Sunday Celebration

We worked late on Saturday and then worked again before and after worship on Sunday. By 4 o'clock we were "finished" in more ways than one. The front room was done! The new floor and baseboard were at long last in place, but not without some last minute thinking outside the box. When the vinyl cove baseboard was reluctant to adhere to our wainscoting, it took some quick thinking by Jill to substitute ripped composite material in its place. The completed project really looks good.

And in the men's room, another completed effort. The doors are on the showers and toilet stalls. All the pine has been primed. A new light was added over the shower area, and the exhaust fan was connected and operational. The room has a bright, clean and functional appearance. Everything is now ready for the delivery and plumbing of the new vanity.

The truck and cars were loaded within an hour of completing the work. By 5:30 PM we were on the road and headed north. 

Thanks, again, to all whose donations and pray support made this latest work of our NYS-FITS+ possible.

Friday and Saturday Progress

We got up early having mapped out a plan for the day last night. Jill, Roland and Eric were to work on replacing the ceiling, as Eric and Roland had been the ones who drilled the holes in the first place. Don, Tom and Ron would work on the bathroom, installing the partitions between the showers. JoEllen and Debbie started on cutting down the 5 doors for the bathroom. Before long the lack of drilling noise was noticed. Jill and Eric had gone to Home Depot to return with a mammoth Hilti rotary hammer drill that made drilling the holes much "easier." Jill now took over the drilling and worked with JoEllen on replacing the smaller screws with large TapCons and wiring the lights to the ceiling, replacing any broken parts to the framework. Meanwhile Eric moved to putting up melamine in the bathroom. Debbie continued with cutting down doors. We worked until near 5:30 when we needed to someone to the Baptist Church to secure the showers.

Giant strides towards completing our project were made today: the ceiling is fully and totally re-suspended!! and the flooring tiles are all in place. The room, which two days ago looked like a bomb had fallen has taken on a new nature. It looks like a million dollars. Well, at least a usable , and highly rent-able, space.

The bathroom is now nearing completion. The second toilet has been installed. For the showers, the dividers are in place, the mats have been purchased and the dressing platforms made. The doors have all been trimmed and received their first coat of paint. Also, the grouting was done around the second commode, the first door was installed, the exhaust fan hooked up and vented to the outside, and a new light installed in the shower area. Some of the prime coat has been applied to the white pine surfaces, too. It won't be long now. In fact, the showers are ready for their first use and will probably get it later tonight.

Thanks go to all who have been praying for us and sending us encouraging notes. You guys are terrific. Tomorrow, we are hoping to get just a little more work in before and after worship.

Return to Washington

Eight of us have returned to Casa del Pueblo to finish (and repair) what we began three weeks ago. Since leaving, the ceiling in the front room collapsed! Almost all the tiles, lights and suspending superstructure fell to the floor. We are so very grateful that no one was in the room at the time, especially not under one of the lights.

Jill and Don, JoEllen and Tom, Debbie and Eric, Ron and Roland have made the trip from New York to complete the bathroom project and to re-hang the suspended ceiling. Our hopes are to complete the job by the end of the work day on Saturday. Sunday, Eric and Tom will be contributing to the worship service with one of their patented dialogue sermons.

Washington Postscript

Well, we didn't finish. Debbie and JoEllen did not finish putting down the vinyl tile; like everyone else they were worn out. And the bathroom has an even longer way to go before completion. Our thinking is to try and return, possibly as early as later this week, to put in the additional two or three days it will take to complete the job. While this crew may be small, it will be all that we need. Stay tuned.