Bethel Youth Mission 2016: More on the house...

Today we delivered a cooking stove to several houses, including the house we helped Carlos and Jose build the week. The stoves were sat on a base of 12 concrete blocks. Fifty-odd pound concrete and brick furnace sits atop the base. An two even heavier concrete piece sit atop that. One creates a space for convention, and on creates two work surfaces, and balances the convection space. other pieces include a cast iron cooking surface, a cast iron exhaust port, enough aluminum pipe to reach the roof, and a chimney cap on the on the pipe.

The stove were developed by a local group, with assistance form the University of Oregon. Many local families cook over open fires. The stoves are a low cost fix to three problems with the open fire:

1. Heath and safety. Since cooking is done indoors, smoke can lead to health issues, and burns are very common.

2. Economics. The stove uses one third as much wood as the open fire. Stove owners spend one third of the money for wood, or one third of the amount of time gathering wood from the forests.

3. Environmental stress. Cutting the use of wood by one third decrease the rate of cutting in local forests, preserving the environmental integrity of the country.

Before our trip, Bethel purchased six stoves for donation to local families. (Thank you all for your generosity!) Today, two teams from Bethel installed five stoves. The recipients are asked to pay a token price to insure that they stoves go to families who are really interested, and are committed to learning how to use them. Installing the involves a little knowledge, and a lot of lifting.

We we arrived at Maria-Jose and Mario's home we saw a fantastic transformation. The interior had neatly made beds, a large well made wooden hutch for storage, and was well swept and ordered compared to the construction site we had left. A swing for 2-year old Alex hung between to roof supports.

It was great to see that the building had become a home, with some level of comfort and pride. It was great to add a little more support to our previous efforts.

Throughout this processes all the young people have been graceful, generous, hard-working, patient, and offered blessing to everyone they meet.

Be proud of your young Missionaries, Bethel!