Unless the Lord Builds The House

Psalms 127 begins with these words (taken from the Message Bible)

If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn't guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

As the work of our second construction team draws to a close, we are confident that the work they have done is not in vain. These men were called by God to serve and, through their obedience, He put them to work building what will become the home for Pastor Augustine and his family. What was once a storage building, now looks less like a shack and more like a home.

Team #2 has been extremely productive. They managed to get all of the framing for the interior walls up, all the ceiling joists in, the plumbing roughed in and the electrical wiring completed. With the skilled labor completed for the house, Kevin and his team can now hire local workers to put up the wallboard.

While our men were working, there were also a couple blocklayers on site closing in the front of the house and filling in all open or rough areas of the structure. They did a great job as well.

Kevin and his team have also used local labor to continue work on the church structure that Team 1 began. At this time the roof sheeting is on the church and it will be inspected soon to make sure the steel has been properly straightened and reinforced. Upon approval of the steel, the block walls will need to go up and the floor poured.

Paul Conover will remain in Swaziland and will assist local workers with continued work on the jobsite. The priority is to try to get the pastor and his family moved in and get the church far enough along to start having services there.

In addition to the work at the jobsite, men from the team also offered assistance to homesteads. On one such day, some men from the team picked up a family and traveled several miles to the forrest to gather tree planks. (They saw some wild wart hogs while in the forrest!) The tree planks will be used by the family to build a new house.

This has been a full trip and the men have worked very hard. They are looking foward to enjoying the rest that God promises to give to those He loves! Team 2 will depart Swaziland at approximately 8:30 a.m. (Dayton time) on Monday, June 2nd and we expect them to arrive at the Dayton airport Tuesday morning about 9:30 a.m. We ask that you pray for their safe travel. Also, please continue to pray for Heidi Miller and Paul Conover, both of whom will continue their work in Swaziland until July. Finally, never cease praying that God will continue to transform the lives of the people of Swaziland. May He bless Kevin and Helen Ward and their children, for their leadership and the hope they bring to the country. May He bless Pastor Augustine and his family for the message of love and salvation they share through Jesus Christ. May He raise up the church and change the future of this tiny nation.