In Which We Become Church Architects

Luke and I have taken on a new project. We've agreed to help oversee
the construction of the Kotobi Seventh-day Adventist church. This was
definitely a providential appointment, as the church seems to be a
perfect fit for our needs and resources. First of all, it's in
Kotobi, which is only about 20 minutes from Mundri. Second, it's a
small enough project that we should be able to complete it within our
remaining time in Sudan. Third, it's a step up from building a house,
but it's doesn't appear to be beyond our technical ability :) Fourth,
we already have the metal trusses stored in our shop, so we don't have
to pay for them to be transported up from Uganda. Fifth, and perhaps
most importantly, it's a project that both sides of the current
tenseness within the church agree upon, and support. This opens a way
for us to safely navigate through the troubled waters of the South
Sudan Field. Praise the Lord!

So, we've already met with the church elders and the supervising
pastor (Pastor Julius, whom we've been building a house for in
Karika), marked out the site, started people procuring sand and
stones, and dug the footings! Hopefully by the end of next week we'll
be ready to begin pouring the slab. The church is not going to be
very large--6x10 meters--but then, neither the number of church
members in Kotobi, or the amount of money we have allocated for the
project is very large either.

Luke and I are excited about getting to design and build this church.
We've already started sketching out arched windows in the dirt and
coming up with decorative brick designs for the back wall (the SDA
flame logo is a bit tricky to put into a brick wall, but Luke has a
few ideas!) It's going to be a neat experience. God has answered our
prayers, and yours as well. Thank you for remembering us in your
prayers, and please continue to pray for the church here, as well as
the political situation.

Excelsior!