When we were home this summer to get Joe settled back into the USA, Jeremy let us know that it was his desire and intent to return to Dakar Acadamy for 8th grade. We reluctantly agreed - knowing that we would miss him even more with Joe being off the continent. Jeremy got back to Dakar Academy (DA) and got right into the swing of things - he was elected 8th grade rep, his grades were good even though he got back 2 weeks late, his dorm parents were so glad he was back because he is such a good helper, etc. In other words, there was no issue at DA.
We made a family decision that it would be best for Jeremy to be with his parents at this critical stage in his development. He was 13 at the time (he had a birthday November 10th and is now 14) - and we wanted to sow into his life just as we did with Joe. We are a pretty tight knit family and we knew that no one could encourage Jeremy and build him up in the faith like we could. So at the end of October - we went to Dakar, Senegal and got our boy.
We are home schooling again and we are excited to have our baby boy home with us. Though DA is a great school - it is a 4 day drive away from Ghana - flying takes at least a day because we have to drive over to Abidjan to catch the flight. We hope that you too are rejoicing that we are together again!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Working On A Building!
Putting a roof on a building in the US doesn't take long - as a matter of fact, most of us don't know how long it takes because the builder takes care of all of those details for us. This is not the case in Ghana; especially in Nkwanta.
You are the builder - and the general contractor - and the financier. It all starts there.
We never thought it would take us a year to get the walls on the mission house up - but it did. So when we realized we were at the roofing stage - we got just a little excited. After the masons added the number of courses required to put the rafters/trusses on - we went to order the lumber. The first step is to talk to the person that sells lumber about the types and amounts of wood that you want. If the lumber seller does not have what you need on hand - he then goes to the chief that owns the land where the trees are to get permission to cut the lumber. Once he has permission and you have paid at least half then he contracts for the trees to be cut from the forest. The trees are brought to his workplace where he splits and prepares the wood. The wood has to have time to dry and then it has to be treated. This process can take two to three weeks.
Then the lumber guy delivers the wood to your construction site - where the carpenter and his crew start building the trusses/rafters. In all - this portion of our project took about one month.
So we are excited that the trusses are up - and the roofing sheets will go up in the next two weeks! Stay tuned for pictures of those sheets!
You are the builder - and the general contractor - and the financier. It all starts there.
We never thought it would take us a year to get the walls on the mission house up - but it did. So when we realized we were at the roofing stage - we got just a little excited. After the masons added the number of courses required to put the rafters/trusses on - we went to order the lumber. The first step is to talk to the person that sells lumber about the types and amounts of wood that you want. If the lumber seller does not have what you need on hand - he then goes to the chief that owns the land where the trees are to get permission to cut the lumber. Once he has permission and you have paid at least half then he contracts for the trees to be cut from the forest. The trees are brought to his workplace where he splits and prepares the wood. The wood has to have time to dry and then it has to be treated. This process can take two to three weeks.
Then the lumber guy delivers the wood to your construction site - where the carpenter and his crew start building the trusses/rafters. In all - this portion of our project took about one month.
So we are excited that the trusses are up - and the roofing sheets will go up in the next two weeks! Stay tuned for pictures of those sheets!
Expanding the Vision for Global Missions
On October 4th and 5th in Humble, TX - a group of people with a passion to see people of all ethnicities involved in the work of the Great Commission met to learn, worship and pray together. The event was sponsored by WorldVenture (formerly CBInternational) and hosted by Solid Rock Baptist Church.
This event was the Genesis of a great move of God in missions - it was a place for the beginnings of connecting and partnership across racial lines in a real way. Lasting relationships were established that will benefit kingdom building all over the world.
The group that organized this event included leaders at WorldVenture, and pastors & church leaders from Houston, TX and Memphis Tennessee. They call themselves the Missional Gathering Team. Their work is based upon the fact that a missional church orients every aspect of its life around God’s mission, understanding that every member of His Church is sent to participate in the mission of God in the world. They believe strongly that missions is not the domain of a particular group or committee or those with a special calling, but rather every program, function and activity of the church is aligned with God’s mission.
Workshops offered included: Mobilizing the Church to make an Impact for Missions; Mobilizing Your Youth for Missions; Financing Missions; Nuts & Bolts in Preparation for a Mission Trip; Creative Missions Strategies of the Local Church for Missions; and The Role of Prayer and Spiritual Warfare in Missions.
Key note speakers for the event were Pastor D.Z. Cofield, Pastor Paul Cannings (pictured), and Pastor Ross Cullins.
The next GC4 Man It Is On missions festival will be held the first week of October at the same location - SAVE THE DATE!
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