Thank you for praying. God consistently meets our needs and answers our prayers. Our trip up and down the mountain went without problems. It was comforting to have new tires and new front brake pads on our Dodge 4x4 Pickup dubbed Red Ox, and we are thankful for the special gifts to help with that expense. The mountain road was considerably more dusty than the last trip and every bit as rough and bumpy. Bev, Maria, Elizabeth and I spent Monday through Saturday at our village house.

We arrived shortly before sunset and I was relieved that our solar system was in good shape. It was a calculated risk how I connected the solar panels directly to the battery bank, but it proved reliable. The next day I installed the new charge controller in a matter of hours and began replacing some of the inter-battery connectors. All the while I was thinking about the huge task of pouring the concrete floor. The Lord really came through to help us get it done.

From a designated gift, Bev purchased shoes and other items to give to needy Cora friends. Bev, Maria and Elizabeth spent hours visiting with the recipients of those gifts. Our friend David came to visit us and we gave him some sweat shirts for members of his family. I asked him who would be a good mason to hire to do the floor. He knew of two possibilities and agreed to go talk and see which one of them wanted the work. Later that evening, Cruz came asking me about the work. I showed him the work site and materials and he agreed to do it.

Next morning, Cruz told me I needed gravel and more cement. Cement was not a problem. I bought the additional 4 bags I needed in town (at almost double normal price). The gravel, however, was not to be had, except maybe in a creek bottom 1.5 hours away. I hired a truck and four men on faith that we would find gravel. And we did. 80 buckets of it was mostly under water. Cruz filled the buckets while the other tree carried the buckets to the truck where I helped dumped them. The Cora men took off their sandals and carried the buckets through the creek bed and up the bank to the truck. What a tremendous display of strength and toughness these Cora men displayed. We went to another area of the creek bed and loaded 20 buckets of dry gravel and that made up our load.

The next day, Cruz and I worked to level the dirt floor so the concrete would be a uniform 7 centimeters thick. With pick and shovel he dug and transported 20 wheel barrows of fill dirt. David and I built a tamper and packed it down. Very early the next day Cruz brought two laborers and they started mixing concrete while Cruz laid down five concrete aisles. Remember, everything is done by hand! After they had poured part of the floor, Cruz informed me that we still didn't have enough gravel. So I took Red Ox and three men to a dry creek bottom about 20 minutes away. We found gravel there and loaded 30 buckets. Red Ox's 4 wheel drive, Low Range was handy to drive out of the creek bottom with the heavy load. Later that night about 10 pm, the entire floor was poured and finished to a smooth surface. The equipment was washed, the men were paid, and everyone went home to sleep. The job was completed!

After the floor dried sufficiently, we put things back inside and then closed up the house to leave for Tepic. We stopped and visited with Gumercindo and Rita to encourage them in the Lord and briefly discuss the literacy workshop in September.

Our house in Manzanillo. Many of you know that we've been paying rent for housing for 20 plus years. That is changing. After praying, we have decided to buy the house we live in from Bev's dad. We informed many of our partners asking for prayer and help. We are pleased to announce that about 60% of the down payment has been provided by special gifts and pledges. This is a big answer to prayer and a huge boost in many ways. Join us in praying for the remaining 40% to come in.

Corporate Address for Gifts to our ministry:

Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO Box 62820, Orlando, FL 32862-8200

Serving together for His Glory,

Don & Bev Roth and family

Website: http://rothtranslation.org