The first team of 14 men from the US arrived on September 25th. They joined a team of 9 Peruvian men to construct the second story and roof of the 40/40 house that will house the eight 40/40 missionaries and the support family. When the team arrived, the first floor exterior walls were completed, the second level concrete floor was in, and the second level exterior walls were just started. The team started each day with devotions at the work site, and then dug 7 footings for columns, formed 150 feet of foundation wall, tied rebar for 300 feet of beams and 7 columns, carried and installed over 4000 concrete blocks, used 120 bags of cement, hauled an estimated 1,080 buckets of concrete, built 4 roof trusses, installed 120 sheets of metal roofing, and roughed in the main electrical panel with 25 electrical outlets. After 8 days of hard work, we had completed the second story walls, roof, and 3 sides of the outside security wall.

But, construction was not all that happened. We celebrated the advancement of the Puerto Maldonado Church from a Level 1 church plant to a Level 2. The team conducted a "Festival de Niños" with games, crafts, puppets, bible verses, songs, and 33 children asked to receive Christ as their Savior. There was a great banquet on Sunday complete with swimming pool. Dennis gave a nice plaque to the Boise First Church team for helping sponsor a community in Puerto Maldonado . Also, a group went on a boat ride down the Madres De Dios River to a research center for a walk in the tree tops and some animal viewing.

Many great friendships were formed between both the American team members and the Peruvian team members. Praise God for these men and their willingness to come use their construction skills here in Peru.