Pouring concrete

Micah and Crystal got to help pour cement the last day they were here. Exciting right? Thursday and Friday were spent getting everything ready for the big floor pour. Trenches were dug for the waste lines to connect to the septic system, Max picked up some water lines to run water to the bathrooms and kitchenettes on Friday morning while Crystal and I went looking for fridge magnets  at the art market. We bought a painting with cows (and a thatched roof house) for Garry, he always looks, but we had never found one with cows before.

Friday morning the load of slag (it's the byproduct of steel making if you are unfamiliar with it, easily available in this area where steel making is common) arrived to spread on the floor to level it. Garry had to leave to teach an English class Friday afternoon. Micah and Crystal and I walked around and did some shopping, then went to the SEI followup group (only one more week for meetings, since we have teams coming, we'll be stopping for the year.)

Saturday morning was spent hurrying up to finish leveling the floor to pour before the first cement truck arrived at ten am, since the boys didn't quite get it all done the day before. Max Rudei's little brother Artem was moving fast.

Garry had so many students there he sent some home, because they had nothing to do, It was rather cold, with the wind blowing hard, and it had rained overnight. They had to help the trucks pull out after unloading with the tractor, since the front yard was soaked. 

Micah hand troweled the whole floor I heard. Garry went over it a couple times with the power trowel they rented Saturday evening to smooth it out more.

I made a big pot of soup, Garry brought the whole crew when they finished around two pm, male students and group home dads, Max and Artem back to the house. Crystal had made cookies and helped with slicing bread and everyone tried out the peanut butter Micah and Crystal brought from Canada.

Afterwards, we took a little trip to Zaporosia to see the famous old oak tree with Micah and Crystal, while the cement was drying a bit before the power troweling could start.

There is still the one live branch, if you have seen it before. Crystal says that in Mennonite history class at Bible college they learned that the Mennonites rested under the tree. It is hundreds of years old and is special to Ukrainians because the Cossacks met under the tree,

Sunday morning we were up at five am to get Micah and Crystal to the airport for their 7 am flight to Kiev, and on to Amsterdam, where they are having a good time seeing the city before going home on Crystal's birthday Wednesday.