11 Construction Site January 1st

There was 'orange' alert in the Paris area which meant certain restrictions for driving vehicles and working on sites because of iced roads; construction at the Hall was cancelled for a few days. Then carpet was laid this week so I only went Friday and Saturday to paint.

Nellie, the first aid department volunteer, asked me to dinner with her family and friends Thursday night. Since they live locally near the Hall, I stayed over so I could ride with her to the site the next day. What a feast! She is from Cameroon and fixed specialty dishes; the other sisters each prepared awesome salads and crepes - a la Francaise...they are from the Brittany region.

Nellie and hubby, Freddie, have 5 children of which the oldest girl Gladys is studying business in school. She is looking to get an internship in the USA for 2 months. She speaks English and as an intern, agrees to work for free as an administrative clerk of any kind, so she can perfect her English. If anyone has a referral to a corporation that accepts internships, let me know asap.

Next couple days, I'm assigned outside painting of the eaves, doors, shudders and anything else that takes white paint.

Meanwhile, teams inside are doing various jobs such as installing the seats. The brother is drilling into the concrete floor while the dust is getting picked up.
Following right behind them, bench seats are set into place and bolted to the floor.

They are discussing where to place the new text for the year in French then also the one in Portuguese. He then shows the friends how to remove lettering and update text whenever needed.

The CCR carpenters are busy building the stage. This brother working on a circular saw is with a Cambodian group, of which there are only about 1000 people associated worldwide. There's a Cambodian congregation in Long Beach CA, I believe? He's French but learned the language when visiting the country.

This happy brother is sizing down the sliding doors to fit a storage closet just behind the book & magazine counter. He is from the Antilles...Guadeloupe.

Break time is whenever anyone wants a hot cup of cafe or tea and a snack...often it is a small baguette sandwich with salami or Camembert cheese...today, they made hot crepes served with home made jams and Nutella...of course.

The carpenters were first to taste the crepes