Everyone knows that when doing a major project at home it requires making a mess which is best done when the wife leaves the house. So when Nisha took a two day trip to the capital city (Lima) for some much needed supplies, Jon decided to attempt a few projects all at once. Jon had two days to accomplish the projects of getting the hot water tank replaced, repairing the plumbing leak in the bathroom, and painting the school room and office. It sounded like it would be easy enough, but in Peru what should be easy and quick becomes hard and enduring.
Jon called a couple of men from the church to help speed things along. Jon was told by the store manager that he would replace the broken water tank since it was still under warranty. We disconnected and drained all the water out of the tank that was leaking to take it back to the store for the replacement. But when Jon entered the store carrying the tank he was told by the manager that he would have to double check with the owner before giving the replacement and to come back tomorrow. So Jon left it with him.
We returned back to the house to get started with the other projects (painting of the rooms, yard work, and bathroom repair). Much of the prep work of sanding and repairing holes for painting was done already. We began emptying all the items from the rooms into the living room and dining room which created a mess but all was okay since the wife was not present. On day one, we accomplished a lot with painting one of the two rooms, getting the water tank to the store, and getting the yard trimmed and cleaned up.
I asked the church guys to take the lights down to be able to paint underneath.
Of course the edges are always time consuming by having to tape the lines and being careful to do the job right.
On day two, the children wanted to help paint their classroom. They decided to paint each other instead.
Since Jon's favorite color is blue and he was the one to go to pick out the paint; the rooms got painted blue with white trimmings.
When day two was coming to an end, Jon returned to the house after running errands and checking in on getting the water tank replaced and being told that it could not be replaced but rather sent to Lima to be repaired and would return in a week (which in Peru terms means about two months), the rooms were painted and the workers left without moving the items back into the rooms or hooking up the lights. The bathroom wall was torn out to discover the leaking tubes which would be a bigger project than it seemed and would have to be put on hold until further funds were available. With Nisha returning to the house the next morning, Jon and the boys stayed up late moving things back into the rooms and attempting to make last minute repairs. When the electricity was turned back on for the lights it exploded and burned out some wires. This resulted in losing all electricity to the house.
The next morning, Jon picked up Nisha at the airport and was able to hear about her good time with friends and shopping in the big city but was so looking forward to being able to go home and rest from her busy trip. Jon than took the opportunity before reaching the house to explain that she would not have electricity (in the winter time), hot water, or an indoor bathroom, and (to top it all off) the landlord showed up that morning to stay for a few days. Nisha locked herself in her room and told Jon to take care of it all as quickly as possible.
On day three, Jon found himself working hard to get things back to working condition. The electrician was able to replace the burned out wires and restore electricity quickly for little expense. The school room and office was able to get decorated and straightened out for use. Jon met with the landlord to settle issues. And Nisha was able to come out of her room later that day.
It has now been two weeks since her trip and we are still without our water tank, bookshelf, and school desks which have been ordered some time ago. The pictures below reveal where the projects are at today.
Last thought: Just think of what it would have been like if the wife was present during all the work?
Later she told me that she would have never allowed me to remove the broken tank since it still worked after much tinkering and that she wouldn't have permitted me to start multi projects all at once.
Someone told me that "it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission." Now it's a memory to be entered into a storybook to be told for others to enjoy and a lesson to be learned by those who played a part.
When day two was coming to an end, Jon returned to the house after running errands and checking in on getting the water tank replaced and being told that it could not be replaced but rather sent to Lima to be repaired and would return in a week (which in Peru terms means about two months), the rooms were painted and the workers left without moving the items back into the rooms or hooking up the lights. The bathroom wall was torn out to discover the leaking tubes which would be a bigger project than it seemed and would have to be put on hold until further funds were available. With Nisha returning to the house the next morning, Jon and the boys stayed up late moving things back into the rooms and attempting to make last minute repairs. When the electricity was turned back on for the lights it exploded and burned out some wires. This resulted in losing all electricity to the house. 
The next morning, Jon picked up Nisha at the airport and was able to hear about her good time with friends and shopping in the big city but was so looking forward to being able to go home and rest from her busy trip. Jon than took the opportunity before reaching the house to explain that she would not have electricity (in the winter time), hot water, or an indoor bathroom, and (to top it all off) the landlord showed up that morning to stay for a few days. Nisha locked herself in her room and told Jon to take care of it all as quickly as possible. 
On day three, Jon found himself working hard to get things back to working condition. The electrician was able to replace the burned out wires and restore electricity quickly for little expense. The school room and office was able to get decorated and straightened out for use. Jon met with the landlord to settle issues. And Nisha was able to come out of her room later that day. 
