We got up today around 6 a.m., as usual, had breakfast, and began our day. Joe, Bill and George installed ceiling fans in the school, while Dominique, Simon and I taught pastors and church leaders from a Kreol book about the work of a pastor. It is a really good book, because from the very beginning it doesn’t assume anything. It asks the hard questions like, Are you saved?, because if you’re not saved how can you show the way for someone else to be saved. It also talks about the difference between a pastor being called and it just being a job. We will be having classes Monday through Friday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. We are having a great time, and they are, too.
Joe, Bill and George already had 3 ceiling fans hung in the school. They haven’t run the wire to them yet. They are going to hang all 7 of them first, then run the wire and put in the fuse box. We will be using the generator to power them now, but that gets expensive. We really need an inverter and batteries that we can charge using the generator, and later solar panels, to save on gasoline. Gas costs $5 per gallon, so you can see it gets very expensive running these fans every school day for a month. Some people think, as they sit in their air-conditioned homes, that the fans are not necessary, but let me tell you, it feels like an oven in these rooms.
Around 11 a.m., Pastor Do started feeding the children in this area with the food that we transport up here from Love A Child, that is from Feed My Starving Children. The children love the food, and it is so good for them–full of vitamins and proteins. We are so blessed that Love A Child and Feed My Starving Children give us this food each month. It has made a tremendous difference in the health of the children.
The rest of the afternoon we worked on the ceiling fans and other projects. We have plenty of projects to do at the mission house, but at this time we don’t have the funds to purchase any of the materials. We need lumber and mattresses for bunk beds. Bunk beds will cost about $500 each, but these are made of 2 x 4s and ½-inch plywood, with 6-inch mattresses. We need 15 of them, but if anyone or a group of people would like to donate for one it would be a blessing. As I mentioned before, we really need an inverter and batteries so we can run our ceiling fans all night. I estimate low end at $4000, and high at $5000. I can’t begin to tell you how hot it can get here and how uncomfortable it can be in the middle of the summer when you are trying to sleep. We have many other needs, such as paint, tile for floors, and kitchen counters and shelving. I am assured that God will put it on the hearts of His people to provide all we need in His timing–He always has.
Thank you all for your prayers and gifts–we could not be here without you.