AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico - Wearing an ''Indiana Jones" hat and work gloves, Justin Aquila swung the pick axe. He didn't seem to notice the rising dust as he dug a trench for plumbing. He just kept swinging.
First Christian Church youth pastor Todd Thomas worked near Aquila.
"I wish I was a millionaire; I'd bring a backhoe in here," Thomas said, putting down a shovel for a pick axe. 'I'd have this done in 10 minutes."

The Port Charlotte church group of 25 went to work Monday. Some helped build a new orphanage while others mended, washed and sewed clothing for the 42 children at Rainbow Children's Home in Aguascalientes.

Fourteen made the 25-mile trip to Santa Rosa, a village where the new orphanage is being built. Nine stayed in Aguascalientes.
Although they went straight to work at the construction site in Santa Rosa, starting was slow. The crew gained momentum after they figured out what needed to be done, how to do it and who should to do it.
"If we only had a drill," Thomas said. "I need a jackhammer."
Ron Berfanger replied, "Welcome to Mexico."

Upon landing in Mexico Friday the group had to adjust to drinking only bottled water and brushing their teeth with it. They then learned their schedule could change by the minute. They found communicating possible even though they didn't know the language.

Monday, church members building the orphanage faced a new challenge: doing construction work with hand tools such as chisels, hammers, shovels and picks.
Some wanted drills, others requested duct tape. They didn't let the tools get in the way though. They dug trenches for pipes, chiseled holes through walls, shoveled dirt and sealed the brick walls.

The orphanage being built is a shell: dirt floors, brick walls and a ceiling. Dr. Jim Unzinger, operator of the orphanage along with his wife, Linda, hopes to have the new site finished by the fall.
"We're overcrowded," the father of a 27-year-old said. "We should have no more than 24 (children in the current facility). One year we turned away 38 kids."

He said the new home will be able to accommodate 80 or more children.
Unzicker rents the current orphanage, which is in Aguascalientes City, the state capital of Aguascalientes. He said in 1995 when 28 children lived at the home he figured the cost per child at $72 a month. About $21 of that was for rent.

The village of Santa Rosa has no paved roads. Many of the homes are bricked flats with dirt floors. As many as three or four generations live under the same roof.

Unzicker bought 25 acres in the town. He plans the orphanage to eventually include living quarters for the children and staff, an auditorium, vocational workshops, a garden and classrooms. Unzinger said rent is high in Aguascalientes, but more important, the children are exposed to too much in the city: drugs, sex and violence. He wants a place they can call their own and have room to play.

He funds the home with contributions from the United States. Most of the supplies the church group used Monday were bought by the church or donated by Port Charlotte businesses.
Four girls were spreading a mixture of water and Mexico's version of Elmer's glue with 6-inch paintbrushes on an outside wall.
Richard Adomatis, who helped organize the trip, said he heard about using the glue mixture as a sealant in a Port Charlotte barber's shop. A missionary to Haiti told him about it.
"I tried it on a brick at home and it worked," he said.

While those in Santa Rosa were squinting away the dust and sun, others sat in a cool kitchen with needle and thread. Some washed clothes and cooked.
"I don't know how I can mend this. Do you have any idea?" asked Fran Brown, handing a girl's dress to Francis Griggs, who was sitting a sewing machine.

"Well the only thing I know is to run a stitch across it," she said, pressing the machine's foot pedal and stitching the rip. They mended a "truck load" of clothing.
Gordon and Cleo Ziebel, also organizers of the trip, joined the group sewing. They had just returned from their last trip for the week to Santa Rosa. The two plan to return to Florida today.
Gordon had chest pains Friday night and went to the hospital Saturday. Although he said he feels "great," he wants to return home to make sure everything is OK.

"(The hospital's) equipment was antiquated," Gordon said. "It's stuff we haven't used for years.
"Don't get me wrong, the doctor was great, he spoke a little English." The 24-hour stay that included tests and two electrocardiograms cost $338.
The two plan a return trip to Aguascalientes this summer.
"I'd rather not go (back)," Gordon said, "but I feel like I should."