House Work!

We were very blessed to be able to buy the house that we are living in. To read more on the story go to the post from May 22nd. We arrived here on June 24th and were so blessed from God as He used and continues to use people in Christ Baptist Church to help us feel at home here. If you have been following our blog you have read that the house was used as a hostel for the last 10 or 12 years with 25 to 30 guys living here at any given time. We first discovered that the bathrooms were going to have to be replaced and we have a stage in the lounge that really needed to go. With the help of several people in the mission and from the church we have completely gutted our master bath and the stage has been broken up and will be removed tomorrow. We were at the point that the things that needed to be done here are all MESSY projects. Our things from the States have not arrived yet so we are trying to get these projects finished before our things arrive. Then we can unpack, set up our home and settle in to our new life here in the mission.

Several people have asked to see before and after pictures of the house ...

(This is the Master bath - there were 3 showers for the hostel - we are taking two out and putting in a corner bath)


(This was the vanity that was in the master bath. When we removed it we found there was an old pipe that was brittle and had been leaking for a long time- the ground under the cabinet was standing water with mold.)


(This was the wall that was put up around the toilet- we took it down)


(Entry way from the front door- It was so crowded by the door, moving this wall back and taking out the broken archway opened the entrance up and makes things flow so much better.)


(This is the view from the dining room looking at the front door and office door.)


(David and Sydney are students at the Seminary - they have been a huge help to us)


(New view of the entry)




(This was the tree in the front yard that I backed into. William took it out for us. It was just in the way!!! In case you didn't hear ... I decided to drive to the store on my own and told Brit to go with me. I got in the car and told her to pray I wouldn't hit anyone and then put the car in reverse and well hit the tree.)








(This is the stage in the lounge)




Here is what the stage looks like now. Several people from the church will be here int he morning to help haul it out.)


We are so excited to be a part of Samaria Mission and are so grateful for God's grace in our lives. There are a few pastors from Mozambique and a few of the translators we use that are attending Seminary here at CBC. Their sessions are 2 weeks on and then 2 weeks off. Since we live so close to the church they often drop by. We enjoy visiting with them when they are here for their session. We praise God for the opportunity to build a relationship with these guys.

Our church here is very busy getting ready for Baptist Union Assembly that will be held here at our church this year. Pastors from all over South Africa will be here. We will all have a part in serving during this weekend. We are going to have some of the pastors stay here during the conference.

Sean, Wally and Gabriel will head into Mozambique on Sunday for a few days. They will try to finish a well they started drilling in Salani. Please pray for them as they travel to and from Mozambique and as they are there working with the village trying to get a well.

Here is a picture from last Sunday afternoon. We were invited by one of the small groups to join them for a family picnic at Cheerio's Farm. It was beautiful. We had a picnic lunch and went on a hike. It was good to meet some new people from the church.


This is what I found in the bathroom this morning!


Mark found this one tonight. Not sure I like having these on the inside of my house.