The Acuna Team left SeaTac Airport on the 23rd of June at 7 a.m. in the early morning. By 11 p.m. (CST), they were finally at their destination in Acuna, tired but excited for the beginning of a big week in Mexico.

First day on the job was controlled chaos, Diane Ellis, team leader, reported. Thirty plus students from the school in Acuna joined our ranks and together everyone began attacking the tasks at hand. Our team was very prepared with projects, jobs, supplies and energy. So, in spite of the spike of 104 degrees on the thermometer, the pasty white NorthWesterners worked very hard and felt great at the end of the day.

There were walls painted, some walls repaired and sheet rocked, others treated and repaired from smoke damage, shelving built, some electrical work done, among other things.

We brought four teenagers with us on this trip and they are doing terrific, Diane states. They are working hard and along with the Mexican kids becoming friends with each other, trying out Spanish words, English words, in fact our team is learning the many construction words like hammer, paint, etc., not to mention “hola” and “muy bueno”–and feel’n pretty good about it.

Will report more as we get the information. Stay tuned.