For those of us who love working with wood and metals, there is a certain "love-hate' relationship between the tools and materials we use, and the end-results we are hoping to create with each project. Our inside joke is that we generally always leave some of our own DNA in each project we work on (which is code to mean we have blood on the material after smashing a finger or cutting a hand)!
What is comforting though, is meeting other like-minded carpenters, woodworkers, craftspeople, engineers, volunteers, etc. who understand and accept the pain, blood loss, and frustration of measuring once and cutting twice, to create something we had envisioned. Holy Cross Retreat Center here in Messilla Park, New Mexico has been blessed with a great group of volunteers, who meet each Tuesday and Thursday mornings to work on a never-ending list of maintenance and upkeep projects; men of God who are dedicated not only to their faith, but also to one another! Sometimes, when groups of men get together to work on something, much of the time is spent deciding on who is going to do what and how, which direction each man envisioned the project going to, and who eventually winds up doing the work.
Not this group! It's refreshing, to say the least, on meeting a group of men who all have one common goal in mind, and that is to fulfill God's wishes on helping the Friars here in any way that they can, utilizing whatever talents they have, to help maintain this wonderful spiritual oasis in the desert! As I get to know each one of them better (and they stand still enough for a photo!) I'll introduce them to you! Thank you all back home and around the country who have given to the GoFundMe account I have set up, to help fund some of the projects I want to complete while I am down here. I especially want to say thank-you to a very special and generous lady, who has seen me at my best and at my worst, and who has made it possible for me to keep going with my goals for being down here!
The Prayer Pergola is now complete, thanks to many who had their "DNA" invested! A few of the great guys, David and Reuben, who slowed down enough for me to snap a quick photo. But, many hands were involved in the design and construction!
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