The building work continues apace. We are working on the walls and hoped to have them nearly topped by the time this is posted. I have turned my hand to block laying and am finding it a satisfying job. We are building in hebel blocks which are fairly light and of uniform shape even though they are 600mm x 200mm x 75mm. We use a cement based glue rather than mortar. I was doing really well up to a certain height and then my skills and dodgy spirit level let me down. Malcolm checked one of my walls and it was 20mm off vertical at the top, so he pulled it down – much mirth about strong winds overnight and I set about rebuilding. It took about half a day to get back to where I was the night before but now it’s a great wall – professional standard!!
Let me introduce some of our team. After Malcolm there is Peter Lawrie, his brother, who is also a friend of ours from Lucindale days. Then there is Richard Wray, from Bracken Ridge Baptist in Brisbane, who has been on the team for several years now. He brought with him a young man, Ben, who was converted at his church several weeks ago. His is an amazing testimony. He comes from a family of alcoholics which at times was abusive and he learned to use violence as a solution to a problem. He was also seriously misusing drugs and alcohol. He had a son from a relationship with a girl who shared his drug and alcohol problem. A couple of years ago his ex-girlfriend had an accident while drunk and the little boy was killed. Ben went around to her place and in his own drunken rage beat up and severely injured her boyfriend. He spent some time in gaol over that incident. Armed robbery put him in there again and aggravated violence a third time. Anyway, the saving grace of Jesus has turned his life around. Richard practically demanded that he come to Thailand and Ben says it’s been the best thing for him. Pray for him as the Spirit makes changes to his temper and his addictions and other aspects of his life that need to come under the Lordship of Christ.
Whun and Why have both returned to Phrae and Khon Kaenrespectively. Whun has started her new job in the city of Phrae and is still resolved to do it for 2 months. She was encouraged back at the orphanage by the children she was teaching saying that they wanted her back. Keep praying for her – in fact redouble prayer for her! The day she went back she was on the back of a motor-bike driven by her friend Waen who didn’t heed warnings to slow down so off they came. Whun hopped off at the last minute but Waen lost a fair bit of skin on hands, arms and leg. Then on Saturday she was going in to her job in Phrae on the back of a bike which another friend, Far, was driving. A tuk-tuk turned unexpectedly in front of them and off they came. This time Far was unhurt but Whun hurt her knee and hand, thankfully not seriously. She rang me with this news and said that she will drive from now on because she drives slower and more carefully. Pray that this is so!
STOP PRESS: Whun rang to say that a relative of the lady in the office there has a motor-bike for sale and Whun is very keen to buy it. It is 10,000baht (about $400). A mixed blessing!
FINAL BUILDING REPORT for this missive – most of the walls are up to the tops of the windows and we have begun to put up the concrete lintels. We have made the lintels on-site and they weigh about 200kgs each. We winch them up with an endless chain suspended from 6m ladders.
Apologies for the lack of photos but I can’t upload them onto my email website and I haven’t got Outlook working yet.
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