Over the past few months I haven't been
able to write and publish a blog at all, there have been a few times
that I had tried and actually written something only to find that I
was not able to post, whether it was from lack of Internet the power
being out or just thinking that what I had written didnt hold any
value. That and the end of the day I just don't feel like doing
anything but eating, showering and getting to sleep. So I think I
will give another try to see if I can get an update to whoever might
be interested.
I think that this is the first blog
that I will have been posted by me since coming to In Step full time
in April, other then the short one from October that I just got
around to being able to publish while writing this one.
I guess I have found myself sucked in
to all the happenings around here. There is always a long to do list
and even a longer list of children that are looking for some
attention and affection. I really dont know how I can describe what
a day here looks like for me. When first coming I would try to plan
what I would do in a day only to find that I would be trying to get
something done only to be distracted by someone that needed something
or an emergency repair. On the way to do that something or repair I
would be met by another distraction and another only to forget what
I was originally planning to do in in the first place for the day. Of
course this has gotten a little better the longer that I have been
there because of getting things caught up and finding where there are
needs and becoming more proactive instead of reactive.
The main projects that have been worked
on since arriving here have been picking up with the finishing of the
medical clinic that was started in 2010. It needed the entire site to
be cleaned up and then to have the electrical conduit and plumbing
put in, followed by windows, door and ceiling joist, which here is
called blundering. And then plaster, electrical and plumbing
fittings, paint and glasses for the windows. Also the septic tank
would need to be finished and a soak pit would have to be dug, which
is the equivalent of our leach field. Of course not everything for
the medical clinic has been finished due to lack of funds, but all in
the Lords time im sure it will be.
Thirteen miles outside of Kitale in
beautiful Cherengani I have found that there are more challenges or
opportunities present then while working in town. Transport being one
of the biggest, finding that going to the hardware store to get
materials now took a larger portion of the day. Sometimes depending
on the rains materials wouldn't be delivered for a few days at a
time. So once again a day that would be planned out would have to be
changed on the fly to accommodate for the materials on hand and the
labor force that was present. Also the twenty acre compound with
certain materials in one store room or another would mean that I
would be walking in almost twenty acre circles. While still working
on the clinic the first of three teams building teams for the dorm
came from New York with a few members on the other teams coming from
Pennsylvania and California. It was great to have them here headed
up by three great team leaders my father Ron, Jim Taylor, and my
Uncle Bill. I was able to discuss with them where we were at in the
project and then head to town to get the needed materials for the
construction to continue.
While the three teams were here over a
six week period the dorm went from being a slab, to having walls and
structural columns and getting the form work for the lentil started,
and the stairs to the second floor formed and poured with concrete.
After the teams left the project moved much slower, as did I being
effected with typhoid and malaria at the same time. however the
shuttering for the slab was completed, as was the steel
reinforcement and the site was cleaned up with some minor
landscaping done, just to level out some of the ground. The plumbing
was put in as well as electrical conduit for when the slab would be
poured. The reason things really came to a standstill was to get all
of the the money on hand in order to get all the cement needed for
the second floor slab to be poured.
While trying to open a new bank account
to make this possible, a new kitchen was started and
finished.
While working on the kitchen some
repair was needed for the septic tank which was no longer working
properly. Turns out that the soak pit was completely filled by
sediment, which caused the water to not percolate through and caused a back
up. So the only solution was to remove all the stone and dig the
soak pit all over again. it was dug to a depth about 20 feet and then fill with drainage stone and covered back up.
A side project to get better storage
and organization for the daily goods for keeping the home running.
Things that need to be kept secure so that the kids cant get into
them or walk away while no one is looking.
Also the building for In Step Academy
was started as the kitchen was being completed. It is a two class
room school and now has the windows set and is ready to have the ring
beam formed. Each year a new class room will have to be added on to
accommodate the new student class that is coming to age. Here school
fees are charged for children to go to school, so with 14 students in
class one and 25 in preschool and 33 that will be coming to preschool
the at th beginning of the year it will be more feasible to hire
teachers and to have a private school where a few students can come
from the community and there fees will help pay for the teachers. Its
hard to believe that this is a more economical approach yet it is.
While the kitchen and school were being
built I was lucky enough to get some backup thanks to Terry Kiser who
was here for a few months. Although we were splitting the
responsibilities of construction we also had some Jeff and Carla's
responsibilities to split with Sean and Meredith, while the Picicci's
took a most deserved and needed break.
The second floor slab has been started to be poured now and the last section should be finished on Monday.
I have to give God all the glory for
everything that has been accomplished here, because I certainly dont
think I had much to do with any of the accomplishments, instead it was His Spirit that works through all of us that are here
and those that have given support from abroad.
It may be hard for some readers to
understand the above statement unless you have experienced it first
hand, here I believe it happens on a very frequent basis.
Thanks be to God
