Building a Firm Foundation…Construction underway of the building of Faith Bible Church!

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:” Matthew 7:24 (KJV)

Boboy pumps water for mixing cement for concrete blocks. Notice the Coke bottle funnel! We love the ingenuity of the Agutaynens!

These  last six weeks have been exciting! The construction of Faith Bible Church is well underway! After almost 3 years of securing signatures for the purchased property and procuring a building permit along with  other needed documents, we have started construction  on our new church building.

Our property looks, feels, and sounds  like the combination of  a steel plant and   a brick makng factory. Sand piles! Stacks  of cement bags!  The  grinding of saws, the pounding of hammers, and the banging of steel! Loads of various activities! Everything is fabricated in our backyard and then carried to the church property site.

Joseph saw steel rebars most of the days.
Boy ties the footing rebar mat.
A completed mat.

It is quite fun! We are enjoy hearing their Tagalog and Agutaynen language and enjoy seeing the interactions of the men.  The workers are quite friendly and respectful.  We are honored to be a small part of  their “family” and community when they address us as “Grandpa and Grandma”!  

We would appreciate your prayers for safety for the workers.  All the work is done by hand in the scorching heat! During weekdays, we have  10-12 men working daily. Also, we would appreciate your prayers for Darryl and Stephen as they supervise the work, buy supplies, and make  decisions  on constructing a strong and stable structure.

The property site of Faith Bible Church.
Sifting sand to mix with water and cement for the hand-made blocks.
Dabo and Boboy sift sand for making over 700 concrete hollow blocks.
Boboy fills the cement block form.
Stephen and Darryl cure the blocks with water twice a day for 10 days.
Darryl and Stephen covers the blocks after curing them.
Stephen and Darryl discuss how to tie the footing rebar.
Chris lays out the church structure.
Laying out the perimeter of structure.
The men build branch shelters for shade.
Footings
Elodier digs footings.
Stephen lays out footings.
Chris makes a rebar fabrication jig.
Chris bends rebar.
Antonio fabricates the rebar ties.
Antonio assembles a rebar for a column.
Joseph and Dabo carry a footing mat to the job site.
Jeffren, Emil, Jonathan and Elodi carry a rebar column to job site.

Excavating a footing.

Chris cuts plywood to build forms for columns.
Mixing concrete by hand.

Concrete rebar has been placed…mixing concrete for the footing.

Working under shelter.
Jeffey and Boy are installing a hollow block wall.
Protection from the sun.
Collecting and measuring sand, gravel, and water for making concrete for footings and walls.

We pray you will be blessed by seeing how the Lord is working through your prayers and your financial support to build His church among the Agutaynens…not only the building but through their hearts.  We are sincerely thankful for your involvement and partnership in His ministry through us!  We send our deepest gratitude from our hearts.