Last week we sent out a few pictures of our first big project in Italy. If you missed it, you can read it on our website. Here is another part of the project.
Our second major project was “bathroom tile”. It was one of those projects where we eagerly jumped in, then quickly realized we would need God’s help to complete it all.
Manuela and Amy (both learning to tile for the first time) became the tiling teammates, and we spent hours and hours on our knees, applying mortar to not-really-flat bathroom walls in order to set giant tiles in place. Working together proved rewarding and effective, and we found time to talk about everything from marriage and parenting to theology and Christian community. It was truly a lovely time!
Isaiah spent several days cutting the tiles to fit around sink pipes, toilets, bidets, towel heaters and outlets. When we had one day left, Manuela asked me “Do you think we can finish?” I said no, but that we would give it our best. Micah jumped in to be a second person doing nothing but cutting tile. Micah and Isaiah also used a jack hammer to adjust stone walls closer to flat. Josiah mixed and hauled bucket after bucket of mortar. And after sunset on the very last day, we hung the last tile. It felt like God had given us our own miracle!
Since the tile was so fresh and the mortar not fully set, we didn’t re-assemble the bathrooms, or even grout the tile. Vince and Manuela finished up the job after we left, and the bathrooms look amazing!
At the end of the last day, Manuela and Amy agreed that it was okay if we never installed (or even saw) tile again. But to be honest, we’re pleased with how it turned out, and super proud of the whole team and the relentless work they put in to bring it to completion.
We are thrilled to have Vince and Manuela not only as partners in this project, but to have had this time with them to build a friendship while working hard.