The Puerto Rico Story (part 3)
The next day, after the passing of my father-in-law, Jan. 28, the first Ginger Creek team headed off to Puerto Rico, and I left for Tulsa, to meet up with Norma, her sister and family. God puts his people together for His purposes, with His people, in His timing. Fourteen hands did an outstanding work, putting on two roofs, in just four days, and returned home on February 1. Following is a play-by-play wrap-up of the story with the spotlight on the leader. it is a story in the words of “The Hutch”, Jeff Hutchinson.
Fourteen hands for Puerto Rico
Jeff Hutchinson
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| Jeff Hutchinson |
Team, I just wanted to send you all a quick note to recap my thoughts and memories from our trip to Puerto Rico. With everything that we experienced over the five days we were together, I am 100% confident I am missing a few key details. I would ask that you guys read this lengthy email, and provide any details that I missed. This was a very moving trip for all of us. I hope you gents agree that this was a tremendous group of unafraid guys that worked together to help folks. Working together from morning to night was an absolute blast, whether it was making breakfast together (mostly Paul and Tim!) or shuttling metal roofing up two flights of stairs, I thought we worked together very well.
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| Mike & Gisela Sabal |
I know we are all very grateful to the Sabal family for their generosity. Not only did they provide our accommodations, but their pre-work and relationship building paved the way for us to be productive once we arrived in Puerto Rico. They also established a GoFund me site that generated the funds that allowed us to purchase the materials to complete the construction projects. One thing that blew me away was the talent of each of the guys on our team. We seemed to “have what we needed” in terms of someone that could accomplish a task, not only in terms of materials, but in expertise as well. The roofs that we built were very professionally done and the families knew that when we were finished. It was truly quality work. The beauty of this trip was the trust that each member of our team had for one another and the commitment that each had for the team. We worked together EXTREMELY well, with every person knowing their role in any given project, whether it was cooking breakfast or balancing on a roof rafter.
( Left to right) Paul Hamaker, Mike Sabal, Geoff Isbell, Josh Greifinkamp, Tim Mahoney
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| Tony Medina |
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| Jeff Hutchinson |
Working together was a great joy for all of us. We had three objectives for this trip. First, was to ensure the safety of each member of the team. To be clear, this was intense work on 2 story roofs. Additionally we were working with chain saws, table saws, drills, and many other tools. We simply did not want to have any injuries on an island where health care is already severely compromised. Secondly, we wanted to meet the physical needs of as many people as we could, whether that meant roofs or any other assistance to rebuild families’ homes. We were willing to do anything to help. And third, where possible, we wanted to demonstrate the love of Jesus to as many people as we could. Gents, I think we “nailed” (pun intended) all three objectives. We began each day with a prayer and prayed at every meal. We were privileged to have additional devotionals provided to us from dock Caton, which proved to be “just the little extra” spiritual motivation for our team.
Sunday
Our flight to Puerto Rico was smooth. We had no problems at all. Mike Sabal arranged for a van service to transport us to his house. After a brief stop for lunch, we continued to his brother in law’s house (Tito Torres) who was kind enough to loan us several tools as well as a generator for our work. Without that generator, nothing would have been possible because the village of Yabucoa has been without power since the hurricane hit, 120 days ago. We arrived at Mike’s house and had the pleasure of having dinner with Fernando Silva, who is the leader of INCICO, a Non Governmental organization that is working with the people of Puerto Rico to rebuild with sustainable solutions for food and water distribution, mosquito protection and construction. Fernando sat with us for over 2 hours and shared with us the current situation in Puerto Rico, including both the physical condition of the island and the emotional condition of its people. To be without power for 4 months, and many without roofs, can take a severe toll on the health of an island in many ways.
Our flight to Puerto Rico was smooth. We had no problems at all. Mike Sabal arranged for a van service to transport us to his house. After a brief stop for lunch, we continued to his brother in law’s house (Tito Torres) who was kind enough to loan us several tools as well as a generator for our work. Without that generator, nothing would have been possible because the village of Yabucoa has been without power since the hurricane hit, 120 days ago. We arrived at Mike’s house and had the pleasure of having dinner with Fernando Silva, who is the leader of INCICO, a Non Governmental organization that is working with the people of Puerto Rico to rebuild with sustainable solutions for food and water distribution, mosquito protection and construction. Fernando sat with us for over 2 hours and shared with us the current situation in Puerto Rico, including both the physical condition of the island and the emotional condition of its people. To be without power for 4 months, and many without roofs, can take a severe toll on the health of an island in many ways.
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| Fernando Silva & Zenaida Navarro |
Monday
The team began working on Marisol’s roof, who lives in Yabucoa and is the daughter of a friend of the Sabal’s. Marisol was so happy to have us working on her home and fed the team throughout the project…and even gave Paul a haircut! While Ben, Paul, Mike and Josh were working on the roof, Tim, Tony and Jeff drove to the fishing village to meet with Fernando Silva and Zenaida Navarro who proved to be a true community leader in the village of Playa Guayanes. She gave us tremendous insight into the history of the community and helped pave the way for the two families for whom we were going to build a roof. We then met with those families to build a relationship with them and to inspect their roofs to get a sense for the scope of the project. Jeff and Tony made the trip out to Yauco, a 90-minute drive, to visit with Tony and Agna’s family and to assess the needs of that community and the potential partnership between GCCC and a local Church. In short, Yauco is in great shape compared to Yabucoa and even the pastor of the local Church in Yauco believes our time is best spent in Yabucoa. Knowing that the team would be completing roof #1 early on Tuesday, we knew we needed to somehow find and purchase materials for roof #2 for the construction project on Tuesday. Tony and Jeff stopped by the Home Depot in Caguas after hours and were able to meet with the store manager who was kind enough to meet with us and he assured us that he had the materials we needed for the roof. At the time, however, he could not help us with the delivery of the materials, which was certainly an issue given the job site was 30 miles away. We were banking on some divine intervention to help us get the materials to Playa Guayanes.
Tuesday
Ben, Paul, Mike, Tony and Tim completed Marisol’s roof on Tuesday and she was overwhelmed and moved to tears with gratitude. The roof turned out very well, and the team even added on an extension to the porch. While Marisol’s roof was being completed, Josh and Jeff made the trip back to the Caguas Home Depot to hopefully buy the materials for the second roof. We were happy to find materials still available, but were disappointed to find out there were no rental trucks to be found. Josh was prepared to ask one of the many customers in the parking lot who had pick ups to deliver the material for us. After we informed the store manager of our team’s mission and our need to complete the work today, a team of Home Depot employees got together and agreed that our job was the most important delivery they had. They literally removed large merchandise from their truck that was scheduled to be delivered within the hour. They replaced it with our roofing material and delivered it to Playa Guayanes. This was truly a group of people going the extra mile. The team was able to complete the first half of Roof #2 on Tuesday. The owner was Zenaida’s 80-year-old aunt and her husband. They were a special couple whom, we are sure would have been without a roof on their second floor for a long time without our support. We finished half of the roof on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday
We returned to Sara’s house and began building the second half of the roof. As with every other day, each member of the team assumed a role and executed it well. 3 guys on the roof, 1-2 guys framing the soffit and fascia, 1-2 guys cutting wood and metal sheets and 1-2 guys transporting materials from the ground to the roof. When finished, the roof was completely professionally done. At that point, we realized that we would not have enough time to secure materials and complete a third roof. With a full afternoon remaining on Wednesday we decided to do
two things. First, we attended the “FOGON” of the village. These are community events organized by the leaders of the various villages throughout Puerto Rico where someone cooks in a community setting for the entire village. The goal here is to be less dependent on the American Red Cross “hand outs”, which by the way, are still happening. Fernando, and others who are working for sustainable solutions, wish to support the people helping themselves.
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| Fogon at Playa Guaynes |
In the village of Playa Guayanes, there is absolutely zero commerce. There are no stores or restaurants of any kind. Fernando wants to assist the cooks at the fogon to begin to build a commercial enterprise (restaurant of sorts) over time. We were so honored and humbled to be invited to this event. They fed us an incredible lunch of rice, pork and chicken. And the "icing on the cake" was watching Paul and Tony join another local guy to provide the music for the event; Paul on the bongos and Tony on the harmonica.
After that lunch, we knew that we only had anoth hours er 3-4 to work, not enough time to fix a roof, but certainly enough time to be productive. So we decided to walk the streets of Playa Guayanes and simply ask people if they needed help. We didn’t need to walk any further than Sara’s next-door neighbor who lived with 6 people in a house that had to be less than 400 square feet. They told us that their biggest need was a bathroom, which they did not have. Led by Mike, we proceeded to use a chainsaw to remove a series of large trees that had fallen on their fence and in their yard during the hurricane. The highlight of this interaction was when their relative Sandy told us she had lost her job, Tony Medina circled up our group and their family and said a prayer for all and asked for support for Sandy as she looked for employment. When Sandy told us she needed to find someone who could help her with understanding the severance agreement that her company sent her, we told her that Tim Mahoney was a lawyer and would be happy to assist her. So Tim sat with Sandy and gave her the counsel that she needed. Such a cool moment.
After that lunch, we knew that we only had anoth hours er 3-4 to work, not enough time to fix a roof, but certainly enough time to be productive. So we decided to walk the streets of Playa Guayanes and simply ask people if they needed help. We didn’t need to walk any further than Sara’s next-door neighbor who lived with 6 people in a house that had to be less than 400 square feet. They told us that their biggest need was a bathroom, which they did not have. Led by Mike, we proceeded to use a chainsaw to remove a series of large trees that had fallen on their fence and in their yard during the hurricane. The highlight of this interaction was when their relative Sandy told us she had lost her job, Tony Medina circled up our group and their family and said a prayer for all and asked for support for Sandy as she looked for employment. When Sandy told us she needed to find someone who could help her with understanding the severance agreement that her company sent her, we told her that Tim Mahoney was a lawyer and would be happy to assist her. So Tim sat with Sandy and gave her the counsel that she needed. Such a cool moment.
Next Steps
- I think many of you have an interest in returning to Puerto Rico, as do I. Let’s take a pause, let this last trip simmer a while and then talk about a possible return date for our group. Part of me is ready to go tomorrow.
- I will continue to work with Fernando and Zenaida (she has been very communicative with me over the last several days) to identify specific needs in Yabucoa. We need to truly understand the realities of operation Blessing being able to provide roofing materials. Additionally, it sure would be nice to be able to provide a bathroom for Israel and his family
- We agreed that it would be great for Dock Caton to make a trip to Puerto Rico to meet with Fernando and Zenaida to discuss possible synergies between GCCC and Playa Guayanes. Zenaida has already met with her pastor and has provided my information to him. Dock’s experience will be invaluable in determining whether PR is the proper fit for GCCC.
- We all know there is a physical need in Puerto Rico. There will be more guys that come forward with a desire to help rebuild there. Today at Church, I had another guy say, “I am IN” for the next trip. Love that fact that guys are willing to step up and grab a hammer. There will be more…you guys know what is required to be successful on a trip to PR…keep an eye out for guys like you.
One of the things that I said at our first meeting, was despite any anxiety that any of us had about traveling to Puerto Rico, that if we applied the “6 month rear view mirror test”, that we would be glad we went. That means that 6 months from now, we will be happy we spent those 5 days doing what we did. I hope you agree, I’m real glad we went. I was truly honored and humbled to be on this team and look forward to going to work again soon.
Thanks boys.
Hutch
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