Just thinking out loud!

Uncovered this fan...wonder when the last time it worked?

Basement hallway

Footing for new steel beams

New entry door into the new bathrooms...and showers too!

Looking at both doors into bathroom area

New furnaces

Heating duct work

View from SW to NE corner of basement

Do you know what this spells?

Tons of drywall for the basement

Workers building our new stairs for the new stairwell

Allison & Pastor Joel checking out the new stairwell space

Sorry about the inactivity on my blog for the last week! Let me recap the last week for you...

There have been serious issues with the rebuild in the toddler wing which has halted progress in that area of our church facilities. But work in other areas is slowly progressing.

Sunday was an awesome service here @ CFA. Started with a powerful prayer session with my prayer team...then traveled on through our worship encounter...then blew through the preaching of the Word too! Wow...what a message! I wish you could listen to it, but we have been experiencing difficulties with our church website. As soon as they are resolved (Lord willing!), we will upload it for you!!

Sunday night I met with my awesome missions committee and we established our 2009 Missions Budget together with the Holy Spirit's assistance. This is the fifth year that we have increased our vision and sights in doing more for world evangelization! Proud of our church for their passion to partner with MORE missionaries...rather than less like a lot of churches are doing today. Congratulations CFA for catching the vision!

Let me post some picture updates from our flood restoration and rebuilding project. Little by little, day by day, we are moving ever closer to getting back into all areas of our spacious regional worship center...just not sure of when THAT DAY will be.

Just think...

• We have not been able to have Sunday School classes for the past 5 1/2 months...no classrooms!!
• We've not had the proper equipment and ministry resources for our Kids Church...yet my lovely wife finds a way to minister to our children week in and week out in the restored fellowship hall.
  
• We have not been able to house our youth ministry in their regular youth space (fellowship hall) and they've been crammed down in the basement of our borrowed church...proud of Pastor Joel, his leaders and all the young people for their heart in "making their services work each week!"
• We've not had our regular nursery space for our babies...however, they've managed in the overflow space of our fellowship hall.
• We've not had the proper room for our toddler ministry because of our flooded out situation...in the meantime they are jammed into a small room which will eventually become our new library room.
  
• We've not had classrooms and proper supplies for our Royal Rangers and Missionette programs...yet they continue to make things work for their weekly group sessions!!
• We don't have our custodial closet with all the supplies needed for daily and weekly cleaning and repairs...proud of Martha & Kevin for making it work with what they have.
• We don't have a church kitchen...but our ladies are so ready to have a new kitchen with new appliances when this rebuild is all over with...right Betsy??
  

Here is something else...as Christmas rolls around next month, normally we would be making preparations to put up beautiful decorations around our church. GUESS WHAT? We have none! Every bit of our decorations were hauled out of the basement aquarium (that's what it was during the flood!) and thrown into the dumpsters!!

These are situations we face as a flooded out church. Here is something else for you to ponder... all of our purchased prizes and supplies for next year's HUGE EASTER EGG HUNT was also destroyed and ditched too (they were stored in the basement!!). So many things were lost in the flood. ..it's hard to comprehend! BUT, we will return and emerge from this disaster stronger than we ever have before!! Our God REIGNS.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it so very much.

And don't forget that we still need those contributions for our FLOOD FUND that is endeavoring to pay for all of these repairs to our church. And we can't forget all of the furniture, supplies, resources, etc. that was lost as well!

We did have one church from Carmel, Indiana send in their contribution last week to lend a helping hand. Thanks Carmel Assembly of God! Will your church help? We need you.

We simply are trusting God to provide. He is more than able to meet this overwhelming need. God is in charge and God knows how to meet this deficit.

Thanks for listening to me as I ramble on with my post-flood musings...just thinking out loud! Kinda got carried away for a brief moment.

Love to all!