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| Greetings this fine wintry day. I know many of you reading this are seeing the "white stuff" falling from the sky. My sympathies. It's cool here today, but nothing like what you're experiencing! Today was our last day to get things ready for tomorrow's first service, and I think we've finished the basics. I spent most of the morning burning rotten wood that had been building up and looking bad around the back of the property. It's now completely gone! I also managed to remove about 1/2 of the flowerbed that is in the middle of the parking area. I'll finish that up next week, which will give us room for 1 more car. Today I also installed a locking handle on my office door, so that no one will enter there "accidentally" during one of the services. We also put up the signs in the foyer and finished setting up the computer/projector. Melissa spent time yesterday and today cleaning everything, which is now all spic-and-span. Yesterday I also managed to get out and put up the signs. We have a large vinyl banner at the road with all of the ministry information, including service times. We have a duplicate of that banner in front of the garage. These are banners we are "reusing" from before. They used to have a different message in the blue strip at the bottom, but I painted over them and then put new white 3" vinyl letters to give the new times. It worked amazingly well. We also have two small wooden signs that say "Entrada" (Entrance), one in front of the garage and one in front of the casita. So, as I say, I think we're ready. I did speak with one of the families already that I wanted to see if they would come, but they have found a new church. He did say they may still come tomorrow evening, and he does want to do whatever they can to help us. So, that is a blessing. Here shortly I will be visiting with the second family. In other news, we are not making much progress on the property issue. Fortunately, my neighbor put me in contact with the former owner, who has agreed to talk with me about it, so perhaps we can get everything straightened out without a lawyer. She's not really "involved" in the discussions except that the property is still in her name. If she agrees that it is rightfully ours, and agrees to sign the papers, then we might be able to conclude this whole situation very quickly. Also, today I was going through our end-of-month financial reports and was pleasantly surprised to find that we had two special gifts in January, one of which was $500. I also noticed several churches seemed to send slightly more than their usual monthly support. Not sure if that is going to be an ongoing increase, but it was certainly a blessing in January! Also, I was notified Thursday that we have a new supporting church. Iglesia Bautista Betania in Mission, Texas has taken us on for monthly support, bringing us up to 74%. The Lord is certainly continue to bless this work, for which we are very grateful. Below you will find several photos of the property and the work that has been done recently. Still more to do, but progress is being made daily. And, finally, an update on Addie. She did go last week for tests and they all came back normal. The doctor also referred her to a neurologist, but that proved to be a waste of time, as he literally redid the same basic movement, reaction and memory tests that the doctor performed the day before. His only contribution was to suggest that we take her in for a CT scan and an MRI. We declined. She has not had any more episodes, so we're going to wait and see before we follow his advice, as we aren't overly confident in his abilities or of the actual need for these additional tests, since he didn't sound overly concerned but more was suggesting them in a cautionary manner. We will keep you informed of any additional developments. Have a great weekend and enjoy the SNOW. |
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Road in front of our property. The sign was "straightened" and a plant added underneath. There is an identical sign on the main road.
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A closer view of the sign showing the modified blue strip with the new service times.
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A better view of the sign in relation to the property. The entrance to the casita is around the corner of the orange building.
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The "entrance" sign on the main road. You can see it in the first photo above, just to the right of the road (it's small, so you have to look). It's much more noticeable in person.
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The freshly cleaned-up side yard. The hose is still out because the fire is still smoldering. It's looking much better.
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Another view, showing the relation of all the buildings. The large cacti to the left will be moved to make more room for parking.
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The second entrance sign in front of the casita, as well as the newly cleared out space behind it (there used to be a lot of trash there).
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Work continues on replacing the rotten wood on the building. I'm hoping to get this finished and painted next week.
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Another view of the front of the building. All of the trim is waiting on caulking and then I can paint it.
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An updated shot of my office, now that I have my "real" desk. This space has proven to be quite a blessing.
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Office door with the new lock and the "oficina" sign.
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Bathroom door with the new "baņo" sign.
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The main meeting room. Once we figure out the property line issue we're hoping to put the floor in and add the trim, which will really complete this space. But, for now it works!
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We can seat 14 people more-or-less in this room as it is. That's not huge, but it works for now. We also have plans for a "Children's Church" room in the garage once it is needed.
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I hung this announcement board today and Melissa added the title, border and hearts.
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A better shot. The announcement on the left is some general information about the book of Galatians (we are starting a study of that book tomorrow) and the right is a key verse from Galatians that we will be memorizing.
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