Recently a team came to work with Kid's Alive. They spent most of their time here working in the schools and children's ministries of Kid's Alive. One day, they set aside to do something different. They wanted to do help with a construction project in a local church.
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| A good days work! |
About 2 years ago, the church in El Montana was considering how to reach children and youth in their community. Awana is a program that has become increasingly popular in Jarabacoa and they wondered if they could start an Awana. Because the church property is rather slanted, they tried starting Awana in the 2 room church building. This turned out to be a disaster as the children had a hard time realizing they could run circles in the church building on Saturday but not on Tuesday* when services are held. And so, they began the project of creating a space for Awana games, a space other than where they worshiped. Retaining walls and A chain link fence was built around the back part of the property. Truck loads of construction debris were brought in as it became available. Because they struggled to pay for the construction, they had many pulgas (rummage sales) and every extra Pesos (dollar) was set toward the project. Work was done as they had funds. They prayed and prayed for God to help them complete the project.
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| Rademez (Construction leader) and Damaso (Pastor in El Montana) |
And so, when this team came forward, it was an answer to many prayers! This team was a mother/daughter team from the Chicago area and they had volunteered for a big job! Rademez and I pulled together some men to help. We started with a cement mixer but it wasn't working well so it was quickly pushed aside and we mixed our cement by hand.
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| Mixing Cement by Hand |
It was a hard day but we met our goal for that day. The project isn't completely done. Funding allowed for us to do two-thirds of what is planned. We ended the day by thanking God for his provisions, praying for the children, youth and adults who will play here and dedicating this space to the Lord.
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| We ended the day by Dedicating this space to the Lord |
If you have an Awana in your church, maybe they would consider helping the church in El Montana with some of the start-up costs for their Awana. It may take some time before an Awana is started. Leaders need to be recruited and trained. Once the church is ready, an Awana will start.
*El Montana church services are held on Tuesday night because most of the people of El Montana are employed as cooks and maids for large vacation homes in the area and they have to work most weekends (when the homes are being used).
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