health issues. I will not go into details on this blog, but know that he is where he was ready to go and was surrounded by all of his grandchildren and family when he passed away. I truly feel he heard our laughing and recounting endless stories as he took his last breaths - he knew we were at peace, and he is in a better place.
  And so after spending some time with Stacy and her mom, we are all easing back into our normal days and routines. For my mother in law, it is soothing to know she has an amazing network of church family and great friends. It is more difficult to be away from Stacy now, but I know she is strong and continues to encourage my being in the DR. Losing a parent changes us, as my sister-in-law Hollis says - this is what causes us to take the last step into adulthood. Richard Rohr would say this is what is sometimes needed to "fall" into a second-half of life where we have a much clearer perspective on the world and life. 
  
So back to building a Clinic. 
  
  Clinic Status - so we are waiting on test results of the dirt/fill we hope to use for the fill and compaction of the site.  This compacted fill will be the foundation of the clinic, so it needs to be right. I expect that we will begin this phase in the coming week and require at least two weeks to complete.  Once this is done, we will have created a 1-1/2 to two meter thick plateau for the clinic, and the common building phases can then begin.

When I considered this responsibility, there were several things that needed to happen (timings) in order for me to commit to this. They all happened, so here I am. I don't know how the project will go, but I will do my best to see that it is built properly, efficiently and frugally. It is my hope and prayer that holy-coincidences will continue with this project. The Clinic will have such a wonderful impact on this community. I look at it as the means by which people can better serve others medically and spiritually, and that is what I feel we are all called to do as the Body of Christ.  This project will take time, but we will not waste it.

Group from Spartanburg at the site this week.

I am the proud owner of 8 new lug-nuts for truck (I was missing that many!)
 - and you probably never think about the lug nuts on your car!
Even lug-nuts should not be taken for granted!