Update from the Philippines

Here's a group shot of the E-team. It's now been a week since Jose left, only 3 more days to go. I've received 3 updates on the progress there. Below is the email that was sent today:

Hi Everyone!

With only 2-1/2 working days left, the E-Team is working very hard - way above & beyond. Everyone has been challenged by the various conditions there including things not going as planned resulting in numerous changes and improvisation, the different way in which construction is done over there, …to the physical demands of working so hard in hot, humid conditions. But God is giving strength to tired bodies and minds and there is a marked atmosphere of the presence of God & of unity and joy in serving.

Special thanks to those on Team C – The Badjau Church Addition….who have experienced a lot of change & moving around! They have done so with a servant’s heart as they have been temporarily transferred around to wherever there was a need on the other teams. They also have had lots of manual labor with the hand-digging of the foundation for the Badjau tribe Church Addition. At present they are working with helping Team B on the renovation work before they head back to the Badjau site.

Things are really happening with Team B – Renovations of the Existing Sovereign Grace Building. The team has finished the roof reinforcing & metal roofing and are now framing up Pastor Fernando’s office. Others are plastering walls, doing the electrical, lighting, plumbing, & kitchen work. Also, Lynn has a very special secret surprise up his sleeve known only to the E-Team. He and the crew are working very hard to pull it off for this weekend. (thanks for letting us keep this quiet and staying as a surprise until this weekend’s update!!)

Team A is working hard and are now on the roof pearlins (lumber which runs from one truss to the next truss for reinforcing). The truss and pearlin lumber was freshly cut from the jungle and is green, crooked, wet, and very heavy…this is what is used in the Philippines (that is why they use so much rebar/steel). It’s hard cutting through this dense wood and it has already burned out one skillsaw. As per previous update, you can see that it took a lot of guys to lift each truss up because they were so heavy. Then, the rebar which was sticking out from the concrete columns, is wrapped and bent around the trusses. Then the trusses are further secured with 4” spikes. Once the pearlins are on, then the sheet metal roof will be installed.

With the construction suppliers on the island, one challenge is that they are located all over and it requires a lot of hours to go around and, with an interpreter, try to find and obtain needed materials and supplies. Sometimes it takes going to as many as 8 stores before finding everything needed on the list. Most suppliers have a front desk right by the road traffic, which can be noisy at times. You tell the salesperson what you want & then walk down narrow paths into the back of the store to find what you want & see if it will work for what is needed. If an item needs to be exchanged, sometimes the wait can be up to ½ hr for the sales manager to make the exchange. Sometimes things can’t be found in one piece so separate pieces need to be bought then assembled. For example, one of the plumbers needed a water pump but it couldn’t be located anywhere & were told that no-one in the city carried it fully assembled, so the plumber had to take many small parts and assemble/build it himself. Later on, a pump was seen at another supplier fully assembled!

Improvisation…. Certain materials or tools just can’t be found at the supplier stores, so the team has had to be creative & improvise. For example, the team needed a rubber float for some tile work that was added to the scope of work…. They were told that they could “just use a shoe!”….they ended up improvising with a window squeegee. Another time, the team needed to mix thin-set, but no mixing tools were available….they ended up taking a 3/8” piece of rebar, putting a bend on end & using that in their drill as the tool that mixes the mortar. What great creativity this has brought out in the team as they work to be as efficient as possible!

Update on Mark Vanselous….Mark & his family have sponsored a girl, Charisma, through Compassion Int. for last 10 years. He had the wonderful blessing of being able to coordinate a visit with Charisma yesterday. He traveled by Ocean-Jet Ferry two islands over and back again…. returned safely. Mark said that this visit had a huge impact & profound affect on him. God is so kind to have enabled the Vanselous family to connect with their sponsored child after a decade of correspondence & care!

Update on emails sent from the Philippines… we’ve been made aware that the entire island is on wireless internet and that email/internet connection can sometimes be intermittent. While on this trip, each team-member was assigned approx 2 timeslots that they could email home using Lynn’s laptop. If the email connection is down during the time of the slot (same applies to phone connections & pre-arranged phone calls), they will do their best to make it up. If not, then this is another opportunity for all of us to grow in “holding all things in an open hand” and surrendering to God’s Sovereignty! If this has happened to you, like it has to us, let’s all be encouraged together… “Many are the plans in a mans/woman’s heart, but it is God’s purposes that prevail” Proverbs 16:9.

Blessings are abounding!…we are aware of a number of specific needs of the people or pastors there that were noticed by different E-Team members, who then reached out and met the need. What a blessing they are to the people there. The church body there has been so deeply touched by the care and affection of the Team.

A team picture has been taken and further details on that will be in the next update. See attached picture. Thanks!

For His Glory,

MIRANDA FUNK

BAYRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

.....God is at work there! Pray for last few days and a safe trip home.