Is Our Church HAZWOPER Certified?
About the Author
Ben spends most of his time working with underprivileged kids in Tijuana, Mexico, encouraging them to continue their education. He's an unofficial member of Iglesia Bautista Monte Horeb, which runs the elementary school, Centro Pedagógico Didaque.
Over the past year our church and adjoined elementary school in Tijuana have received a tremendous amount of volunteer labor and financial help from the outside (specifically from churches and individuals from the U.S. and Canada). Those who have come have given wholeheartedly. Hence the dramatic improvement of our grounds and facilities.
The last group that was here worked on (among many other things) the ceiling inside our church. They tore out the old drywall, only to be-unfortunately-doused with years of bird poop. The avian excrement filled the entire temple with thick, HAZMAT (hazardous materials) dust. The wonderful part about the fiasco was that the high-school-HAZWOPER volunteers mopped it all up without a single complaint. The lower section of the ceiling beams received a fresh coat of red paint before they left. Now we (as a congregation) were left with the task of painting the high ceiling. I write “we were left,” but obviously, and more appropriately, the job was ours to accomplish in the first place.
Okay, two paragraphs of background information: now we’re given the test. Will the local members participate in the due diligence of church maintenance?
After the Sunday sermon, I gave a quick pep talk and then rallied the troops to sign up for the upcoming Thursday work-party. The response was positive, filling my volunteer list. The Thursday turnout, however, was only 70 percent, with most of the workers pooping out after only an hour of work. The next Sunday I gave another motivational speech, filled up the list once again, and was ecstatic to receive 90 percent work-party attendance, with most of the workers productively painting for the allotted three hours.
So far the “pulling-our-own-weight” test is receiving a positive certification. We’ve got two Thursday work-parties to go. Results to be posted…