It has been more than a year since we were obligated to pause
construction on our school building at the Log Church Orphanage in Kenya. At
the time we stopped, all of the cement footings had been poured, the cement columns
for the ground floor in place, the brick walls partially built, and the cement
of the ground floor poured.
We stopped simply because we did not have the funds to
continue. For a while, I asked Pastor Joel to withhold $400 or $500 from the food
budget every month and place it in a special savings account until we had
enough to continue to build, but the cost of food escalated to the point where
we had to also use that savings so that the children could eat and go to
school.
During the entire year of 2022, God provided so that the
orphan children could continue to have food and to go to school, besides having
all the other necessities for living, but the funds to continue building on the
school were not provided.
But we now believe it is the time to build. Certainly we do not yet
have in our possession the entire amount needed to proceed with the next phase
of the building, but this week we are sending $5000 that is go entirely to
purchase the materials needed.
And it is as God said of Zerubbabel, who along with high
priest who were among the first of the exiles to return to Jerusalem to begin the
reconstruction of the temple, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,
says the LORD of Hosts.”
The beginning of this phase of our school building also will
depend on the power of the Lord. We begin small, but we begin. It has been that
way in all of our projects at the orphanage. “For who has despised the day of
small things?” (from Zechariah 4).
January is typically the driest month of the year, so it is
a good month to begin. The next phase of the three-story building is to pour
the concrete floor of
the first story (what we call the second story in the
US). This involves forming up the bottom of the floor supported by numerous
posts to prevent the floor from sagging when the concrete is poured. Of course
there is much rebar needed in the pour.
It’s a big step. Back when we stopped construction, the
builder gave us an estimate of the equivalent of about $18,000. That it 1,800,000
in Kenyan Shillings. Since that time, the cost of materials has escalated
significantly – now Ksh 2,473,600. However, also during the past year, the exchange
rate between the US Dollar and the Kenyan Shilling has also escalated, so that
the new amount, rather than equaling $24,736, it is instead something close
to $20,000.
We now believe it is the time to again pick up the construction.
Thank you for your prayers in this. We shall be posting regularly on the progress
as it takes place.
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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.
Send it to:
The Log Church
PO Box 68
Tripoli Wisconsin 54564
We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!
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