Myself and Grandson Luke have spent the last two weeks with missionaries Ed and Debby Capps, along with a group from Christian Heritage Academy, Oklahoma City, OK. We meet in Chaparral, NM and then travel 500+ miles south of El Paso, TX to Guachochi, Chihuahua, MX. The first few days are spent working on the Christian School campus, and then we travel 45 miles from town to work at the 'ranch', where the Capps have a ministry with the Tarahumara Indians.
   

This ranch is on a bench 1000' down from the rim of the canyon, accessible by a foot path or aircraft.....'no road!' All building material/supplies are transported down by a cable winch system (I have many more pictures within this blog) and we climb in and out with our own power.
    This trips purpose, was to finish the 'airplane hanger' by installing the sheet metal for the roof. Their was also painting to be done, installing a roof on the adobe Sunday school building, and installing windows and doors on another building. There is a multitude of 'other' task that a carried out, along with these major projects.
    Hopefully we can get some videos uploaded soon to this page too....check back! 

We have made it back to Guachochi this evening, and are leaving early in the morning for the border....so, no pictures for now!
A tremendous amount of work was accomplished in the last few days. I say 'Congatulations Parents, you are raising some very fine young adults!

 Here is the 'new building' as we called it, but is actually the cafeteria/lunch room. The first morning on the campus site, sheet-rock was ordered and delivered. The sheet-rock was crew was assigned the job of covering the ceiling and work commenced......there was a little frustration in getting started, as not much was 'in square' to make the first sheets fit as they should. Perseverance prevailed and have the ceiling was done at the end of the day.
 

 A new experience for everyone, watching the paint being 'watered' down to 'whitewash the buildings as a sealer before painting. The guys were told to "just add water until it looks good"!
Pastor Antonio finally did the mixing and the paint crew was ready to go.

 Some  are tall enough to reach the ceiling, but sure felt it in the arms when the day was done.

 Group gathering for devotions and directions for the day. It takes three vehicles to get everyone to the different work sites.....the school and the parsonage. The ladies were doing painting at the parsonage, so unfortunately I did not get pictures of them painting, but it was very evident they were 'near paint' as they wore a good portion of it on faces, arms, and clothing! :)
OK, I'll admit the male paint crew was not any better.

 Now this is what you call a very modern outdoor 'privy' with a flushing toilet, and a wash station on the side of the building.
Anyone that has ever had to use these facilities, probably did not enjoy such luxury!

 A drain was not working properly, so Ed started digging to expose the pipe....the plan was to extended it. A rock shelf was encountered in the easiest route, so we had to regroup and try a different route. In the process, we also found the main power feed to the building shown. A few sparks and a sudden loss of electricity, now presented another repair job.....all in a days work!   

Now for the final color and another coat of paint.

 Dr Penwell's Mexican steel toes.
Duct tape can be used for just about anything!

 The correct fittings are not always available, so with some ingenuity and recent educational learning (geometry) at CHA   (Christian Heritage Academy), the pipe was together and ready for backfilling. 

 Luke playing some soccer......I'll post a picture of him with a ball imprint on his stomach.

Sheetrock is up and ready for the tape and mud. Ditches and plumbing are completed , lots of painting has been done, and Saturday afternoon has been busy getting ready for the trip to the ranch.
We will be without communication for until Thursday, and then it will be getting ready for the trip back to the border.
I will try to update with a message at least, but it may be until next weekend for more pictures.
Its now 10:30 pm and time for some sleep, before Church tomorrow, and the trip to the ranch.

I'm having problems trying to post pictures from my iPad or phone, so will probably have to use the computer this evening.
We (the CHA group) have been working hard. Yesterday was a full day at the school, and at the parsonage, painting rooms and white washing the outside of a two story building. Sheetrocking was also started for the ceiling of the 'new building' (cafeteria/lunch rooms). Hopefully it gets finished today. It makes it hard for me to describe what all is happening, without accompanying photos, so bare with me as you get these 'general' headlines.
Ed and I were busy all day digging water lines, and drains lines; now we have to finish up that project today.....were keeping the dump truck and trac-hoe busy!

We were all up early this morning, and then off to the Santa Teresa border crossing. It can be a real challenge sometimes, with paper work and searches, but today had very minimal issues and no stress levels! 

We arrived in Guachochi around 6:20 pm.....I will attempt to post more tomorrow....it's 10pm, and 4:30 am was along time ago. Goodnight

 Ed and Luke observing engine instruments while warming the engine up.

Steve was doing the fine tuning on the engine.....had to be done while it was running (just stay clear of that spinning propeller!)

We all took a 'little short break' to take a ride on Debby;s Cousins pontoon boat. Then back to Chaparral.

A

We have spent the last few days in Truth or Consequences, NM working on Ed's airplane, as he has it hangered there. Hanger is provided for the plane, lots of runways for test flights, minimal winds, and not much other air traffic to contend with while performing the test flights. I won't go into details about what all we did, but it was all to do with engine performance, and we solved some of the issues, and left feeling we had accomplished much!
Today we work on the Van we will be driving into Mexico, stocking up on more supplies, and packing what we can for the trip.......the Oklahoma group will arrive early evening (this day) and we will finish packing when they arrive.
Planning on an early departure tomorrow morning, for the border crossing and the 'road' South!
Stay tuned.....

Here it is....2015, and time for another trip to Mexico.
Ed and Debby Capps just happen to be in Gillette this weekend (Ed is getting his Flight Physical from Dr James Naramore, and then will be using my airplane to get his Bi-annual Flight Review). They will be driving back toward El Paso, TX tomorrow afternoon and meet myself, and Grandson Luke on Saturday at the airport there.  We will spend the next few days preparing for the 550 mile drive from the border to Guachochi, ( supplies, food, vehicle maintenance, etc).....then crossing over the border on the morning of May 27.
As always I will attempt to update, with a note or pictures, as time and Internet connections allow
Until later.....

It has been since last summer that I have posted. Much has been happening in Guachochi and the 'Ranch'. These pictures are of the hanger trusses going up, and then the showing it's ready for some roof sheeting. Amazingly, all that's shown here, would most likely be done in one day 'stateside', while it took one day just to set one truss! It is exciting to see the progress on the hanger, and how soon it could be protecting aircraft from the elements.