Church Work Week 11/1-6

Team,

We had a very busy week as a few very important milestone took place.  We worked side by side with the electrician digging trenches in the gravel so that he could run all of his electrical conduit and A/V conduit across the space.  Once he was done we then filled it all back in and leveled out the gravel. Next the pest control company came on-site and pre-treated the entire slab area for termites.  

The concrete team arrived on Tuesday to put down plastic and lay down the wire mesh and rebar rods connecting the existing slab to the new slab.

We had a going a nice cooked breakfast on Tuesday to celebrate our joint accomplishments and a send off for Bonnie and Gordon.   Such great people to work beside.  They will be surely missed.  We just pray they have a safe journey back to Montana. If you would like to send them a thank you card, please contact JT at rejoiceelca@gmail.com.  

We built temporary double doors in the office wing to better lock down the building.  The doors were all recycled from existing doors we had on site.   Great work guys!

Next the team worked on putting up the metal studs in the fellowship hall along with insulation board around the existing concrete block pillars.  Now it’s ready for the electricians to do their work.

Then on Thursday the site was hopping with activity.  Concrete pump truck was in place and then the concrete trucks began arriving.  I believe it was around 38 yards of concrete that was poured, raked and smoothed out which took hours and hours to do.

Attic doors were built from recycled boards and trimmed out.  Both look really nice.

Then on Friday we worked on cutting the PVC a trim boards for the conference room curved roof.  All of the pieces have been cut to fit and will be installed soon.

Next we worked on Saturday to re-secure the Narthex roof trusses.  They are tided down in several areas and supported in several places to also secure them.  Winter winds could potentially attempt to lift them up.  

Then we installed tarps to also close in the Narthex and protect it further from the wind.  The tarps are used billboard signs made of heavy material.  For their size and weight they were relatively inexpensive.  It was kind of exciting to open each one to see what advertisement was displayed.   Thankfully nothing political or sensitive, but we displayed the reverse side.  Lol.   We then went inside and built wood studs to support the tarps from the inside. Lots of staples, staples, staples and countless screws secure them in place.  

Saturday night we had a very nice dinner hosted at Brian and Jane’s house to celebrate Mission Builders and to wish Steve Schenk safe travels home.  Just a nice way to show our appreciation.  

Even though the Mission Builders team have left the site, the work will continue with the Rejoice Fellowship volunteers.  All of us have been working non stop since the beginning of July and it’s been exhausting but rewarding.  We have a laundry list of things that have to be completed before Spring and I am confident with help from the congregation we will be ready for Mission Builders in the Spring.  

During the 20+ weeks we broke a few tools, bled a few times, misplaced a few tools, laughed all of the time, got wet in the rain, got drenched from 100+ temperatures and one guy wore out his construction boots!

Like I say every week.  None of this could have been possible without your commitment to the project.  Thank you for your time and talents.

Thanks
Steve