Picachos - Phase 3

Here’s the latest on the building project in the Huichol mountain village of Zapote de Picachos.


We took a trip to the village last Friday along with 6 visitors from North Village Baptist, Ben and Karley (They were here to join in the 14th anniversary celebration of the Iglesia Biblica Bautista de Tepic this week.), and several from the Tepic church to help celebrate the milestone of Phase 3, the walls. The brothers and sisters of the Picachos village are beaming with joy that their church is nearly finished. They could hardly wait for us to arrive. The brick walls are up, the floor, doors and windows are in, and all that’s left to finish is the roof. The bricks were transported by truck to the lake, then by boatloads to the landing that is nearly a mile-long hike from the village. The men, women and children from the Picachos church, and several from the village of Los Aires who came to help out, stationed themselves from the landing to the village, and bricks were passed in bundles of 4 from one person to the next until they were placed at the construction site. That means that every member of the church old enough to participate has handled every single brick that is now in the walls of their church.

I never saw myself in the role of “construction contractor,” but it’s kind of a fun challenge…and I have help from the great family of believers who surround me in rounding up the supplies and coordinating people to get them to the worksite.

The men from the village have dismantled the roof in the 1st Picachos village, and they have carefully carried the trusses and galvanized sheeting on their backs down the mountain to their new village. Several men from the Tepic church are prepared to begin welding and assembling the trusses for the additional section of the new church (which is 1/3 larger than the original). We will transport that in sections to the village along with additional sheeting as soon as the welding project is finished, and we hope to have a big inauguration bash the first week in November.

Click here for a slideshow of more Zapote de Picacho shots.