“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)
Day 1
Preparing for the backhoe
Belo, Daniel, & Isaiah helped Jeff measure the outline of the area for the chapel to determine where to have the backhoe dig.
Ground breaking!
The first dig with the backhoe!!! Prior to this, many people from visiting groups throughout the summer have volunteered to manually dig out the foundation. The ground is very hard making progress very difficult and slow.
A meeting of the minds – Jeff, Miguel and the backhoe operator…A little hiccup with the backhoe… the water pump broke, but the backhoe operator was able to fix it.
Staff watching as the backhoe easily carves out the foundation. Everyone is excited about the chapel. Many are wanting to be help with the building of the chapel, learning to do the block work, etc.!
Day 2
Digging Continues!
This a view from the road above the mission after the digging was done for the day.
Baptismal
A hole was dug for the indoor baptismal!
Day 3
Digging complete!
Hopefully you can get an idea of the area that the backhoe was able to dig out. We can’t even begin to calculate how long it would have taken to dig this area out with manual labor…
More manual labor!
Right after the backhoe left, Izzy began moving the mound of dirt. It will be used for landscaping the grounds around the chapel.
Just one more thing before the backhoe leaves…
There was a big boulder in the middle of the field that the backhoe was able to move. The operator was able to maneuver the backhoe so easily to position the boulder exactly how Jeff & Miguel wanted!
The backhoe operator
It was amazing to watch the operator skillfully execute the functions of this powerful machine!
Day 4 to present
The manual labor continues…
Jeff & Miguel meet with Jose who is an architect. He will help with the electrical plans.
Preparation for the next phase. The rebar & wood for the cement forms arrive.
Isaiah & Belo continue digging out the draining ditch for the baptismal pipes.
Belo, Daniel, & Spencer worked all day digging the footer for the foundation. This is extremely hard work as the ground is like rock!
We are thrilled to see God’s hand consistently moving on this project, inspiring people who visit and also those who don’t to contribute to all the various steps. We are even more excited to see the ultimate purpose and designs that our Father in heaven has that would have Him push this project through with such urgency. Thank you for your continual prayers and support for our family and The Mission.